A
mandip (Kavitha Anandasivam)
sends a nude photo of herself to
Nassim (Yazeed Daher). Nassim
forwards it to his best friend, Andy
(Alex Cusack), who uploads it to
a site teenage boys use to share pictures of
girls from their schools – somewhere he has
previously posted screenshots of Zoe (Luca
Sardelis) from their FaceTime conversations.
With a few clicks, four young lives are
changed forever in new four-part drama
The Hunting (starts Thu., Aug. 1 at 8.30pm;
SBS), which addresses issues like teenage
sexuality, child pornography, gender bias
and social media abuse. WHO assembles the
four teen actors to discuss the points raised.Did you find The Hunting to be an accurate
depiction of teenage life in 2019?
YAZEED DAHER I thought it captured it well- the way each character communicates and
just the attitude around it.
ALEX CUSACK I agree. The writers are pretty
hip – they knew what they were talking
about. They captured the essence of young
people’s interactions in 2019 quite well.
DAHER It’s a reflection of real life. If you’re in
school, you cop things from other people
and the same goes for online, so you have
doubts about whether or not it’s worth it.
That’s part of growing up with technology.
What have your own online experiences
been like? Any horror stories?
CUSACK I got rid of most of my social media
about a year ago – it just wasn’t necessarily
the best way I’d been spending my time.
LUCA SARDELIS I’ve witnessed events
similar to the show. I think we all have. The
show is based on an epidemic a few years
ago – a nude teen scandal on a website.
It’s something we can relate to and now it’s
about bringing that to other audiences
so they can see what’s happening.
KAVITHA ANANDASIVAM It’s about learning
how to navigate yourself through that,
because [spending time online] can be
something that’s really amazing.
SARDELIS That’s an important point. The
show isn’t about scare tactics; it’s teaching
the importance of being truthful and
trusting, and ensuring consent.
What would you like teenagers to learn
from The Hunting?
SARDELIS Treat each other with respect.
ANANDASIVAM It’s more than teenagers;
it’s everyone – teachers and parents.
DAHER Yeah, I was going to say that. I don’t
think it’s teenagers who need to learn so
much; I think everyone’s eyes can be opened
to the new world. It’s changing no matter
what. It’s about finding ways to work around
it rather than trying to work against it.
CUSACK One of the most powerful and
potent questions the show is asking is how
can we maintain a love for those who are
perpetuating such horrible breaches of
trust, while also refusing to accept their
actions. I think we can strive for better
behaviour, and people who perpetuate
these actions should be held accountable.
DAHER It just comes down to having simple
respect for each other. [Being online]
eliminates that empathy and face-to-face
you have in real life, but somebody else is
on the other end of that phone and things
you do will affect them.
SARDELIS To be respectful, you first have
to be educated to understand what is going
on, and the older generation can’t relate to
that online experience and why people
would send these images in the first place.
What was the biggest realisation you made
from doing the show?
DAHER It’s very easy to get caught up in
something and it just spirals out of control.
CUSACK There’s a scene where [Amandip
and Nassim] are talking about the sharing
of the nude picture. There was a reference
to the emotions felt while sharing in
what would have been a really intimate
experience. It did bring home the
importance of care and respect in dealing
with issues that arise when trust is broken.
SARDELIS The importance of how we raise
our boys and girls. You see the differences
in the four families, and how the teachers
treat them at school associated by gender.
In the last episode, the question was raised
of the boys about what masculinity means
to them, which was unscripted. It was
fascinating to listen to the boys because
they were talking about an experience I can
never have. One boy said his father told him
it was OK to have emotions but not OK to
inconvenience other people with those. My
heart broke for him in that moment – why
are we putting this pressure on people?RT Y ■ By Gavin Scott
“Hopefully I wasn’t
too much of a fanboy,”
Cusack says of working
with Richard Roxburgh.Asher Keddie plays
Andy’s mother, who
begins to question the
story her son is telling.