Full Description
Incels - involuntary celibates -
are often cast as violent, misogynistic loners, consumed by resentment towards
women. With shocking tragedies like the 2014 Isla Vista killings and the 2024
Bondi Junction stabbings heightening fears about the threat they pose,
understanding this phenomenon has never been more crucial.
But it's important not to view
incels as aliens who came down to earth on women-hating spaceships from a
distant women-hating planet. Though their belief system - referred to as the
'blackpill' - is no doubt extreme, they haven't constructed it from nothing.
These young men are shaped by the media they consume and the society that
surrounds us.
In Blackpilled, Meadhbh Park
takes an unflinching look at the incel movement through the lenses of
masculinity and media studies. Drawing on interviews with incels across the
globe and analysing cultural touchstones such as The Matrix, Fight
Club, Taxi Driver, Euphoria, Joker and Blade Runner
2049, Park uncovers the origins of their beliefs and what they really
think. She also examines potential ways to help incels break free from the
nihilistic and hate-fuelled grip of the blackpill.
With extremist misogyny on the rise
and governments debating whether incels should be labelled a terror threat, Blackpilled
delivers urgent, thought-provoking conclusions that couldn't be more
timely.
