The Banality of Stella’s Evil - Wir Kinder Vom Bahnhof Zoo
Amazon Studios’ miniseries Wir Kinder Vom Bahnhof Zoo (We, the Children from Bahnhof Zoo) splits Christiane F's perspective into six characters: Christiane, Stella, Babsi, Axel, Benno, and Michi. Some of the ensemble meet fatal ends. Some piece their lives back together and carry on as normal people would. Some find true love when on the verge of death. And then there’s Stella. Of the six Zoo children, Stella has suffered the most. At the beginning of the story, Stella and her very young siblings greet her mother who returns from rehabilitation for her alcoholism. Stella works in the pub run by her family, where the escape of alcohol dangles before them as low hanging fruit. One pivotal day, while closing up the pub, Stella is raped by a regular barfly as her mother lies in a drunken stupor. When Stella demands that her rapist be taken by the police and sent to jail, her attacker shrugs it off as “fooling around.” One night, while...