“Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere” is having a huge impact all over the world. The subject chosen by the British director and author could not have been seen otherwise: the influencers, content creators and podcasters connected to words such as incel, red-pill, black-pill, in short, those who speak to men by proposing a radical vision of society and above all of the relationship between the sexes. The end result is a film halfway between unintentional comedy and terrifying. And it’s available on Netflix.

“Louis Theroux: Inside the Monosphere” – The plot

If you have social media (of course you do) you will have seen videos on podcasts where they discussed the relationship between the sexes (which has become increasingly problematic), singleness, how society has changed with the latest feminist wave, and how the traditional family is increasingly a mirage. You may have come across figures like HSTikkyTokky, Sneako, Myron Gaines, Justin Waller, Ed Matthews and above all the two Tate brothers. They fully represent the so-called Manosphere, an online universe dedicated to men, to their problems, so to speak, and which embraces a male-centric, individualistic, performative and consumerist vision of society and the relationship with women. They have had enormous success on social media in recent years, with colorful language, to say the least, and radical opinions that are highly antithetical to the female world. Their vision? Well, it is contained in the (often confusing and nuanced) definitions of incel, red-pill, black-pill. But “Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere” helps us understand something more about this varied, picturesque and strange world.

The world has changed, society has changed, and for many men, especially young men, there is the feeling of no longer having a place, a purpose. In an era of constant, and often traumatic, economic, social and cultural revolution, with the Covid19 pandemic acting as an accelerator, this has meant isolation, loss of confidence, poverty and obviously loneliness. And this is where this diverse world of self-proclaimed gurus, winners, playboys broke through: bringing a model of success based on tangible evidence, i.e. sexual promiscuity, dominance, money, social status. The theory is simple: you are a man, you are worth how high you are on the food chain, based on your appearance, success, and often everything you are is predetermined by physical appearance and social class. Your only chance? Evolve, become an “alpha”, a winner, only in this way will you have women, happiness and success. Does this sound familiar? Normal that it is, and “Louis Theroux: inside the manosphere” also explains why, it is an evolution of that 80s yuppism that never died, it found a new ecosystem in which to thrive.

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“Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere” sees the director go straight to interview these new prophets of masculinity. Their mediocrity, ignorance and duplicity is so blatant as to be disarming. They make money on every insecure boy or man who follows their social media, podcasts, buys their courses, drinks their false charisma. Their vision of women? They are cannon fodder, they must return to being submissive, they want to be so, they say, who naturally declare that they love and respect them. It takes Theroux 4 seconds to drop the mask. They are hypocrites, manipulators, they talk about loyalty but only for women, they are of a unique mediocrity, they repeat the same things out of hand against feminism, against modern society, built according to them to make men fail. Theroux is very passive-aggressive, he’s clever, he takes them where he wants but it must be said that these four village hunks are so unaccustomed to a real confrontation that even a child could do it. However, this does not erase the most disturbing fact of what we are facing: the reality of being men in 2026.

90% of deaths at work are men, men account for 75% of suicides, and even today they do the hardest, most dangerous, most uncomfortable jobs, defined as low level and yet absolutely necessary to keep our society going. They are the invisible and often little respected backbone. The modern feminist movement has certainly failed to make people understand the need for empowerment that truly eliminates the old patriarchal stereotypes and does not let them go back through the window (so to speak). But the response offered by these individuals is disturbing in how wrong it is. Sexists, misogynists, insecure, ignorant, they ride modern anger, they use it to enrich themselves and propose a male model that is similar, however wrong, to that proposed to women by a certain theoretically feminist front, given that both are connected to a capitalist vision of the person and society. And where there is capitalism, conceptually, there can be no emancipation, neither male nor female. Going back to the real world, here’s the antidote to Gaines, Tate, because there’s real life there, not in a podcast.

Rating: 7