Teen Angst and Quiet Violence? Youth, Gender, and Control

#4 Teen Angst and Quiet Violence? Youth, Gender, and Control in
Adolescence, Benny’s Video, and Lovely Rita This time, we dive into
the alienated, disoriented, and at times violent worlds of three
teenage protagonists—and ask what their silence, rage, and
rebellion reveal about the societies around them. From the one-take
intensity of Adolescence (UK 2025, creators Stephen Graham and Jack
Thorne), to the disturbing sceneries of Benny’s Video (Michael
Haneke, AT 1992), to the suburban revolt-escapisms of Lovely Rita
(Jessica Hausner, AT 2001), we trace the intersections of gender,
class, and power in cinematic portrayals of adolescent violence. As
always, we take a diverse-feminist lens to look at these stories:
How do teenage boys and girls experience control differently? Who
is allowed to act out—and who is pathologized when they do? And
what role do media, technology, and social isolation play in
shaping these young lives? Each work not only depicts youth
violence but also reflects on how violence itself is mediated and
consumed—most strikingly in Haneke’s Benny’s Video, which directly
implicates the viewer and destabilizes our position as passive
observers. These are not just stories about violence; they are
stories about how we watch violence. What also connects these
narratives is the striking absence of honest parental affection,
love, and emotional connection—an absence that becomes all the more
devastating for young people growing up in a highly individualized
world saturated with media images of violence, yet lacking spaces
of care and genuine belonging. Key questions in this episode
include: What kinds of violence are visible, and which are
suppressed? How are masculinity and femininity narrated through
acts of rebellion? And how do class and parental authority shape
the way teenagers are seen—and punished?