Netflix's Adolescence has opened viewers' eyes to the sinister hidden meanings behind some emojis - but one emoji the show didn't mention, the 'black pill', perhaps has the darkest meaning of all.
Owen Cooper's incredible acting debut saw the Warrington lad take on the role of Jamie Miller, a 13-year-old suspected of murdering a girl from his school.
Stephen Graham co-wrote the 'one-shot' programme, and also played the boy's father Eddie Miller, while Ashley Walters starred as detective Luke Bascombe.
The series, which has a 99 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, has sparked discussion over mental health, extremism and misogyny in young men.
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Parents watching at home, however, are also concerned over the apparent rise in 'incel' behaviour and the hidden meaning behind some of the emojis school kids are now using.
What is an incel?
A 2022 study states that involuntary celibates 'refers to a loose collection of individuals who are experiencing sexlessness despite their desire to be active.'
They note that the term 'dates back to 1997 when a sexually frustrated university student named Alana created a website to document her struggles in the dating sphere'.
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These days, however, a person who is referred to as an 'incel' generally has 'violent ideologies' which commonly relates to 'a decline in sexual activity among youth in general'.
Incels believe 'that modern-day youth are experiencing rates of sexlessness that is not in accordance with their predecessors or sociocultural tropes of hyper-sexual teens'.
The red and blue pill meaning in Adolescence
In the modern world, incel culture has coincided with social media use, and people who believe in the ideology now use emojis to display their feelings.
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The 'red pill' and the 'blue pill' were mentioned in the series, and they happen to be metaphors taken from 1999 film The Matrix.
Fans will remember how Keanu Reeves' Neo is forced to choose between taking a blue pill, which will keep him in a state of peaceful ignorance, or the red pill, a big dose of 'reality'.
“For incels, the reality presented to them by the red pill is that love and sexual satisfaction are commodities that women deny them, and that women, not men, control the sexual aspects of society,” Brette Steele, the senior director for Preventing Targeted Violence at the McCain Institute, told CNN.
In Adolescence, DI Bascombe's son Adam explained: "The red pill is like 'I see the truth.' It's a call to action by the manosphere.
"She's saying he's an incel dad. She's saying he always will be. That's why they say you're an incel, they're saying you're going to be a virgin forever."
What does the black pill mean?
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The black pill is basically the red pill, but with the view that life is unchangeable.
In the most extreme of circumstance, this can lead to incels taking part in murderous or rapacious acts against women.
William Costello, the lead author of another 2022 study, noted that incels 'are suffering extraordinarily high levels of anxiety, depression, and loneliness'.
“They are also, as a group, particularly averse to seeking help from mental health professions,” he added.
Other 'incel' terms to be aware of
Chads and Stacys
Robert Lawson, an Associate Professor in Sociolinguistics at Birmingham City University, said in a column for The Conversation: "Chads are the 'ultimate alpha' – the ultra-masculine, virile, powerful and sexually attractive man to whom Stacys and other women flock. The term 'gigachad' refers to the most alpha of alpha males
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"Stacys are an idealisation of femininity – a hyper-attractive, sexually desirable, promiscuous but vapid woman.
"She is ultimately unobtainable, especially to men who are not Chads. Simultaneously the objects of disdain and desire, Chads and Stacys highlight a clichéd view of men and women, rooted in stereotypes and pigeonholes rather than in reality."
Cuck
The professor states that 'cuck' is shortened from 'cuckhold,' which means a man's wife has been unfaithful.
"The term is strongly associated with a subgenre of 'humiliation pornography', in which a man derives sexual pleasure from watching his female partner have sex with another man," the sociolinguistics expert said.
"Cuck is often used as an insult, especially since the idea of allowing one’s partner to have consensual sex with other men goes against heteronormative notions of male sexuality, control and ownership."
(N)awalt
(N)awalt stands for '(not) all women are like that', according to Lawson.
"Awalt is used to suggest women are all vapid, insincere, sexually promiscuous, driven by emotions rather than rationality, motivated by financial gain and more. Awalt is also deployed to emphasise the claim that men are everything women are not – moral, rational, intelligent, loyal, honourable and individualistic," he added.
If you're experiencing distressing thoughts and feelings, the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) is there to support you. They're open from 5pm–midnight, 365 days a year. Their national number is 0800 58 58 58 and they also have a webchat service if you're not comfortable talking on the phone.
Topics: Adolescence, Owen Cooper, Stephen Graham, Netflix, TV
Anish Vij