Louis Theroux misses the opportunity to dig deeper into his subjects, but Inside The Manosphere is nonetheless an entertaining and important watch.
For those fortunate enough to avoid the whole ‘manosphere’ movement, I envy you because it is some of the most heinous stuff I’ve had the misfortune to lay my eyes upon. Therefore, this hateful world makes it prime territory for famed documentarian Louis Theroux to plumb its depths and unearth all the insidious awfulness lying in its wake. But as mouthwatering as Inside The Manosphere seemingly promises to be, it doesn’t quite reach the heights you hope it will, all while still being an entertaining – albeit uncomfortable – watch.
Theroux explores the ‘manosphere’ through the prism of several popular influencers within this misogynistic world. While this provides a window into the movement, it doesn’t feel as hard-hitting as it should, especially considering the subject matter. There are several occasions where Theroux approaches something potentially interesting or revealing with one of these moronic influencers, but he opts to let it slide rather than dig in deeper. It’s especially frustrating because you just know that an interviewer as good as Theroux could easily crack open these fragile egos, but he lets them off the hook.
In the first 15 minutes of Inside The Manosphere, Theroux is getting to know some mega-popular English red-pill influencer with some casual chit chat. After laying out his ‘coaching’ philosophy (hateful stuff that I won’t repeat here) and revealing it to basically be a marketing ploy, the influencer talks about how his mum hates racism, homophobia, and misogyny and how he’d get a slap from her if she heard his content. Yet instead of pressing the influencer about this reveal, Theroux lets the guy justify himself through illogical reasoning and catchphrases with nothing of substance (other than references to donuts), rather than digging deeper.
A/N: I refuse to name these idiotic manosphere influencers because they don’t need any more attention.
Rather than actively judging these red-pilled misogynists and making a decision for us, we’re left to draw our own conclusions about what to make of them. This may feel like Theroux placing trust in his viewers’ critical thinking ability to piece together the facts he’s laid out rather than just telling us what’s what. But ultimately, he doesn’t need to because it’s not hard to figure out what the answer is. Spoiler alert: manosphere influencers = bad.
When Theroux is invited to go on a popular American influencer’s podcast midway through the documentary, he – and we by extension – is exposed to a flurry of horrendous rhetoric about women, nonsensical misinformation about reproduction, and the depressing humiliation of women. The scenes of these idiots doing their day-to-day thing make it hard for any reasonable person to see them as anything other than misogynistic pieces of trash. Unless you’re a fan of these manosphere losers.
There’s a touch of irony in using this ‘let the people judge’ approach for Inside The Manosphere because the topic itself is all about telling men what they should and shouldn’t do. I can’t help but think that if this documentary were aimed at those very men, I imagine all nuance would be lost on them. On the flip side, viewers with critical thinking skills – especially those who are already across the toxic dangers of the ‘manosphere’ – will find very little that they already didn’t know about this particular dumpster fire.
Despite all the access given to him, Theroux only touches on the overall impact the ‘manosphere’ has had upon society and young men. This feels like a missed opportunity to add additional layers to the story he’s trying to tell, but it’s also firmly within his usual documentary modus operandi, which is to focus on the people first. As a holistic look into the movement, Inside The Manosphere is somewhat lacking. As a revealing look into some of the leading figures of the movement and how stupid they really are, it’s a thoroughly fascinating watch.
This being a classic Louis Theroux documentary, we do get several moments in Inside The Manosphere where he does what he’s best at, which is letting his subjects hoist themselves on their own petards. His questions aren’t special ‘gotcha’ traps, but he’s so good at keeping subjects talking that they will inevitably tell on themselves through the natural flow of conversation. With these specific influencers, their lack of morality and hollow convictions make them putty in the famed documentarian’s hands.
There’s a scene where the English influencer is questioned about his contradictory worldview, the mask quickly falls off, revealing that he does everything purely for monetary gain. When Theroux calmly questions the American influencer’s views about monogamy and you see his facade almost immediately crumble at the slightest bit of scrutiny as soon as his girlfriend walks in. As she explains her reasoning for staying with the influencer, you can see him desperately trying to reclaim control, but Theroux already has him dead to rights. There’s nothing ‘alpha’ about these men.
Moments like these are particularly great in showcasing how the manosphere philosophy is nothing more than a performative grift aimed at insecure men. It’s admittedly uncomfortable to watch at times, yet it’s difficult to not look away because you also want to understand how these misogynists are able to reach so many men with such hateful rhetoric. Having said that, the documentary’s impact feels blunted due to the lack of focus on the role women play in all of this and the impact the movement has had on them.
We get some potentially very interesting appearances from wives and girlfriends in the various influencers’ lives, but they’re seldom seen again, especially when Theroux tries to talk to them about their feelings about the movement. One notable moment occurs when a woman working with the American influencer starts talking to Theroux, only to receive a frantic text telling her to shut up. Whether it’s by design or the lack of access, it’s difficult to parse. But this does feel like a lost opportunity to really dig into how this grift affects women and those who have become victims of it, voluntarily or involuntarily.
Into The Manosphere doesn’t quite live up to its title of diving into the movement, as Theroux merely skirts the edges of its impact upon young men and society. There’s still plenty of value in watching how he tears down the facades of his various ‘manosphere’ subjects, though, because there’s nothing more satisfying than seeing a grift be revealed. Will this have an impact on eradicating the ridiculous ‘manosphere’ movement? Who knows. But this is a pretty decent entry point into this hateful world for those who have been fortunate enough to avoid it so far.
