Drama
Alien: Earth
FX’s ‘Alien: Earth’ is just the latest graphically violent entry in the already graphically violent ‘Alien’ franchise.
Social media influencer Mbali Hadebe dominates the party scene in Sandtown, South Africa. Guys drool over her. Instagram fans flock to her livestreams. And anybody who’s anybody is at Mbali’s extravagant mansion for her 19th birthday bash.
Nothing can steal this queen’s crown … or so she thinks.
While her virtual groupies and party attendees earnestly watch on Instagram, policemen and government agents expose Mbali’s mother for her association with a dirty political scandal.
And just like that, the queen is cancelled.
Mbali’s friends reject her. Instagram followers send floods of hateful comments. The Hadebe family name is permanently tarnished.
“I need to find a new varsity,” Mbali desperately states.
But college application season is over. Mbali’s only option is Grahmstown University – in the tiny South African town of Makhanda. So, Mbali packs her lavish lifestyle into a few Louis Vuitton suitcases, hoping to start anew.
Unfortunately, Mbali’s past follows her all the way to Makhanda, and she realizes her dreams of becoming the college “it girl” won’t actualize.
But not all hope is lost.
Mbali befriends a freshman named Jay and reconnects with boarding school buddy, Natalie. She also becomes involved in the student body president election, fighting against long-running student president, Caesar. And her crush on another student body president candidate, Sivu Levine (who’s also an Olympic rowing champion) adds all the excitement she’ll need for her college experience.
Produced by South African media company, Burnt Onion Productions, Miseducation represents Netflix’s proclaimed commitment to showcasing South African storytellers and creative industries. The show offers unique and valuable perspectives on some of the country’s concerns, such as racial tensions and de-colonization. Additionally, through Mbali’s experiences (and the experiences of other students), Miseducation starts a constructive conversation about the detrimental effects of “cancel culture.”
Despite these positive elements, objectionable content pervades episodes of Miseducation.
The show seems to suggest that sexual experimentation is a critical part of the college experience. The main characters openly discuss sex, and one parent encourages her daughter’s sexual exploration. In fact, several scenes feature young couples engaged in the act. In episode three, for example, we see two characters attempting to have sex. While nothing critical is seen, their specific actions could easily be inferred. Furthermore, Mbali’s friend, Jay, is a member of the LGBT community, and he uses an app to find male partners. Sometimes he engages in amorous activities with these partners, which are shown onscreen. Miseducation’s focus on sex also can showcase the darker sides of such intimacies: Characters are sometimes abused and humiliated by their partners.
While nothing critical is seen, several scenes feature partial nudity. Men and women wear only their underwear, and in one episode, the bare backsides of a group of men are shown.
Characters repeatedly use harsh profanity. We hear frequent uses of the f-word, and there are also uses of the s-word, “b–ch,” “a–,” “h—,” “d–k” and misuses of God’s name.
And although the episodes tend to have a lighter tone, many scenes deal with dark themes such as (as we alluded to) dating violence and bullying.
Although Mbali develops friendships, cultivates her skills and improves her personality, her college experience is filled with poor decisions. She and her friends participate in frequent drinking and sexual experimentation, and these dangerous activities rarely yield real-life consequences.
Despite its virtues, Miseducation is filled with many misguided young adults.
After public humiliation forces her to attend college in a small town, Mbali attempts to find her footing by making friends, attending a party and connecting with a potential love interest.
Sexual references appear repeatedly in the episode. A character asserts that he got in trouble for providing sexual favors in the boy’s bathroom. Jay scrolls through a LGBT dating app and texts about sexual pictures. A scene features a character masturbating while watching porn, though nothing critical is seen. Another scene shows two male characters kissing. Later, these men engage in sexual activity, though nothing critical is seen. After characters share a sexual experience, one turns violent and physically abuses–eventually bruising–his partner.
One scene features slightly sexual dancing, and throughout the episodes, some characters don revealing outfits. In a scene involving a college initiation, a group of men runs outside, naked. Their hands cover their front anatomy, but their bare backsides are shown. Part of this initiation involves one of the men being locked inside a trashcan while unclothed.
Characters liberally use harsh profanity such as the f-word (sometimes paired with “mother”), the s-word, “b–ch,” “h—,” “d–k,” “p-ss,” “a–hole” and misuses of God’s name. A character makes a rude gesture.
Some scenes feature older teens drinking. A college student is seen smoking. A character sells his ADHD pills to make money.
A character claims that technology is “the white devil’s tool to control our minds.” People suggest over social media that Mbali take her own life. Two male characters engage in a physical fight.
In hopes of winning the attention of Sivu, Mbali befriends his sister. Meanwhile, Sivu runs in the student body president election, debating long-time incumbent, Caesar, at a student function.
Sexual references appear throughout the episode. There is a brief moment in which we see slightly sexual dance moves. A young couple passionately kisses in bed, which leads to sex. While nothing critical is seen, their actions are heavily implied, and we see them in the throes of sexual ecstasy. Two men are seen kissing passionately. There is a brief discussion about the celebratory acceptance of transexual lifestyles. A girl draws male genitalia on a poster. We hear several crude and graphic references to sex and male genitalia. A man is pressured to strip naked and walk outside. His bare backside is shown. Two women are shown wearing shirts with depictions of breasts on them.
We hear profanity including multiple uses of the f-word, the s-word, “d–k,” “a–hole,” “h—” and “b–ch”
Mbali encourages Natalie to disrespect her mom. Students encourage their friend to make a political statement by stealing a statue. A man vandalizes a car. Several college students are seen drinking and smoking.
FX’s ‘Alien: Earth’ is just the latest graphically violent entry in the already graphically violent ‘Alien’ franchise.
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