Why did Netflix allow this film?

[latheritup]

Please take a second to watch the video on this link, this is the final dance scene of the new movie on Netflix called Cuties.

mobile.twitter.com/MaryMargOlohan/status/1303908536553017349

I cannot understand why Netflix thought this was the right film to add to their selections. These are children.

There are several petitions going round to get this removed off their platform.

We shouldn't be banning the film, we should be taking a hard look at the real-life activities it is representing.

This x1000. Go and turn on your music channel. In the UK its just gone 9am. Leave the mainstream music channel on for an hour or so and 99% of what is featured this this. Pre watershed for girls to copy. Which is exactly what they do.

I was sat in my friends house a while ago (i genuinely cant remember if it was this year or last year) but a few girls were out playing on the pavement, pouting and twerking. They were about 9.

I agree that the dance shown in the clip is vile and doesnt need to be seen, but i think the movie has been massively taken out of context by Netflix. The original French version had a totally different poster. I read a few interviews with the director, not sure if they are the same as the ones linked. I will fully reserve judgement until i have seen the film, which in am not in a hurry to do so.

If you criticise this though, but allow your young girls to watch Little Mix music videos, then you are a hypocrite.

We need to take a long hard look at our society in general.

‘Who do you think is behind it? What do you think is the long term plan there? I'm not disputing your arguments at all, I just can't quite fathom why it would be forced into mainstream film when other outlets already exist for the disturbed individuals who want to find it.‘

There are many men who want to sexually exploit women and children. There is always a constant push to sexualise children and there is always resistance to it from women. It is put into mainstream films to normalise it and to groom adults. Paedophiles groom the adults to access the children.

@Lifeisabeach09

I agree that it's a problem, but parents/girls don't need to buy/wear them.

Absolutely.

But why the disparity in clothing?! Boys aren't objectified in the same way as girls.

That's definitely an issue. I think boys clothes are made to be practical to be active in. Girls clothes are made to make them look "nice", for want of a better word.

I thought the whole purpose of the film was to expose stuff like this to help put a stop to it.?

Women and girls buy the clothes because they're groomed to think it's fashion and acceptable and appropriate
It's not.

I think it’s a great shame. It had worthy intentions, and seen by people who care about kids, probably has a good message.

However it is selling the film by sexualised dancing of young girls. The irony! And not everyone watching will care about girls, it makes me feel a bit yuk thinking some people will miss the message and just get off on it.

I think it mistakenly exploits the girls it is trying to care about.

I think this nails it for me @IceCreamSummer20

Girls clothes (not all) are made to look 'sexy.'

As for saying 'don't buy them', it gets very difficult the older they get. The battles I have had with my DD and her choice of clothing.

It's meant to make you feel uncomfortable. Young girls actually dance like this, in dance groups and in their own time watching inappropriate music videos and it is gross, but you're focusing you attention at a film instead of the real life issue, that people of our society sexualised children through dance at a super young age (and through pageants btw)

If you criticise this though, but allow your young girls to watch Little Mix music videos, then you are a hypocrite.

I don’t think there is any need to put other posters down. Surely most of us on the thread want to protect our young girls?

However, I think that there is a big difference between a young girl, watching older women on TV dancing sexually, and copying the moves in the privacy of her bedroom - to girls being taught the moves by adults, filmed and then promoted for adults to view.

Girls and boys will see sexualised images all around them, and we as parents can help to counter stereotypes by giving them confidence, self esteem, chatting to them, not putting them in shows that do this. But that includes this film, I think if I were a parent of one of the girls in the film I would be very unhappy. None of those girls are adults and therefore cannot make their own decisions about being sexual on film - and they therefore did it without knowing sufficient adult understanding.

The films message is excellent. The sexualised dancing within it, however, there is no excuse or reason that could make that OK.

I also worry that this film is now going to follow these children around, hopefully it won't impact their future careers

@DidoAtTheLido

The work of a female Muslim film director who has had her life and career ruined by stupid male marketing from Netflix.

Every person I know who has actually seen the film says it is incredible and that no one could come away thinking sexualised performance of young girls was acceptable.

But Netflix chose out of context scenes to attract and titillate the very people the film criticises.

But a lot of people won't see the film, they'll just see those scenes.

No words.

‘Every person I know who has actually seen the film says it is incredible and that no one could come away thinking sexualised performance of young girls was acceptable.‘

Well the director thinks its acceptable. She asked the girls to do it and filmed it.

I also worry that this film is now going to follow these children around, hopefully it won't impact their future careers.

On the contrary, it'll be great for their acting careers. They will get noticed-sexualisation sells.

@Nottherealslimshady

It's meant to make you feel uncomfortable. Young girls actually dance like this, in dance groups and in their own time watching inappropriate music videos and it is gross, but you're focusing you attention at a film instead of the real life issue, that people of our society sexualised children through dance at a super young age (and through pageants btw)

It won’t make everyone watching it uncomfortable. And anyone can watch it. It’s exploitation no matter how ‘good’ the message is.

I am okay with seeing uncomfortable images to make a point - as long as they were made by adults who have the mental decision making capacity to decide to act out say a scene of rape for example.

However these are children, they do not have the capacity to decide. And no reason ever for making them dance like that and to film it. Unfortunately I do think that it is too similar to the dance shows they are trying to ‘reveal’ - the film and show industry are full of exploitation.

Right wing outrage, god how tired. I'm on feminist twitter and not one of us is right wing. As for 'complaining about the dance but not about the culture that creates it' people from across the political spectrum have been objecting to the insidious creep of pornification for years. My mum marched against pornography in the 80s.This isn't a random knee jerk response. It's people who have had enough and can recognise a horrifying new low when they see it.

Yy certain parts of Twitter and MSM are trying to paint this as a right-wing backlash. It isn't. Feminists have been campaigning on these issues for years and on the concerted push to normalise paedophilia. The start of this reminded me of clips of the little boy who does drag. His performances are awful but the Cuties' routines are even worse because they are also filmed like porn.

'As for saying 'don't buy them', it gets very difficult the older they get. The battles I have had with my DD and her choice of clothing. grin'

Agreed, but there's a big difference for me in a 7 year old in short shorts and a crop top and a 13 or 14 year old. Sexualising children can start at a young age and parents need to control and parent what their child does while they can - not just think it's harmless or it's ok because other kids do it. We don't watch music vids or channels or let our kids on Youtube etc. unsupervised for these reasons.

And for me all of this is another reason to get girls into and support girls sports. When they're playing basketball or football or cricket or running or whatever they're exercising and wearing a std kit that the others girls are wearing. The focus is on the team and the sport not any of this what everyone looks like nonsense.

I don’t think there is any need to put other posters down. Surely most of us on the thread want to protect our young girls?

Im genuinely not trying to put anyone down. And trust me, if they are copying Little Mix moves in theyre bedroom theyre doing it wherever they go with their friends. So therefore if you are unhappy with the constant sexualisation of society, petition for sexual music videos to be shown after 9pm.

I agree that the dance scenes in this are too much. But i also think that at 11 those young girls were mature enough to understand the context. I knew all about sex, consent & various surrounding issues at that age. Im not excusing it in the slightest though.

@Lifeisabeach09

I also worry that this film is now going to follow these children around, hopefully it won't impact their future careers.

On the contrary, it'll be great for their acting careers. They will get noticed-sexualisation sells.

Unfortunately yes sexualisation sells, and it’s being used to sell this movie too. The girls will have no control now, it’s out there, when they are older their ‘careers’ will be built on their sexual young selves... which is just what the film is saying is so bad!

There are many men who want to sexually exploit women and children. There is always a constant push to sexualise children and there is always resistance to it from women.

In my experience, women push for sexual routines and ideals on girls as much if not more than men do. The judge I previously mentioned, the only one to want us in shorter skirts, was a woman. Stripper comment came from a woman. I learned early to feel safer with the few guy instructors than women. Maybe it's perpetuating what they think works in a man's world, maybe it's them projecting what they think they'd want to do if they were young again, no certainty there, but there are many women perpetuating this and many men loudly fighting against it alongside women, some being shut down with the idea that they're automatically "right-wing", "against female empowerment" and "if they see it as sexual, that just proves they're a pervert/nonce/part of the problem".

The age of criminal responsibility is 13 in France, so the French don’t think an eleven year old can understand issues like consent.

Yes Bibabbles, but people who sexually abuse children are overwhelmingly men.

Of course most men are opposed to the sexual abuse of children as most women are.

@Lifeisabeach09

Girls clothes (not all) are made to look 'sexy.'

As for saying 'don't buy them', it gets very difficult the older they get. The battles I have had with my DD and her choice of clothing.

I agree it does get harder when they have more control/choice over what they wear.

there's a big difference for me in a 7 year old in short shorts and a crop top and a 13 or 14 year old

See, I disagree. Objectification of girls for males (and that is what it is, ultimately) makes no difference if 7 or 14, IMO.
But it does seem to be getting younger and younger-miniskirts for 3 year olds, really?! The conditioning starts at a very young age and, yes, parents can control this, to a degree. But it is a hard slog when society, media, social media, are sending out these messages to women and men that these clothes 'normal' and socially acceptable.
Eventually, my DD will be shopping for herself. I can only instill in her an awareness of objectification through clothing and the disparity between the sexes.

I agree that the dance scenes in this are too much. But i also think that at 11 those young girls were mature enough to understand the context. I knew all about sex, consent & various surrounding issues at that age. Im not excusing it in the slightest though. But isn’t that totally at odds with the actual message - girls are NOT equipped to fully understand their own sexuality, what it means, how it can be exploitated on film forever, how that decision could follow them around.

That is the message of the film - that these girls are too young to know about their own sexuality and yet are being cajoled into dancing like and therefore being exploited, shown to an audience. Like this film, being exploited. There is also the discomfort from knowing that the Director, no matter how well intended, couldn’t have been ignorant that sex and shock sells, and used it in that way. No one needs to see a child in an exploitative way, to understand they are being exploited - or there could have been a million other ways of ‘showing’ the moves without using children directly.