The technical superiority of the film is a separate subject of expertise and writing, but the fact that the shooting was done with a single camera and without interruption for each section strengthened its effect by making the audience a direct witness to what was happening. However, I would like to point out that 13 months of rehearsals were spent for this single-camera, uninterrupted shooting. The flawless performance we saw was made possible by determining the camera angles and the countless rehearsals the artists did. When we look at the actor performances, Owen Cooper’s highly convincing acting as Jamie is the result of being selected from among 500 candidates. The excellent performances of all the artists, as well as Cooper, are the result of the care taken in choosing the cast. The interesting aspect of the film is that the murderer is clearly obvious from the very beginning. Thus, it directs the audience’s focus from the question of “who?” to the question of “why?”. Avoiding conventional scenario games, such as the child of the police officer who studies at the same school being somehow connected to the murder, allows the focus to shift and remain on the question of “why”.
The messages given by the details
Among the many details in the film, the one that impressed me the most was that when Jamie opened his hands on the bed when the police entered his room, the seemingly random tear in the wallpaper was in the shape of a knife. This image, which is a reference to knife murders, which are common among young people in England, was also Jamie’s crime weapon. The same knife-shaped tear is seen at the end of the film when Stephen Graham (who also co-wrote the screenplay) in the father role, is internally reckoning with where he made a mistake, and while hugging his teddy bear, which represents his child’s innocence, he falls on the bed repeatedly and stabs him in the back each time.
In the first part, we witness the high level of professionalism displayed by the police after they take Jamie out of the house. When he gets in the police car, the child is treated calmly and gently throughout the journey, and from the moment they enter the police station, it is seen that the written process is applied with great care and discipline at every step. It is difficult to know whether this reflects real life, but it is understood that every step to be taken during an incident is defined and the process works like clockwork. During this process, we see that all the officers act knowing that the person they are facing is a child.
The role of the school and teachers
The second episode of the series takes place in a school that is a prototype of state schools in the UK. An arrogant headmaster, indifferent teachers; intemperate, arrogant and disrespectful students. It is clear that threatening students with punishment is useless in such an environment. Ashley Walters’ son, who plays the police officer and is also bullied, expresses his discomfort with his father’s “running around like a chicken with its head cut off” and teaches him the jargon of the youth. Thus, through the helplessness of the police officer, who is a figure of authority, we, along with many mothers and fathers who watch the series, learn about concepts such as incel, red and blue pills, purple and yellow symbols… and their meaning in the world of the youth. This education given by the son to his father causes the two to get closer and they decide to go out for dinner together.
When Faye Marsey, who plays the policewoman, says that her school has similar characteristics, her friend asks how she got away. She explains that a teacher noticed her talent for drawing and took an interest in her. This carries the message that even in adverse conditions, a teacher can make a difference in a student’s life.
True professionalism
The third episode focuses on the relationship between the forensic psychologist and Jamie. Erin Dohery, who plays the role of the psychologist, first prevents the garrulous police officer from giving the information that the previous psychologist wanted to give with his report in order not to be influenced, the emotional control she shows during the interview with Jamie, stopping Jamie’s attempt to take control, her ability to manage the relationship are lessons for all psychology students and psychologists. The reaction she shows after Jamie leaves the room reveals how difficult she is during this process. This episode shows all the characteristics that a professional should have in the personality of the forensic psychologist. Being in control of the relationship and not reacting by adapting to the other party. Using her knowledge and skills to produce alternative solutions in difficult situations. Living up to the trust attributed to her and finally acting with great discipline.
“The killer does not live longer than the dead”
The last episode shows that “the killer does not live longer than the dead” in a sense. We see that Jamie’s family is completely the victim of the murder committed by their son. All family members are stigmatized in the neighborhood and town they live in. The sister’s name is now “Jamie’s sister”. They know that the stigma they carry will follow them even if they go to another city. This episode also shows the father’s helplessness. The father, who was raised violently by his own father, says that he never slapped his children and that he was always close to them. While their two-year-old daughter became the daughter they wanted, they cannot understand that the other one is a murderer.
In the last episode, while the mother, father and sister are driving home, Jamie calls his father from prison and after chatting for a while, he says that he will “change his statement and admit to the murder”. Thereupon, the father remains silent and cannot talk to his child. This silence is like pulling the plug on a person connected to a ventilator. Even if it is irrational, the miracle that the father was waiting for until the last moment does not happen and silence prevails in the environment. At this point, we understand that pure happiness can no longer be the case for the family in their lives.
Jamie’s story reveals the details of adolescence such as loneliness, suppressed anger, and the feeling of not being seen. The search for identity and the need for belonging are very strong during adolescence. The loneliness and feeling of not being understood that Jamie experienced in the Adolescence series is a common experience for many adolescents. In the period we are in, young people, especially men, are getting off track through peer relationships and the internet. Families and the education system are helpless in this regard. The need for acceptance and approval that fragile young people feel very strongly for various reasons is met by subgroups prone to crime. Negative heroes such as Andrew Tate can be adopted as idols. Young people who cannot establish a connection with the outside world create an alternative reality in their own dream world by creating virtual identities for themselves in the virtual world and feel strong there. Studies show that as the difference between the virtual identity and the real identity increases, young people experience more anxiety and show depressive symptoms.
Killing people or shooting objects that they chase in virtual games since childhood detaches young people from the reality of death and turns death into a game. For this reason, although it is obvious that he committed the murder, Jamie denies it with a childish insistence until the last scene. This shows that he has difficulty realizing the crime he committed. However, the seven months that have passed show that the maturation process is underway for a 13-year-old and he changes his statement and says that he will confess his crime.
Suggestions
First of all, we need to get rid of the idea that youth is getting worse. The idea that youth will lead the country to disaster has been repeated since the Sumerian tablets, Egyptian papyruses and Ancient Greek writings. In the fifties, Elvis Presley and in the sixties, The Beatles were thought to have led youth astray. In the seventies, being involved in political movements, in the eighties, the concept of living for the day, in the nineties, video games and today, social media are seen as threats. Parents and educators believe that if they get rid of this threat, everything will be fine and they do not want to see the underlying reason. They see ignoring, prohibiting, punishing, advising and lecturing as the way to get rid of this threat. In this case, the question of “what can families do in such a world?”, where children spend most of their time in front of the screen, is preoccupying both mothers and fathers and everyone in the education system.
Referring to the historical period they live in, young people think that they are an unlucky generation that has to struggle with the greatest difficulties. On the other hand, mothers and fathers also feel that raising children is incomparably more difficult than in the past. Because they see that they have to act far outside the framework of the relationships they were raised in. They are not prepared for such a role and have no examples. Perhaps the biggest reason why the series has such an impact on viewers and resonates is that it shows how wrong it is to feel safe because your child is at home and in their room. Because a child’s safe room has the potential to be a window opening to all the evils of the world. For this reason, I believe that today’s parents have two different and important duties than ever before. The first different duty is to limit their own screen time, and the important duty is to establish a real bond with their child.
The main problem that young people experience is especially not being able to establish a real bond with their mothers and fathers. At this point, it may be mind-opening to listen to the suggestions of Psychologist Dr. Caswell, who works on adolescence problems. Dr. Caswell says, “No young person would consider killing themselves or someone else because of a message they saw on social media when they were feeling very good.” Young people express their experiences and feelings to people they trust as follows:
All they do is find my mistakes and scold me
I feel like I can’t do anything right
I feel a lot of pressure to be perfect and I can’t
I can’t be myself at home, so I lock myself in my room
My mom and dad care about my grades, not me
Everyone judges me
I think my teacher hates me
School is boring and I don’t believe what I’m learning will be useful
I can’t stand it anymore
What can families do? The suggestions I’ve listed below can help you move forward in small steps:
Listening without judgment
Joining their excitement
Accepting their feelings
Focusing on their personality and character, not on what they’ve done
Accepting that they have the right to fail
Appreciate their successes, even if they’re small
Make your teen feel the love and affection you feel
Thus, you get the opportunity to spend more time with them and be a part of their world.
Without a doubt, these aren’t things that will happen overnight. Therefore, starting from a young age, accompanying the child in the movies he watches, asking questions based on news and movie stories, provides a solid foundation for building a healthy value system. Thus, by including the child in the decision, implementing screen diets during the day, not bringing the phone to the dinner table, using limited screen time on the weekends and increasing social interaction with similar measures facilitates a healthy adolescence process. In this way, it is possible to be close to the child’s emotional world and to take precautions against possible dangers by hearing his silent scream in advance.
Conclusion
Young people know all the information their parents will give them. People feel like they are in a completed period of their personal history at every stage of their lives. It is important to remember that if the emotion is overwhelming and the emotion is experienced very intensely, information will not change behavior. If it were otherwise, there would not be a single person in the world who smokes. The first step in helping young people who have lost their way in the chaotic world we live in is to develop a relationship that will increase communication with them. The way to do this is to listen more without judging, ask more questions without judging, extract new questions from the answers given, and establish a connection that will help them find their own correct answers.
