War on masculinity: Why ‘Adolescence’ contradicts its own message

Netflix’s new show “Adolescence” tells the story of a 13-year-old boy who murders one of his female classmates after being radicalized online by the likes of Andrew Tate — a man whose influence had an episode of the mini-series devoted to it.

“The best thing you can say about this is that it is addressing a legitimate concern that you and I frankly have about who is discipling this generation of young men,” Steve Deace of the “Steve Deace Show” comments.

“The best thing you can say is it has stumbled upon a legitimate concern our worldview has, but it lacks the worldview to adequately address it, and so therefore is entangled in its own idolatries that contradict its own message,” he continues.

The first glaring point Deace makes is that the show is “based on a story that undermines the premise of the entire show.”

The show is in part based on the real and recent story of a black teenager in Britain named Hassan who brutally murders a girl for no reason. However, the series blames white men, masculinity, and right-wing influencers for the violence instead of what clearly is a deeper problem.

“This reinforces our lament about how the church has largely left young men behind in the last generation,” Deace says, “They’re not getting the proper discipleship at home.”

And in order to get the proper discipleship, they need proper parenting.

“This is why we need good dads to help us exercise and navigate this tension, and this is why dads need to be connected to their heavenly father who experiences the exact same tension with them, right out of the womb,” Deace says. “Look at this beautiful creation of mine, I’ve counted all the hairs on his head, and yet, in the not too distant future, he’s going to look at me and say, ‘I think I could be like God, I’ll call my own shots, make my own decisions.’”

“We used to societally understand these things. These things used to get preached and taught from our pulpits by men worthy of such teachings and preachings,” he continues.

“If we don’t tackle these dilemmas amongst ourselves within a biblical worldview, the culture will do it for us.”

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