Netflix film Adolescence is being heavily criticized on social media after it was said to be based on true life crime event in the UK where a black teen boy stabbed and killed a girl, but the movie showed the perpetrator as a white kid.
The link between Adolescence and true-life crime was based on a description from one of the movie’s creators, Stephen Graham, when he cited the murder of 15-year-old Elianne Andam, a school girl who was stabbed and killed by 18-year-old Hassan Sentamu.
“Then there was another young girl in South London who was stabbed to death at a bus stop,” Graham said, referring to that particular incident.
On 27 September 2023, Elianne Andam accompanied her friend, Hassan Sentamu’s ex-girlfriend, to meet Hassan outside the Whitgift Centre in Croydon, so they could exchange and take back their respective gifts following their breakup.
Elianne did not come with a teddy which Hassan had gifted his girlfriend but was in her possession. This infuriated Hassan who stabbed Elianne with a large kitchen knife he came with, concealed under his shirt.
Hassan initially admitted to the murder but later retracted it and claimed his autism made him unable to control himself at the time.
However, in January, Hassan who had now turned 18 years old and had a history of carrying knives and attacking girls, was found guilty and on March 13, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 23 years.
Justice Cheema-Grubb based her judgment on his short temper, aggressive tendencies, and premeditated decision to carry the knife.
The adolescence movie series is about a white British boy who is accused of murdering a female classmate with a knife. However, the film creators say it was not based on a true life story but that it was only inspired by real problems teenagers faced in the UK where knife attacks are rampant.
