The other day, I watched Louis Theroux’s new documentary, Inside the Manosphere, with skepticism. I thought I already understood the online ‘red pill’ world shaped by infamous figures like Andrew Tate and amplified by followers who “circle jerk”, echoing his message.
Instead of just exposing extreme internet personalities, Inside the Manosphere takes a more unsettling approach. It traces how ordinary young men aren’t inherently misogynistic; they are often isolated, insecure, or simply curious and are gradually pulled into toxic content. What starts as self-improvement advice or dating tips can quickly spiral into rigid, harmful ideologies about male-female power dynamics, online gambling, and OF modelling.
What is “Red Pill” and how “Self-Improvement” Becomes Self-Destruction
A teenage boy might start by watching gym content or confidence-building advice. Soon, that content shifts toward “high-value male” rhetoric, and before long, it can escalate into narratives that frame women as adversaries or reduce relationships that encourage men to cheat.
Throughout the documentary, there’s a repeated emphasis on “discipline,” “control,” and becoming a “high-value man.” On the surface, these ideas seem like typical self-improvement rhetoric, but the documentary reveals how quickly that language is distorted.
Critiquing Louis Theroux’s Approach
Theroux is known for his calm approach by leaning into his subjects and asking simple rather than aggressive questions.
What I appreciated most was how his style exposed contradictions without needing confrontation. By giving figures like HS “TikkyTokky” space to speak freely, Theroux allows their logic to unravel on its own. The lack of pushback almost amplifies the extreme, and at times absurd, nature of these men’s beliefs. It forces the audience to sit with the discomfort rather than dismiss it as edited.
One of the documentary’s central interviewees was HS Tikky Tokky, who openly describes his romantic relations in hierarchical terms where he acts as the “dictator” and refers to women as “dishwashers.” While his viewers aren’t immediately exposed to harmful ideas, they are over time. HS Tikky Tokky built his audience through fitness and “self-improvement” content.
From a wellness perspective, this approach also humanises the issue. Instead of presenting these men as caricatures or villains, Theroux shows them as individuals, often insecure young men clearly shaped by the same online systems they now benefit from.
At times, Theroux’s reluctance to directly challenge harmful statements, particularly overtly misogynistic ones, can come across as giving them too much space. As a viewer, I found myself wanting more resistance and more moments where those ideas were explicitly questioned rather than simply presented.
The Discussion of Vulnerability
At multiple points in the documentary, the concept of emotional openness is framed as a weakness and something to be avoided if you want to succeed as a man.
Mental health frameworks consistently emphasise the importance of emotional expression, self-awareness, and connection, yet the manosphere promotes the opposite, by suppressing your feelings, avoiding dependence, and never appearing “soft.”
Double Standards
One of the most telling moments in Inside the Manosphere comes from HS Tikky Tokky’s contradictions, specifically regarding the platforms he promotes, like OnlyFans and online gambling.
Throughout the documentary, he promotes these avenues as legitimate ways to make money, claiming that he’s been able to afford his Lambos or his mansion in Marbella. But in one moment, he makes it clear that while he sees platforms like OnlyFans as profitable, he would never want his own daughter to participate in them.
These spaces often promote financial gain at any cost, without considering the emotional, psychological, or ethical implications of how that money is made.
My Concluding Thoughts
What’s presented as self-improvement is often rooted in control, emotional suppression, and external validation. And while figures in the manosphere market confidence and success, the documentary makes it clear that these ideals can come at the expense of genuine well-being for the men buying into them.
What makes this especially concerning is the insidiousness of the process. The documentary blares a warning: we must question who truly benefits and stay vigilant about narratives packaged as empowerment.