Hello and welcome back! I hope you enjoyed last post on Onward as much as enjoyed writing it!

During my time exploring different shows and series, I came across one that truly gripped me, shook me to my core and opened my eyes to the dangers of the real world.

And that was Netflix’s 2019 Italian teen drama Baby. The series follows two teen girls attending an elite private school in Rome as the unlikely pair become friends and fall into the dangerous world of sex trafficking. All of which was inspired by a real-life case that gripped Italian news outlets.

So grab the popcorn, dim the lights and let’s explore Netflix’s hit series Baby!

About The Series:

Baby is an Italian teen drama series made for Netflix, consisting of three seasons running from 2018 to 2020.

Following Chiara Altieri (Benedetta Porcaroli) a promising 16-year-old student at Istituto Carlo Collodi (Collodi) as she forms an unlikely bond with Ludovica (Ludo) Storti (Alice Pagani).

Chiara is seen as the perfect girl, who has everything anyone could ever want. She comes from a wealthy and respected family, she has good grades and is on track to be selected for Collodi’s prestigious study abroad program in New York. She’s the star of Collodi’s track team and has an amazing group of friends.

However, Chiara’s world is crumbling down around her. She discovers her father is having an affair, and her mother is aware and unbothered by his infidelity.

While she risks her friendship and only support system by hiding a secret relationship with her best friend Camilla’s (Chabeli Sastre) brother Niccolò (Lorenzo Zurzolo). With her and Niccolò sneaking around at night, while at school, Niccolò flaunts his relationship with his long term girl friend.

Leaving her feeling empty and searching for the love she doesn’t receive from her family and from Niccolò in all the wrong places.

While Ludo is a scholarship student with a promiscuous past. She was outcasted at Collodi after a sex tape of her was shared around the school, quickly building her reputation and branding her as a slut.

In her personal life, she watches her single mother struggle to make ends meet as she clings to one man after another to remain afloat. Each one as equally awful as the first. Ludo is forced to watch the men treat her mother horribly, setting her standards lower and lower.

While Chiara is losing herself and sense of who she is, she connects with Ludo. The pair as different as they can be, bond over one thing. Their desire to be loved.

The pair become close when Ludo invites Chiara to the bar and introduces her to the club owner Saverio (Paolo Calabresi), who also leads a prostitution ring. He offers the girls the opportunity to be paid to “go on dates” with his clients.

Starting Chiara and Ludo’s journey into living a double life, as they try to hide their escort work from their fellow classmates and families.

The series follows the pair as they fall deeper into prostitution and the consequences of their actions. With each season building tension and raising the stakes as Chiara and Ludo risk everything to protect their secret lives.

Showcasing how easy and fast it is for youth to fall into prostitution and the scary reality of how easy it can be to go undiscovered.

About The Real-life Case:

The series draws inspiration from the Baby Squillo legal case in Rome Italy. Where a pair of 14 and 15-year-old girls were involved in a prostitution ring from 2013 to 2014.

The girls who grew up in the wealthy Parioli district of Rome turned to prostitution to fund a lavish lifestyle or design clothes, luxury items and drugs.

It was reported that at least 50 men paid the underaged girls for sex between 2013 to 2014. With the mother of the 15-year-old reporting the case to the police after growing concerned about how her daughter was funding her new lifestyle.

It was later reported the mother of the 14-year-old had introduced the girls to some of their clients, and was later arrested for her participation in the prostitution ring.

My Ratings:

Impact:

Baby showcases how youth can be attracted to and fall into prostitution. By using characters from opposing economic backgrounds, it showcases how prostitution is not always about money but the desire to be loved.

Having Chiara, a young wealthy girl who appears to have everything she could ever want and everything at her finger-tips turn to prostitution showcases how deep and personal the reasons for falling into prostitution can be. Like many teenagers, she is searching for the love and validation she is missing in her personal and family life.

While Ludo’s storyline showcases the impact of pressure. Before being ostracized by her classmates, Ludo feels the pressure to fit in.

Coming from a single mother, her background is very different than her wealthier classmates. Ludo faces financial pressures as her mother struggles to make ends meet to pay her tuition at Collodi.

Where her classmates can flaunt their lavish lifestyles, Ludo is faced with uncertainty as her Mother moves from one boyfriend who promise to one day fund a high-class lifestyle for them.

She also feels pressured to find common ground with her classmates to fit in, which leads her to becoming the star of a sex tape that would be sent around Collodi.

In Ludo’s personal life, she feels seconds to her Mother’s string of boyfriends. As her Mother never prioritizes Ludo or cares enough to know how she’s doing. While she also watches her Mother search and fail to find love among her string of boyfriends. Ludo is left feeling unlovable and that she is destined to follow in her Mother’s footsteps.

For Ludo falling into prostitution gave her the opportunity to feel loved, and the ability to choose her own destiny instead of falling into a loveless cycle like her Mother.

The shared storyline of the desire to be loved showcases the extreme and dangerous lengths people are willing to go to feel loved.

Both girls grew up lacking genuine and authentic love from their parents, forcing them to turn to other avenues to fill the void. Baby showcases the dangers that come alongside the desire to feel loved.

Impact rating: 9/10

Story:

Based a real story, Baby does a great job at bringing the life story to life. Portraying the characters very similarly to how the victims were discussed in the news coverage on and around the case.

As it is a drama series, Baby goes beyond the case to build the characters and their world. Diving deeper into how the girls became entangled in prostitution. Exposing personal reasoning and external forces impacting their journey into being escorts and to freedom.

I enjoyed how deep and dark the series got. Showing audiences exactly how youth can fall into prostitution, exposing warning signs, and displaying how easy it can be to fall into the lifestyle unknowingly of the consequences.

However, as it was a series the stories expand beyond Ludo and Chiara’s storylines. I found some of these storylines took away from the main message and purpose of the series.

Overall, I thought the show did a great job at bringing the case to life while also creating their own story beyond the case. However, I think the story could’ve been stronger with fewer side characters and side stories.

Story rating: 8/10

Overall:

Overall, I enjoyed Baby and would recommend everyone watch it!

I thought the series discusses a very important topic in a very authentic and raw way. Taking audiences into how and why youth fall into prostitution. Breaking down stereotypes that prostitution is for the poor, but rather many fall into the industry to fill a void and lack of love in their personal life.

I would highly recommend the series to high school students and their parents (although it may be awkward to watch together). As the topic is very prevalent in this age group in the real world, and can be used to help educate youth on sex trafficking and how to spot and stop sex trafficking.

Overall rating: I would give Baby an 8/10 for it’s strong impact and powerful story!

Thank you for reading & I hope you enjoyed!

Thank you for joining me for another Popcorn Perspectives post! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

I’ve been busy with work, but have been carving out more time to watch, study and write for Popcorn Perspectives! I have a very exciting line-up planned with so many amazing stories, films, series and creators, that I am excited to share with you all! Stay tuned for new posts coming soon!

Until then, I’d love to know what you guys have been watching lately? Comment down below your favourite show or movie you’ve been enjoying recently!