Netflix's 'Adolescence' Accused Of Being "Part Of A Calculated, Ideological Assault On Western Identity And Memory"
Netflix’s latest drama coming out of the United Kingdom, Adolescence, is being accused of being “part of a calculated, ideological assault on Western identity and memory.”
According to Netflix, the series “tells the story of how a family’s world is turned upside down when 13-year-old Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper) is arrested for the murder of a teenage girl who goes to his school.”
Co-creator Stephen Graham told Netflix one of his “aims was to ask, ‘What is happening to our young men these days, and what are the pressures they face from their peers, from the internet, and from social media?’ And the pressures that come from all of those things are as difficult for kids here as they are the world over.”
He also shard that he was inspired to make the show based on a real-life incident. He said, “There was an incident where a young boy [allegedly] stabbed a girl. It shocked me. I was thinking, ‘What’s going on? What’s happening in society where a boy stabs a girl to death? What’s the inciting incident here?’ And then it happened again, and it happened again, and it happened again. I really just wanted to shine a light on it, and ask, ‘Why is this happening today? What’s going on? How have we come to this?’”
Laura Dodsworth, the author of Free Your Mind describes the show as “the latest example of a long lineage of media manipulation, shaping public perception, fueling moral panics, and justifying censorship.”
“Many assume propaganda only flourishes under authoritarian regimes. But television can enable all regimes to tighten their rule using ‘soft autocracy’. Just like drugs, entertainment undoes your sophistication, relaxes you, makes you more suggestible,” she notes.
As an example, she said, “The BBC once convinced people that spaghetti grew on trees. Ghostwatch made viewers believe they were watching a live haunting—one young man killed himself out of fear.”
“The UK’s Behavioural Insights Team (the Nudge Unit) openly admits to shaping TV programming to influence public behaviour. A collaboration with Sky aimed to ‘nudge viewers to decarbonise their lifestyles’. This is not new,” she added. “Their report says, ‘Behaviour change via broadcasting and traditional media has historically been aimed at improving public health, boosting gender equality, and reducing violence. Imagine the potential for emissions reductions if the same methods were used to encourage sustainable behaviours!’”
“If you’ve ever felt TV dramas seem too neatly aligned with social or political narratives, you’re right. The ‘historically’ is an admission of social engineering. And it doesn’t stop at climate change,” she wrote.
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She then shared another example, “The pandemic saw an explicit push to integrate government messaging into scripts. A scriptwriter I interviewed for ‘Free Your Mind’ was invited to ‘Educating Audiences on the Covid-19 Vaccines’ — a summit to embed vaccine messaging into films and TV shows.”
“This is overt propaganda,” she declared. “It isn’t even hidden, because those shaping it see nothing wrong with it. But the real danger isn’t that we’re told what to think, it’s that we absorb messages uncritically while relaxed, entertained, and off guard.”
Next, she brought it back to Adolescence, “Adolescence is the latest example. Regardless of the intentions of the programme makers, the Netflix drama is fuelling a moral panic in Parliament to justify tighter internet censorship. But the drama is more fictional than it should be — the ‘killer’ is a white boy, unlike the real-life teenagers this series appears more likely to be based on.”
She then explained, “There are two deflections at work. 1. Where to look: Poor white boys are the problem. (Khan’s ‘maaaaaate!’) Meanwhile, the problems created by communities with entirely different cultural values are conveniently brushed aside. We’re directed to see the problem a certain way. Don’t look over there, don’t look at that form of radicalisation, look over here at this other form of radicalisation!”
She added, “2. Who’s to blame: The politicians and institutions who have presided over and failed to tackle rising knife crime, the failures of multicultural integration and under-funded chaotic schools are not to blame. Instead, white working class lads are to blame. And guess what, there is a solution ready to unfurl like a standard in battle — the Online Safety Act. What a relief.”
“Netflix is shaping policy,” she observes. “Perhaps politicians are more susceptible to TV entertainment than white working class boys are to the ‘manosphere’. Who can forget Matt Hancock admitting that the film ‘Contagion’ influenced how he planned the Covid vaccine rollout.”
“Mass media shapes your perception of reality — but that perception isn’t reality,” she continues. “Start noticing how much Netflix and other dramas reflect not the world as it is, but the world our ‘elites’ would have us believe in.”
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Dodsworth is not alone her observation. Chad Crowley, while discussing Netflix turning Cleopatra, he briefly discussed Adolescence saying, “It is part of a calculated, ideological assault on Western identity and memory. This is not about correcting historical inaccuracies; it is about rewriting our heritage to serve a modern agenda. Netflix, like countless other propagators, is just one small cog in this vast machinery of deception. When these lies pile up, they reshape perception, slowly turning blatant falsehoods into accepted truths. This is how a distorted reality is constructed—one lie at a time.”
“When history is weaponized, the goal is not only to control what people think but to control who they are. The myth of Cleopatra as a "Black woman" is an attempt to sever the link between us and our ancestors. It erodes the understanding of our true identity, distorts our collective memory, and weakens the connection between past and present,” he shared. “Similarly, when the race of murderers is deliberately altered in the present, it becomes another tool in this ongoing process of demoralization. The narrative is twisted, undermining our values and eroding our societal cohesion.”
“This myth, like so many others, is part of an ongoing assault on Western identity,” he started. “It’s a deliberate effort to erase the real history of our civilization and replace it with a fabricated narrative that caters to ideological needs. This is not simply a battle over facts; it’s a battle over our cultural roots. It’s the stripping away of our heritage in favor of a convenient, politically-driven narrative of ‘inclusivity’ and ‘diversity.’”
“Cleopatra’s legacy, like all great historical figures, must be understood within the context of her time. To distort her story to serve the political needs of today is to sever the bond that connects us to our past. When that connection is lost, the very foundation of our identity crumbles,” he wrote. “This is why the battle over history is not just academic; it is existential. It is a fight for our survival.”
He concluded the post by sharing a clip from Adolescence, “The video below is utterly repulsive. The people who made this should feel nothing but shame for their actions, but they will not, because they know exactly what they are doing. They are trying to convince you that you don’t exist!”
What do you make of Dodsworth and Crowley’s observations about Adolescence?
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