i finished the netflix series baby yesterday and i genuinely need to yap about the people claiming that the show “romanticizes prostitution and child sexual abuse” bc honestly, i did not see that at all, and it feels like we were watching two completely different shows
to me, it felt like the series did the exact opposite of romanticizing anything, people love to throw around the word romanticization the second a piece of media deals with heavy themes and has decent cinematography, but showing something on screen DOESNT mean you are endorsing it or making it look glamorous, the whole point of baby is showing the brutal reality of grooming and how easily vulnerable teenagers can fall into these traps when they feel alienated from their own lives, chiara and ludos descent into that world starts off with this false illusion of control and rebellion, which is exactly how predators operate in real life, making the victims feel like they are the ones holding the power, but the show strips that illusion away so fast, you watch them get manipulated, blackmailed, isolated, and traumatized by the adults who are supposed to protect them, there is absolutely nothing fun, aspirational, or romantic about their situation. they are constantly miserable, terrified, and backed into corners with their autonomy completely stripped away, and the designer clothes, gifts or quick money they get do absolutely nothing to hide how deeply broken and trapped they are
maybe YOU are the problem if you look at a show where underage girls are systematically exploited by disgusting older men, pushed to the brink of losing their minds, and left with severe trauma, and you somehow walk away thinking “wow, they really made prostitution and the sex industry look cool”, if you think baby romanticizes abuse, you are completely missing the point and confusing the initial bait of the lifestyle with the actual suffocating hook, the series is a critique of a society that turns a blind eye to the exploitation of minors, and it never once shies away from showing how deeply horrifying and ruinous that life actually is
the visual contrast between their wealthy, pristine environment and the dark, clandestine nature of their “work” is deliberate, it highlights the rot hiding behind the facade of high class rome, proving that money and status are merely tools for predation, not rewards. its genuinely baffling that viewers mistake the depiction of a characters internal, misguided search for agency for the creators endorsement of their choices
these girls are not empowered protagonists in a fantasy, they are victims of a system that fails them at every turn, and the show refuses to give you the satisfaction of a happy ending because there is no way to come out of that situation unscathed. the way people label this as “glamorous” feels like a lazy and ignorant way to avoid engaging with the uncomfortable reality of why these girls ended up there in the first place, it is much easier to call a show "problematic" than to look at how neglect, parental absence, and societal pressure drive minors to seek validation in the most dangerous places imaginable
the show forces you to sit with the anxiety of their secret lives, the constant threat of exposure, and the way they have to dissociate just to survive another day, which is the complete antithesis of romanticization, it is a tragedy from beginning to end, and if you are finding yourself envious of their lives or thinking it looks like a fun lifestyle, you are ignoring every single red flag the show spends hours meticulously constructing, we have to stop confusing the aesthetic of a show with the message of a show, because baby is loud and clear, this life is a slow, agonizing destruction of the self, and anyone who thinks its being sold as a good time is fundamentally failing to read the room
prguitarman
germansingergirl
romaincrisis
stormborns
tangentwithtanner
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