Netflix premiered “Baby” on Nov. 30 as its latest teen foreign-language drama and it is shockingly risqué, due to its teen prostitution theme.
“Baby” made its controversial debut on the online streaming service due to it’s theme on underage prostitution loosely inspired by a real life case which occurred back in 2014.
The series was shockingly risqué due to how its protagonists naively fell into the prostitution world without thinking of the serious consequences and dangers that come along with it.
The series did visually demonstrate how many girls can easily be smitten over easy-money without realizing that they are being taken advantaged of.
The series did not quite “glamorized or normalized” sex-trafficking as it was accused , but it did demonstrate how two of its main characters were unworldly in what they were getting through which happens in real-life cases with young victims.
The topic of pedophilia became a disturbing highlight in this series which raised an alert to the audience of the seriousness of the problem in our society.
The series also demonstrates how the dysfunction and lack of communication among families play a huge role in developing teenagers.
This type of relationships in families can seriously affect their children both socially and personally.
The families shown in the series were all portrayed to be dysfunctional and unaware of their children’s personal conflicts.
The lack of adult supervision was clearly highlighted and showed the audience the importance of looking out after their children no matter what age.
“Baby” follows the lives of two Roman college-preparatory teenage girls who unexpectedly dip their toes as sex workers while still juggling their academic and personal lives.
“Baby” also features storylines through the series about the protagonist’s classmates and families.
The series is based on a 2014 real-life case of two Italian teenage girls arrested in the wealthy district of Paroli, Rome working as prostitutes in order to buy luxury products such as designer clothes and electronics.
This case famously became known as the “Baby Squillo” scandal which translates to “baby prostitute” in Italian.
The “Baby Squillo” became a controversial political scandal due to its involvement with high-profile clients such as ex-police officer Mauro Floriani, married to Italian senator Alessandra Mussolini, who happens to be the granddaughter of fascist dictator, Benito Mussolini.
It was reported that a list of 50 male clients were gathered by police and as of June 2015, 11 clients had received one-year jail sentences and fines.
Upon it’s release on the online streaming service, it received negative backlash from the National Center on Sexual Exploitation accusing the show of “normalizing and glamorizing” sex trafficking of minors.
The series’ creators stand with by their production with the intention of focusing the character’s “conflicts and their choices” in the show.
Netflix’s “Baby” was overall risqué by featuring the controversial topic of teen prostitution which demonstrated many important aspects of this real-life issue.
