Crime
Adolescence
In Netflix’s Adolescence, 13-year-old Jamie Miller is accused of a violent murder. And the motive behind this alleged crime haunts the people around him.
Based on a handful of masochistic Japanese game shows, Wipeout pits colorful contestants against cartoonish obstacle courses filled with spinning gears, slippery platforms and mud—lots of mud. Whoever runs the gauntlet in the best time wins $50,000.
It all seems like a lot of fun at first. Watching eager competitors trying to race through a complicated, hard-to-complete obstacle course filled with water and mud. Sounds like summer camp, right? But Wipeout doesn’t concentrate on conquering the course. It’s all about watching the wreck. It’s said that some folks only go to NASCAR races because they hope there’ll be a crash. With Wipeout, there’s no question: There will be a crash. Faces, stomachs and groins will get punched by mechanical boxing gloves. Bellies will flop into the muck. It’s not a matter of whether these folks will stumble and fall. It’s a matter of how soon. And it’s usually in the first 10 seconds.
Contestants know the show’s a joke: They sign up knowing the announcers will mock them and the audience will laugh at them. But just because they know that schadenfreude is the name of this game doesn’t mean viewers are completely absolved.
Other things about Wipeout can’t be absolved, either. It isn’t at all squeamish about employing crass wordplay. (One of its favorites involves an obstacle dubbed the Big Balls.) And it dabbles in titillation, too. A male contestant rips off his shirt for show, for instance. And a bikini-clad female one kicks off her athletic shorts at the starting line, revealing her skimpy suit’s bottom—which later slips off her, um, bottom. (A black censor box covers the critical region.) Several folks swear, with edgier profanities getting partially covered by a bleep. An announcer uses God’s name incorrectly and also slyly says, before the contestants board a mechanical bull, that they’re set for a “bucking good time.”
Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.
In Netflix’s Adolescence, 13-year-old Jamie Miller is accused of a violent murder. And the motive behind this alleged crime haunts the people around him.
Long Bright River is a fairly standard mystery thriller with a big theme at its core: choices. But its problematic content makes it a touch choice to watch.
Dot Conner: Webtective is an educational Christian show that helps kids learn and process deeper ideas about the faith.
To no one’s surprise, blending heinous crime and lavish wealth into a half-hour comedy comes with some content issues.
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