TW "Cuties" - Netflix film about an 11-year old twerking dance crew

[TBHno]

I haven't seen the film, but the poster and blurb makes me want to vomit

www.thehollywoodnews.com/2020/08/18/trailer-for-netflixs-cuties-a-film-about-an-11-year-old-who-joins-a-free-spirited-dance-clique/

@DidoLamenting

Actually from these professional reviews the Netflix poster seems entirely accurate as to the content of the film.

www.screendaily.com/reviews/cuties-sundance-review/5146293.article

www.google.com/amp/s/variety.com/2020/film/reviews/cuties-review-1203476991/amp/

decider.com/2020/01/23/cuties-sundance-review-netflix/

These are representative of the fairly gushing, positive reviews.

I wouldn't have called those gushing. The third is positive, but not overly so. The other two are mildly negative.

www.theguardian.com/film/2020/aug/21/cuties-netflix-film-fury

Guardian take^

Haven't seen the film, but I've read the interview, and sounds to me the film is about denouncing the sexualisation of girls (like that Little Miss Sunshine scene at the end), but denouncing it in a French cinema way: let's just show it (from a not-quite-neutral angle... but without any big moving speeches to ram down your point) and let people make up their mind.

Then big clumsy (and culturally insensitive) marketing machine happened, and cancel culture followed, and lo, there was much bandwagon jumping and outraged petition signing...

Meanwhile, 11 year old girls are still on social media posting pics with pouty lips and provocative clothing, and apparently that's fine.

@Kaiserin

Haven't seen the film, but I've read the interview, and sounds to me the film is about denouncing the sexualisation of girls (like that Little Miss Sunshine scene at the end), but denouncing it in a French cinema way: let's just show it (from a not-quite-neutral angle... but without any big moving speeches to ram down your point) and let people make up their mind.

Then big clumsy (and culturally insensitive) marketing machine happened, and cancel culture followed, and lo, there was much bandwagon jumping and outraged petition signing...

Meanwhile, 11 year old girls are still on social media posting pics with pouty lips and provocative clothing, and apparently that's fine.

This exactly.

Cancel culture is stifling debate. There seems to have been a mob hue and cry before anyone knows any actual facts.

And the last point Kaiserin made, we could all watch this film and talk about what, if anything, we can do protect girls from early sexualisation via social media and maybe give them a few more years of childhood, freedom and being themselves. Wasn’t that the point the woman who made the film was trying to make after all? We might be shooting ourselves in the foot here. Maybe I am wrong but from the trailer and reading the motivations of the creator I would really like to watch the film and judge it for myself and then discuss it rather than banning it on the basis of a poster.

I know we have had a lot to be angry about recently but living in a state of permanent outrage is not conducive to rational analysis.

Why does the title of this thread have "TW" at the beginning?

I really can't work that out!

TW= trigger warning

If you Google the film, you will be met with that horrible image. I think that image needs a trigger warning.

@Kaiserin

Haven't seen the film, but I've read the interview, and sounds to me the film is about denouncing the sexualisation of girls (like that Little Miss Sunshine scene at the end), but denouncing it in a French cinema way: let's just show it (from a not-quite-neutral angle... but without any big moving speeches to ram down your point) and let people make up their mind.

Then big clumsy (and culturally insensitive) marketing machine happened, and cancel culture followed, and lo, there was much bandwagon jumping and outraged petition signing...

Meanwhile, 11 year old girls are still on social media posting pics with pouty lips and provocative clothing, and apparently that's fine.

Interestingly several of the reviews posted above suggest the film tried too hard to make the point obvious, lacking trust in the viewer's ability to think about the material.

It seems like it might be an interesting concept but too extreme to really be taken seriously, too contrived even.

But Netflix does seem to have really failed to get across what it was supposed to be about.

I really don't think the director thought this through.

No matter how high- minded and lofty her aims might have been from the reviews she ended up requiring very young girls to perform questionable routines.

@DidoLamenting

I really don't think the director thought this through.

No matter how high- minded and lofty her aims might have been from the reviews she ended up requiring very young girls to perform questionable routines.

This. In her attempt to show the manipulation of little girls and get her name known, she has actually used little girls in a really unhealthy way. And I hate to say it, but I feel that these children, because of their portrayal in this film are even more at risk of abuse, than little girls already are.

Thanks OP.

I've noticed this film is now available on Netflix.. don't know whether yo watch or not.
I was interested to see what it would actually be about but in two minds if I want to watch.
Has anyone seen it? And is it as bad as the film. posters made it seem?

Far far worse than suspected, this twitter thread has clips that are extremely bad. I don't understand how 100s of people could have filmed, edited and released this.
mobile.twitter.com/ghostjim4/status/1303771909356650496

I saw a clip on Twitter earlier. Completely inappropriate dancing. Camera focusing on one of the girls bums as she bends over whilst they're dancing like adult strippers.

Really fucking grim :(

This has really upset me. I couldn't care less what the director's intentions were. This is sick.

There's been a big hoohah about this and Netflix have apologised to the horrified Director.

I agree its awful.

I also agree the whole Lolita thing is appalling.

Reminds me of Death In Venice which I studied in final year English. GRIM.

Every review I’ve read suggests that this movie is as bad as the outrage over the preview feared it would be.

I really don’t get the ‘justification’ from the progressive media about this movie at all. They argue that the intent of the black, female (we must emphasise the oopression) writer was to critique the sexualisation of young girls, so we must bear this in mind when watching it and not judge harshly.

On the other hand, this is the same mob which preaches that micro-aggressions should always be judged on their impact on the victim rather than on the intent of the ‘aggressor’.

I don’t care who wrote this movie - they could sit at the very bottom of the bottomless pit of intersectional oppression as far as I’m concerned. The movie looks shite from all the clips I’ve seen of it and ‘problematic’ doesn’t even scratch the surface of what’s wrong with it.

oh that's interesting. I had hoped that the netflix posters were a real misrepresentation and that it provided a realistic insight into the horrors of this sort of sexualisation of young girls.

tbh i realise now I haven't even looked at the trailers let alone watched the movie because I think I was a bit too ugh about it.

Funny that the Newyorker magazine portrays those objecting to this as right wing. Why? Is it just so they can be dismissed as bigots out of hand? Anyone on the left will be intelligent enough to discern the directors true intention therefore you must be right wing, stupid and a bigot to object? Fucking sick of this left good right bad bollix. It is a bad film because you are showing sexualised 11 year olds and have created a pedo masturbatory fantasy regardless of artistic intent. And the intent will go straight over the heads of 11 year old who watch it who'll think this is something to aspire to.

Has anyone seen this? Is this real?

If objecting to this makes me ‘right wing’ then I don’t care. I don’t want to associate with a left hat deems this acceptable.

Omg.

These clips on twitter.

They are really upsetting

How can this film be shown

Really really just

I cant believe parents would let cameras film their young girls like that

And Netflix would show it

Those clips are appalling. There are ways of making a film about the sexualisation of young girls without making them reenact porn.

And I am friends with people whose daughters are part of award winning dance troupes. They never do any of this kind of stuff.

This is sick paedophilia

This could never have been made in the UK. From what I can remember of the problems encountered when adapting Game of Thrones, there are very strong laws concerning sexualising underage girls. I’m not even sure you could have made this with actors who were legally adult if the characters they were playing were supposed to be underage, but I’m not entirely sure.

As far as the ‘award’ goes.... we all know what the co-founder of the award ceremony went to prison for....

Right so I ended up watching it because I thought maybe the clips were taken out of context.
I hated it and agree it should never have been made.
Basically its an 11 year old Senegalese girl who's upset that her father is bringing his second wife to live with them, she basically reacts by rebelling against her religion and joining a group of girls who dance. At the end her mother realises why she's doing it and instead of reprimanding her she shows her understanding and then all of a sudden the 11 year old is back in her normal jeans and tops and playing normal 11 year old games.
This story could have been told in such a different way.
The dances are awful! The way it's shot is disgusting.
Theres a scene where the girls are looking at photos of penises on their phone and talking about how sex might feel. They're 11!
I actually thought they were 13 or 14 before watching this, even then it would've been grim.

The clips are revolting and will follow these child actresses around for the rest of their lives.

I can't imagine how life will be for them having go to school with porn soaked boys who have seen the performative sexuality in this film.

Fucks sake the idea that women and girls are asking for it is already endemic. Imagine being one of these 11 year old children who have been looked at and god knows what else over by legions of men and boys?