Sex Education

Sex Education - A Modern Take on Sex

 Netflix's original series never disappoints. In a time when there seems to be so much awkwardness surrounding the theme of sexual education, Laurie Nunn comes around with a refreshing new look at this sensitive subject that is human sexuality. In an incredibly well-written comedy series that has a very John Hughes feel to it, making it strangely anachronistic yet modern, we are invited to reflect on various issues ranging from abortion to homophobia in an exceptionally mature way, with such compassion for the various characters that make up this quirky story. I usually write about films, but TV series are no less deserving of being written about, especially one as intelligently crafted as Sex Education. This is not only a series about sex. It's a very necessary and modern take on sex of all ages and orientations. It's talking about sex the way it should be talked about.

 We are introduced to this series by the most proper way to introduce a series like this - by a sex scene - setting the tone to what is to come next. In Sex Education we follow various people in a fictional town in England, with its local high school being the epicenter of this story. The character that could be considered the main character of this story is an awkward teenage boy called Otis - played brilliantly by Asa Butterfield - who is the child of a sex therapist couple that has recently divorced. He lives with his mother, Jean - played by the incredible Gillian Anderson - who talks openly about sex with him. He has grown up listening to his parents' sex therapy sessions, however, instead of being more open about the issue, he is rather awkward about it, having numerous sexual repressions - including not being able to masturbate. We jump into this story on the first day of high school. Otis's best friend is Eric - played by Ncuti Gatwa - an eccentric gay teenage boy. They ride their bike to school together every day. Eric can't wait for high school, a sea of sex hormones jumping out of control. Everyone is excited to start exploring their sexuality. Everyone except Otis, who is extremely insecure about himself.

 The best aspect of this series is how it explores various completely different experiences of life and sexuality. There are numerous extremely interesting and brilliantly well-written characters. One of them is Maeve - played extraordinarily by Emma Mackey. She is a hugely misunderstood person. She is exceptionally smart and has a deep passion for reading, especially female writers. However, she is constantly judged by her angsty appearance and personality and by her poor family background, never being given the due credit for her work. She is an incredibly complex and possibly the most interesting character of the series. It's impossible not to feel compassionate for her and her struggle to be recognized. Through her experience, we understand the unfairness present in our society of how your economical background affects your chances of success. On the opposite side, there's Adam - played by Connor Swindells - the son of the headteacher of the high school, an athletic boy that is far from being an exceptional student. He had the privilege to be born in a wealthy family and therefore has access to many things that others don't have. However, he also has a struggle - not to rise above his family's past, but to live up to it. We realize through these two characters with completely opposite economical backgrounds that life, teenagehood, and sexuality are never easy for anyone.

 And so, we reach the central plot of Sex Education. Because of the pressure that Adam feels, he can't ejaculate. One day he takes three pills of viagra. Otis, Maeve, and Eric find him in the school's abandoned bathroom. Otis starts talking with him, using techniques similar to the ones we saw his mother using earlier in a therapy session - asking why he took viagra, quickly zooming in to the root of Adam's problem. As we find out later, he is able to solve Adam's ejaculation problem. Maeve fascinated with this, sees that there's potential in Otis - especially for profit - and so they set on a goal to establish him as the school's sex therapist.

 This is an incredibly intelligent way to explore issues related to sex and sexuality in a TV series. Through these sessions, we are able to witness various sex-related problems, and what we realize is that most of the problems in our society related to these issues exist because we don't talk about them, or at least not properly. They are always taboos, never to be spoken, always to be repressed. What this series does is open a conversation. As Otis learns as a sex therapist, it's about the relationship and the dialogue between the two people. We need to speak and listen to each other, how else can we solve our problems?

 What Sex Education teaches us is not only to be more open but also to listen - listen to young people, listen to old people, listen to straight people, listen to queer people. By watching all these different experiences on the screen we listen to them. We learn to listen to different experiences from our own and relate to them - which is something that is extremely lacking in our current society.

 One of the things I most have to praise in this series is how it deals in an equal ground and with equal respect both heterosexual and homosexual relationships. It is not afraid to show non-heteronormative relationships and sex. It portrays with accuracy different sexualities without falling into ridicule and distortions. And neither is it afraid of showing relationships between older people and explore their sexuality. Basically, we witness sexuality, in its full diversity and in all its forms. And that's why this is one of the most modern takes on sex I have ever seen. In every episode, there's an incredibly contemporary and modern issue that is treated with both humor and maturity, like abortion, revenge porn, consent, and homophobia. Every one of these issues is dealt with such expertise in a way that it goes right to the point of the issue. Sex Education works, in a way, as a sex therapy to all of us, as we see people get confronted with all these issues.

 One of the best things in Sex Education is the evolution of each character throughout the series. The characters and the journey they take is so well written, making you really relate to them, making you euphoric when they to a high and heartbroken when they get to a low. What is all the more brilliant and makes this series all the more an emotional rollercoaster is that these highs and lows never coincide between characters. As one character may be having the best time of their lives, another has hit the lowest of the lows. And, isn't that how it happens in real life? Because of this, al the characters feel all the more real, making you really grow attached to them.

 This is one of the best original Netflix series and everyone should definitely watch it. It breaks all taboos, being cringy and awkward at times - but that's only because we have those taboos so deeply ingrained in ourselves. It exorcizes any prejudices we may have about sex and sexuality. Sex Education is one of the most important series right now. In a time with such division on issues like abortion, masculinity and sexual orientation, this series deals with them without any judgments, barriers, or puritanism. It deals with them like they are, impartially, without any sugar-coating - like a sex therapist should. And that's why it's such an incredible and modern series. It will open your mind and hopefully make our society much less sexually awkward and repressed.