Netflix's new French coming-of-age movie Cuties have sparked a lot of debates online, as its trailer and poster depicted a group of young teens getting into a dancing competition, which viewers criticized for "being overly sexual."
if you don’t think there’s something sinister about the @netflix show cuties, let me share some screen shots of the minute and a half trailer on @YouTube pic.twitter.com/UkIi85a8wW
— fubar dog? (@fubarrdog) August 20, 2020
The movie Cuties (French: Mignonne) has caused a storm of backlash online as users expressed their worry that the movie includes implicit pedophilic messages, as it narrates the story of a Senegalese 11-years-old who gets attracted to dancing despite coming from a conservative Muslim background.
Coming under fire was the film's poster and trailer scenes that showed the main character and her friends twerking, which is a sexually-provocative type of dances usually involving adult women.
Above all, the film is the portrait of a young girl pulled between two female models (who seem to be in opposition), models who show two types of oppression suffered by girls&women. Netflix has given people who haven't seen the film an excuse to make its message invisible.
— Ga (@gujcdgv) August 20, 2020
Despite an official apology issued by Netflix and posted across social media, viewers continued to call on the movie platform to remove the film, saying that "the problem isn't limited to the poster or the trailer and that the premise of the film seems to celebrate pedophilia."
According to Netflix, the poster used to promote the movie "doesn't reflect its message" which is why the platform has updated it to "a more proper one."
Yesterday when Netflix got called out for their vile movie Cuties, they tweeted basically “So sorry. But (giggle) it won an award at Sundance.”
— The Kate Awakening (@kate_awakening) August 21, 2020
Reminder: the co-founder of Sundance was busted molesting a chiId multiple times between age 7-9.
Prestigious. https://t.co/0CfnpvVWNX
We're deeply sorry for the inappropriate artwork that we used for Mignonnes/Cuties. It was not OK, nor was it representative of this French film which won an award at Sundance. We’ve now updated the pictures and description.
— Netflix (@netflix) August 20, 2020
Your response defies reason and insults the intelligence of your subscribers, @netflix.
— Lila Rose (@LilaGraceRose) August 20, 2020
The artwork is a depiction of the entire film, which encourages pre-pubescent girls to explore their “sexuality” and act in sexual ways. The FILM is pedophilia soft-porn. @netflix https://t.co/fbNDVQBKZQ
Supporting their point of view, social media users highlighted that the film was awarded at this year's Sundance Film Festival, whose co-founder Van Wagenen was sentenced to at least 6 years in prison in 2019 for sexually abusing young girls.
my take on the "Cuties" movie?
— Martina Markota (@MartinaMarkota) August 21, 2020
It was CREATED for WOMEN, a coming of age in this messed up age of internet and over sexualization.
but it was MARKETED for PEDOS.
that's about it. Good job Netflix
So Netflix is releasing a Pedo movie called "Cuties" about twerking 11 year olds .. I mean if at this point you still don't believe that Hollywood is grooming kids to be sexual I don't know what to say anymore .. pic.twitter.com/52b5IAlsat
— Red Pilled George? (@Georgejrensburg) August 21, 2020
On the other hand, people who came in defense of the movie said that it "realistically depicts today's world where women have to deal with their sexuality from a very early age" and that the movie merely discusses this reality.
According to IMDB, the movie's main character Amy "grows aware of her burgeoning femininity - upsetting her mother and her values in the process." The film is written and directed by Senegalese-French Maïmouna Doucouré and starred the 14-year-old actress Fathia Youssouf.
