‘Gen Z are rightfully front and centre in this essential exploration of the internet’s darkest corners.’
In the wake of Netflix’s Adolescence, a spate of high profile misogynistic killings, and also the last few millennia of humankind, misogyny has been a hot topic. The newest data shows young men to be especially at risk of online misogynistic radicalisation: the combined forces of algorithms, loneliness, and poor mental health combining to ensure maximum damage at maximum profit (that is, for the Tates and Musks and Fuenteses of the world).
Many Good Men is a participant-led digital forum theatre project aiming to tackle this rise in adolescent misogyny. Supported in part by the Scottish Government and Zero Tolerance Scotland, Civic Digits’ founder and artistic director Clare Duffy has created a forum for young people to express their thoughts and fears surrounding a broad range of interlinking topics: online radicalisation, masculinity, pornography, and the misogyny that underlies it all.
Many Good Men begins the same way every time: there’s been an incel shooting in Edinburgh (specifically, the JD Sports on Princes Street) and two footballers are trying to find out more about the perpetrator and the cynical forces that led him there. Young participants from local schools and football clubs create him a backstory, considering the many ways he could’ve been left vulnerable to radicalisation: frequent themes include a lack of familial support, mental health issues, and (naturally) unfettered internet access. In tonight’s documentary screening at CodeBase, we watch participants as they create a character fighting with his father over the exquisite shame of having missed three penalties in a single game. Next, he’s pouring scolding liquid over his mother as he wails, “I don’t like hot chocolate, mummy!” – Gen Z’s understanding of the tragic childishness of incel culture is completely apparent.
In further discussions, participants appear half-sincere and half-bemused as they earnestly try and describe exactly what a ‘chad’ is. It is a key facet of incel culture and Gen Z humour that both are inescapably ironic. There is such a fine line, or perhaps even no line, between a mocking tirade against Staceys, foids, and beta males and a genuine pronouncement of extreme misogyny – several participants say that they presumed Andrew Tate was a comedy persona upon first encountering his content. As such, it’s particularly impressive that Civic Digits have managed to utilise young people’s cringe censors for good. In the documentary, we see the participants laughing and cringing – whether out of nerves or embarrassment – as they act out the role of incel intervenor, probing the characters on what the real root of their issues is (probably not women). But still they perform, well and meaningfully, with an underlying seriousness that makes clear the pervasiveness of this phenomenon: the young girls involved in the project in particular demonstrate a striking familiarity with the manosphere and its growing influence in schools.
Following the screening, a panel of young people discuss their involvement in the project, fielding audience questions spanning from neurodivergency to capitalism with an impressive clarity. The audience of teachers, parents, and educators are clearly receptive to such first-hand accounts of adolescent life in 2026: Many Good Men is a brave and necessary exploration of the many dark forces targeting the next generation today, platforming the voices of those most at risk and of most importance.
Read more details here.