Media Reviews

Boys Like Me

CBC Podcasts

On the aft ernoon of April 23, 2018, Alek Minassian got behind the wheel of a rented van and plowed through a bustling business district in Toronto. Targeting female pedestrians, the attack left 11 dead and 15 wounded. Aft er his arrest, Minassian, who has Asperger’s syndrome, admitted to his involvement in the “incel” community (involuntary celibacy), an online subculture of men who are unable to attract women. He would later be convicted of fi rst-degree murder in a Canadian court. Host Ellen Chloë Bateman takes a plunge into Minassian’s hate crime and what compelled him to do it in the powerful fi ve-part podcast series Boys Like Me.

Th e incel community, we’re learning, is mostly male, bitterly entitled, and oft en violently misogynistic. In forums such as 4chan, 8chan, and Reddit, they have found a community of other alienated self-loathers. In Minassian’s case, he saw himself as a foot soldier in the cause, and his crime was fueled by a disdain for women and the men who attract them.

And this is hardly an isolated incident: Th e 2014 Isla Vista shootings were perpetrated by Elliot Rodger, a legend in the incel community. Other cases of incel-related violence have happened in Pittsburgh, Dallas, and Tallahassee.

What makes Boys Like Me an impactful series is that one of its subjects, Evan Mead, knew Minassian in high school and has Asperger’s syndrome as well. Why didn’t Mead, who faces similar challenges, follow his former classmate’s lead? How did Minassian lose himself in an online world that validated his impulses? Th ese aren’t simple questions— and Bateman wisely avoids answering them.

The van that Alek Minassian used during his April 23, 2018, Toronto rampage was seized by Canadian police. Later found to be a member of the “incel” community (involuntary celibacy), Minassian was convicted of killing 11 and injuring 15.

As a culture, we have only begun to scratch the surface of extremism along the digital landscape. In the wake of groups such as QAnon, we have found that online platforms can be breeding grounds for conspiracy theories and violence. Minassian, who wanted sex or something more lasting with women, clearly found an online community that authenticated his anger. His actions, however, were his own.

CBC’s brisk, well-produced series explores gender norms and expectations, personal autonomy, and online extremism, which has become a rabbit hole for many disillusioned young people. And this podcast is important listening, especially for those who love members of the tech-savvy but highly imperiled Gen Z.

In an early episode, Bateman illustrates how young men are losing themselves to dangerous online forums and that, in the wake of COVID-19, it’s getting worse: Th e pandemic has only deepened their sense of isolation. Minassian didn’t invent a trend here. He simply kept it going.

ICONS

The Chosen

Amazon Prime, Peacock, or at watch.AngelStudios.com/TheChosen

Now that it’s the most successful crowdfunded entertainment project of all time (with over $40 million pilot episode continues in the vein of realism, at times gritty, and creative license is taken to flesh out characters such raised so far), it’s easy to forget the humble beginnings of the streaming series The Chosen. Its director, Dallas Jenkins, had recently found his career in freefall after the poor critical reception and commercial disappointment of his second feature film, The Resurrection of Gavin Stone. However, a short film that he made about Christ’s birth for a Christmas Eve church service (The Shepherd) completely changed his career trajectory.

Almost right away, there’s something noticeably different about the look, tone, and feel of The Shepherd, which would later become the pilot episode of The Chosen. The cinematography, production design, and costumes all reflect the production value viewers expect from television and streaming of secular series. The music is minimal and serves to accentuate the moments “For me, it’s trying to of tension and wonder in the Nativity heighten the emotional story, which is told from the perspec- experience that we have as tive of three shepherds. The shepherds look rugged, their clothes somewhat tattered, and they correctly lack White European humans. How might Christ have experienced joy and happiness and sadness and features, all creative decisions made anger and solitude?” by the filmmakers to retain historical —Jonathan Roumie accuracy and believability. Mary and Joseph are similarly portrayed, and when the shepherds run to the manger to witness the Christ Child, they’re naturally alarmed by their sudden entrance.

Raj Bond—a Black actor who has appeared in FOX’s Empire and NBC’s Chicago P.D.—plays Joseph, further expanding the world of The Chosen to realistically depict people in biblical times. Also, Jesus’ birth is a somewhat chaotic scene, which is far more likely than the serene depiction we’ve become accustomed to.

Following the Nativity story, the first season of The Chosen introduces the adult Jesus (Jonathan Roumie) as he begins to call his followers. Roumie’s portrayal of Jesus is subtle, and there are many moments where Jesus’ love and patience for others are conveyed by him quietly listening, instead of trying to steal the scene. The visual style from the as Mary Magdalene, the apostles, and Roman magistrates and centurions. The first season does an excellent job at pacing the narrative of Jesus’ assembling of disciples, and it ends with him meeting the Samaritan woman at the well. Expanding on the encounter described in the Gospel of John, the Samaritan woman relates to Jesus her bitter resentment toward the Jews for not allowing her and her people to worship in the Temple in Jerusalem. Jesus responds to her, “I’m here to break those barriers.” The final episode of season one is a striking and effective pivot point to the second season, where Jesus’ public ministry begins. In a sense, his ministry starts with one person, the Samaritan woman at the well. The exchange represents the deeply personal call to believe that each one of us has the opportunity to respond to. Along with detailing Jesus’ increasing visibility as a healer and teacher, the second season of The Chosen portrays the apostles as an imperfect group of men from different backgrounds who, at times, clash with each other. In the third episode, a dispute between Simon Peter and Matthew erupts due to simmering resentments over Matthew’s past as a tax collector. Jesus abruptly tells the group good night and heads straight for bed, exhausted by their infighting. These are the moments that make The Chosen especially interesting, when the flawed aspects of the apostles and the human nature of Jesus are explored. Although the series seeks—and accomplishes—an honest retelling of the Gospels, it’s the material that fills in between the lines of Scripture that takes the storytelling to another level. The second season ends with the Sermon on the Mount, and the third season is already in production to continue the story from there.

TV-PG