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Feminism: Sex & gender discussions

Netflix indicted over Cuties, sexual exploitation of minors

16 replies

OldeMagick · 06/10/2020 23:45

Good!

www.rebelnews.com/netflix_indicted_over_cuties_sexual_exploitation_of_minors

Netflix is facing major trouble for hosting “Cuties,” a controversial French-Senegalese film that depicts minor girls emulating extremely sexualised behaviour.

The streaming platform must now answer to a court following an indictment in Texas over allegations that it promotes the sexual exploitation of minors.

Rep. Matt Schaefer shared details of the indictment on his social media.

"Netflix, Inc. indicted by grand jury in Tyler County, Texas for promoting material in Cuties film which depicts lewd exhibition of pubic area of a clothed or partially clothed child who was younger than 18 [years] of age which appeals to the prurient interest in sex," he wrote.

OP posts:
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Poppyisa · 07/10/2020 03:43

twitter.com/RepMattSchaefer/status/1313608540125368330

I live in the US, and he’s not someone I’d vote for. But I’m glad this is happening.

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EarthSight · 07/10/2020 09:49

Meghan Murphy watched it and said the film made a good point about the differences in attitudes and expectations of girls across cultures. When she was discussing the topic on her YouTube channel, her co-host Laura McNally made an excellent point that it's like making a good film about animal abuse......whilst abusing or exploiting real animals to get the point across. I'm agreement with that. Given the nature of the film, they should not have asked girls that young to be in it. If I were a film maker, I certainly wouldn't have allowed it.

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Powergower · 07/10/2020 09:51

Good! It needed to happen. You can't educate people about the sexual exploitation of children by sexually exploiting them.

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DoublePatRelease · 07/10/2020 09:51

Excellent point by Laura McNally.

I'm glad this is happening. (To Netflix)

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Thelnebriati · 07/10/2020 15:04

Has the film been released in the UK?

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peachescariad · 07/10/2020 15:11

@Thelnebriati

Has the film been released in the UK?

Yes it's on Netflix. I've seen it.

It is the Senegalese Muslim girl that finds the (very sexual adult ) dance moves on a phone and teaches them to the other girls in the dance group. This really is the crux of the film and the constraints on this girl with western style dressing (crop tops etc.). This is mentioned in the beginning scenes by an elder of the what appears to be a Muslim women's group.

I wanted to watch it before I could pass comment.
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MrsTerryPratchett · 07/10/2020 15:18

I wanted to watch it before I could pass comment.

And?

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peachescariad · 07/10/2020 15:29

@MrsTerryPratchett

I wanted to watch it before I could pass comment.

And?

Well I was more saddened by it than horrified....I'd seen the performance clip on here and was pretty shocked, but thought I'd better see the whole film rather than judge out of context.

I don't want to give any spoiler alerts to anyone who's thinking of watching it, but I felt sorry for all the girls. I think the Senegalese girl is called Amy and she desperately wants to fit in and join the little dance group and I think her way to being accepted was to introduce these moves which were new to the other girls.
Anyway after going a bit of the rails, Amy does realise who she is at the end.
I did find the performance scene pretty uncomfortable to watch though.
Unfortunately, I think there will be many sickos who will watch this just for that scene and get off on it.
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TeiTetua · 07/10/2020 15:33

There's an article about the film on Feminist Current (Meghan Murphy's site) which makes the case for the film being made the way it was, and Murphy herself supports the article. But there's a lot of comment following, a lot of which is highly critical.

www.feministcurrent.com/2020/10/02/more-girls-in-hell-the-ethics-of-maimouna-doucoures-film-cuties/

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Onxob · 07/10/2020 22:47

Thank goodness for that. It was deeply uncomfortable to watch and none of the arguments about "oh it's SUPPOSED to make you uncomfortable" were good enough to justify the exploitation of minors.

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Goosefoot · 08/10/2020 03:29

I wonder if people from other places will ignore the implications because this is in Texas?

The fact that people ignore the effect on the young actresses themselves it about par for the course with actors in general I think. In all kinds of contexts people seem to forget that totally apart from the film content, actual real people are the ones making the films and the work environment has an effect on them.

The other thing that strikes me is that a lot of the competitive dance world is used to that kind of creepy sexualisation of pre-pubescent girls and similarly imagines it doesn't effect the girls.

I think some people imagine that filming is done in such a way as to not compromise the children, as in some adult films where children't scenes are directed in a way that leaves the adult content out for the child actors. I don't see how that could have happened in this movie though.

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stumbledin · 11/10/2020 00:08

I think even the people who support the intention of the film maker but regret that a couple of scenes have attracted negative comment wont be supporting this prosecution.

Compared to the filth that Hollywood and the porn industry push out this is highly hypercritical.

The prosecution is the result of a well orchestrated campaign by QAnoon who have hijacked the #SaveOurChildren to imply as the Trumpsters they are, that it is Black and Muslim people who are corrupting nice, upright white America.

Most of the articles written in the OTT language have come out of QAnon conspiracy theory web sites and newsletters. eeg imply hundreds of girls were made to audition by twerking. They didn't. Hundreds of girls were auditioned to see if they were able to convey the confusion of a young Muslim girl living with a strict mother but daily in contact with a white western sexualised culture.

As a Black woman challenging the dominant white western narrative that daily exploits women and young girls, and in the US has the gross child beauty contests, prosecuting Netflix is just crass. The do deserve to be punished in some way for misrepresenting the film in the publicity material the created, not unlike C4 promoting Adult Material as a comedy.

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DidoLamenting · 11/10/2020 01:26

@DoublePatRelease

Excellent point by Laura McNally.

I'm glad this is happening. (To Netflix)

Blaire White and a poster on here made the same point weeks ago.

I very much disagree with stumblein's comment that this prosecution when compared to the filth that Hollywood and the porn industry push out this is highly hypercritical

The making of this film required very young girls to act out sexually provocative dance routines. That is not something which mainstream Hollywood does and porn sites using girls as young as this are clearly breaking the law.

The animal abuse analogy is spot on.
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Suffrajester · 11/10/2020 04:00

The film could have been made without sexualising children and making hundreds of children do creepy "sexy" dances at the audition and in the film.
In fact, pretty much exactly that film WAS made 20 years ago: Bend It Like Beckham is a film about a young girl from a conservative religious immigrant family finding friends and confidence through a competitive activity with other girls, despite their families' disapproval, and it didn't mistreat its actors. It does deal with issues of sexualising children, through the harassment the girls get from boys their age, and through Jules's mum buying her "sexy" underwear and pressuring her to date boys, but she eventually comes round and stops that and Jules says it's creepy and gross each time. The creators could learn from it.

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stumbledin · 11/10/2020 19:38

Comparing it to Bend It Like Beckham misses the point.

The point is here and now because of social media these type of images are available and often forced on young girls.

The film is showing the journey of a young girl who learns that neither her strict religious mother, nor the supposed freedom of western culture are in fact anything she wants.

The idea that somehow the girls in the film weren't already aware and had by themselves copied "twerking" is just not accepting the society we are currently living in.

The film addresses really important issues. The problem is whether one or two scenes undermined the intention of the film maker because in attempting to show how inappropriate some of the routines they acted out, they in fact became part of it.

Have a critical analysis of how the film was made is obviously relevant.

Jumping into bed with right wing conspiracy theorists, emboldened by Trumps racism, to out right condem the film maker rather than bothering to engage with her and suggest that her intents are being undermined by a couple of scenes is totally different.

However I look forward to all those cheering on this highly politicised prosecution contacting other prosecuters and make sure they carry out the same actions against all the home grown sexualising of young women pouring out of the states.

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FWRLurker · 11/10/2020 19:47

I think the movie is meant to make a feminist point that women often feel like Th eg have 2 choices - sexual exploitation from the left, or complete sexual repression from the right.

I don’t think It’s clear at all that the young female actors were exploited just by virtue of doing the dances on camera.

Netflix were either idiotic or Actively trying to get controversy Clicks by marketing it the way they did.

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