Louis Theroux: The manosphere preys on young men
Louis Theroux has reflected on his experience of making Inside The Manosphere.
Louis Theroux thinks 'manosphere' content creators are "preying on young men".
The 55-year-old journalist recently explored the issue through his Netflix documentary, Louis Theroux: Inside The Manosphere, and Louis has admitted to having deep concerns about the impact of some content creators.
Louis - who interviewed the likes of HSTikkyTokky and Sneako for his documentary - told People: "I came to this content via my kids. I have three boys, and I was like, ‘What are you looking at?’ and it was Andrew Tate."
The documentary-maker believes that some of the content creators are more sophisticated than many people assume.
He said: "You have to think of these people as exponents of a particular media strategy, live-streaming eight to 10 hours a day of continuous content creation.
"Some of it is sincere and deeply felt, some of it is performed, but these creators are in a feedback loop with their audiences, constantly tailoring their content to see what gets engagement, and adapting their behaviour accordingly."
Louis observed that some content creators are deliberately "performative" when they're filming.
The TV star said: "The main character in the documentary, HStikkytokky — real name Harrison Sullivan — is usually being outright offensive or kind of cheeky when he’s streaming, attempting to show his audience that he’s one step ahead of me.
"But when he’s no longer streaming, he engages with my questions in a different way. He’s composed, sincere and fairly eloquent. Much less performative."
Louis thinks it's important to analyse the so-called manosphere and to put it in some kind of context.
Louis - who released his latest documentary via Netflix, having previously enjoyed a successful partnership with the BBC - shared: "We’re letting people know how pervasive this new media culture is.
"We should absolutely expose and be aware of anyone who disparages and denigrates women. But alongside that, these guys are preying on young men, cultivating insecurities. I think things may get worse before they get better."
