Why is Netflix's 'Cuties' receiving so much hatred
It has been a disastrous start for filmmaker Maïmouna Doucouré, who expected that her film Cuties (when Netflix purchased its worldwide rights) would get recognition similar to the Directing Award at the Sundance Festival. But the movie has been receiving severe backlash ever since one marketing poster showed the girls in seemingly sexualized dance postures. Back then, Netflix had apologized. It won't, now.
#CancelNetflix is trending; parents term 'Cuties' inappropriate to watch
'CancelNetflix' is a hashtag that's trending now as more and more parents have found the film inappropriate to watch. They suggest that Netflix is apparently promoting child pornography by streaming this film since September 9. The narrative supporting their argument, they believe, is how children are breaking into sexual twerks and are randomly throwing words such as "child molester" casually and dangerously.
"Cuties will certainly whet the appetite of pedophiles"
Wrong allegations leveled against the film based on incomplete information
What's worrying is that these allegations are not based on complete information. Demanding a Department of Justice probe into the making of the film and campaigning to urge Netflix subscribers to quit it are based on rather twisted facts. For instance, some users have alleged nudity in the film but there is no such scene. Ironically, the movie itself criticizes sexualizing of pre-teen girls
"I want to open people's eyes on this issue"
Doucouré, on her part, clarified how people at Sundance related to the real purpose of the movie, which highlights how social media can goad children to sexualize themselves prematurely. "Hyper-sexualization of children happens through social media and social media is everywhere. We need to protect children. What I want is to open people's eyes on this issue and try to fix it," she asserted.
Actor Tessa Thompson voices support, says "the film gutted me"
Voicing support, actor Tessa Thompson is finally injecting some sense into this messed-up debate over the film. Tweeting about her experience of watching it at Sundance, she said, "It gutted me at [Sundance]....Disappointed to see how it was positioned in terms of marketing." Writer Caz Armstrong commented how putting out a provocative poster wrongs the film's purpose of criticizing preadolescent hyper-sexualization.
The plot in brief: What is the film about?
Cuties is a French-language film directed by Maïmouna Doucouré and has hit the French theaters on August 19. This film, which bagged the World Cinema Dramatic Directing award at the Sundance Film Festival in January, portrays the struggles of a Senegalese immigrant girl named Amy, who is frustrated of her conservative parents and takes interest in a contemporary girl dance group named Cuties.
