Sexual consent is of the utmost importance. Especially at a time when campaigns like the #MeToo movement are at the the forefront of global attention, the conversation around consent must continue to reach to reach all audiences.
The new Netflix original The End of the F***ing World is a dark comedy that keeps sexual consent crucial to its plot. Be warned, this article includes spoilers.
The story follows James (Alex Lawther), who believes he’s a psychopath. He decides he wants to murder Alyssa (Jessica Barden), a brash and misunderstood girl from his high school. The two social misfits begin a whirlwind romance, in which they run away from home. While squatting in what the pair believes to be an empty house, James murders the homeowner after he attempts to assault Alyssa. This prompts James to realize he isn’t a psychopath after all.
However, before the homeowner returns and is murdered by James, Alyssa brings a character named Topher (Alex Sawyer) over to the house. She invites Topher over to have sex, following an argument with James.
While Topher is kissing her passionately upstairs in the bedroom, Alyssa becomes disinterested. She pushes Topher off of her and tells him, “I changed my mind…I’m not into this.” When he complains that Alyssa isn’t being “fair” and says that he thinks she’s amazing, she replies, “Well then, respect me changing my mind and f**k off, please.”
Earlier on, during “Episode 2,” James is assaulted by a truck driver who guides the 17-year-old’s hand to touch his genitals in a public washroom. When James and Alyssa later talk about the incident, she tells him, “You know that if people want to do stuff to you, you don’t have to let them.”
These scenes in The End of the F***ing World deliver an important message to the show’s young audience. It is especially important when other massively popular shows like Riverdale, which is also geared toward young people, have been delivering awkward and problematic messages about sex and sexuality.
In the newest season of Riverdale, after Archie’s dad is shot, Archie returns home to take a shower. While washing his father’s blood from his body, Veronica removes her clothing and joins the clearly upset Archie in the shower, in an attempt to lift his spirits. The two begin kissing as the camera pans to show the viewers blood swirling down the drain.
Betty’s awkward strip tease initiation ceremony for the south side gang, the Serpents can’t go without being mentioned either. The 17-year-old removes her clothes in a bar filled with older men, while singing a rendition of Gary Jules’ “Mad World,” which left many viewers uncomfortable.
It’s particularly important to deliver positive messages about consent and sexuality to young viewers of popular television shows. Through leading by example, many young people can follow in the footsteps of their favourite characters. If sex isn’t being displayed in a positive and empowering light, young audiences are put in danger. One can only hope that The End of the F***ing World serves as an example for future series.