A Series That's Got Parliament Talking And An Artist Who Influenced The Civil Service What You Should Watch, See And Play This Week

(MENAFN- The Conversation) The“manosphere” is an online realm comprising social media accounts, websites and blogs. It's a place where innocuous advice around men's issues like health and fitness sits alongside violent and dangerous misogynistic rhetoric. It's where“incels” were born and where Andrew Tate became a household name. The effect of this side of the internet on young men is becoming an increasingly worrying and urgent issue, one which has been powerfully explored in the Netflix series, Adolescence .

It follows 13-year-old Jamie Miller and his family after he is arrested on suspicion of the murder of a girl from his history class. Over its four episodes, it explores the rise of toxic masculinity, incel culture and the UK's youth justice system.

It's a harrowing show that its writer and star Stephen Graham and co-writer Jack Thorne hope“causes discussion and makes change”. I'd say it's been pretty successful in that aim as it's already been talked about by politicians who have called for it to be aired in parliament and schools. Our reviewer Megan Smith-Dobric, an expert in the treatment of young offenders, found it to be a deeply affecting drama that challenged the stereotypes of young offenders and exposed the broken youth justice system.

Read more: I research the dehumanising treatment of young offenders – Netflix's Adolescence gets it spot on

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Art in Oxford, theatre in Bristol

Art and culture can influence real-world change. Just look at the impact of Mr Bates vs The Post Office. The artist Barbara Steveni (1928 to 2020) harnessed the power of creativity when she set up the Artists Placement Group in 1966. This initiative sought to place artists in unlikely industries and institutions, like the civil service, with the idea that they could help solve problems and inform decisions from an outsider's perspective.

Dancing Thought Leftovers by Barbara Steveni and Laure Prouvost. Rob Harris/Modern Art Oxford

A new exhibition at Modern Art Oxford, Barbara Steveni: I Find Myself , explores the impact of such an approach to art and social activism in Steveni's work and life. It features collaborative works, pieces where human interaction is key and an archive that spans her 70-year career. Our reviewer Martin Lang, an expert in visual art, found it to be a thought-proving show exploring her pioneering contributions and her lasting impact on the art world.

Barbara Steveni: I Find Myself is on at Modern Art Oxford till June 8 2025

Read more: Barbara Steveni: I Find Myself – a pioneering artist who influenced the civil service

If you're in Bristol or plan on visiting in the next week, why not spend a night at the theatre watching the Bard's tragi-comedy A Winter's Tale at The Tobacco Factory? It seems an opportune moment to see this play about the healing power of time, nature and the turn of the seasons, as we start to experience the first few moments of spring.

Our reviewer Jo Lindsay Walton, a research fellow in arts, climate and technology, loves the original text but was relieved to find that theatre director and writer Robin Belfield had made some judicious cuts to some of the slower pastoral scenes. All in all, Walton found it to be a“secure, energetic, and richly nuanced” production.

A Winter's Tale is on at The Tobacco Factory in Bristol until March 29 2025

Read more: The Winter's Tale at The Tobacco Factory, Bristol – a marvellous production with much to say about the modern world

Samurai and demons

If you want to travel further afield, without leaving your home, can we suggest Assasin's Creed Shadows ?

This new instalment takes on the Japanese civil war (1477 to 1600), where samurai and ninjas (known as shinobi) were fighting each other, the warlord Oda Nobunaga (aka“Demon King of the Sixth Heaven”) dominated and Japan as a whole was changing quickly. This provides for some truly sensational historical fiction and some wonderful wandering opportunities in the beautifully rendered world.

However, not everyone has been happy. The creators' choice to make a protagonist of Yasuke, a slave turned samurai under Nobunaga, has garnered criticism from those who see his presence as a black man in the period as historically inaccurate. Fynn Holm, an expert in Japanese studies, writes that Sasuke existed and such criticisms ignore evidence of foreign influence in 16th-century Japan.

Read more: Assassin's Creed Shadows introduces a black samurai – that's not as unprecedented as critics claim

If you and the family want to do something together, the record-breaking animated film Ne Zha 2 is finally hitting UK and Irish cinemas today. The film is about a legendary child warrior from Chinese mythology. Ne Zha was born a demon and is doomed to only to live three years. In this film, Ne Zha and squire Ao Bing must rebuild their souls after the epic events of the first film. However, before they can recover, a demon attacks their town.

This tale of a feisty demon child has taken the box office by storm, becoming the highest-grossing animated film of all time. Ming Gao grew up with the tales of Ne Zha. He writes about the Chinese-language film as a showcase of the country's ambitions to expand its soft power while growing economic and strategic influence.

Ne Zha 2 is in cinemas now

Read more: Ne Zha 2: the record-breaking Chinese animated film showcases China's ambition on the global stage

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