'Cuties' on Netflix receives backlash before its release, here's why

Netflix has an incredible line up of some of the most amazing French films. Movies such as I am not an Easy Man, Lady J, Divines, I Lost My Body and Nothing To Hide have entertained the subscribers of the streaming platform for some time now.  However, there has been a lot of chatter about the new French film on Netflix, Cuties. Cuties trailer which was released on August 18, has ignited a lot of criticism on social media. Read on to know more about Cuties on Netflix.

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Cuties Description: What is Cuties on Netflix about?

Helmed by the French Director Maimouna Doucoure, Cuties on Netflix is a teen coming-of-age story. It revolves around a group of teen girls who form a twerking dance group called the "Cuties". The film’s protagonist is an 11-year-old Senegalese Muslim immigrant named Amy who is living in Paris with conservative parents. Amy defies her parents and her cultural values when she secretly joins the dance group. 

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After the Cuties trailer was released on Netflix’s official YouTube channel, many people posted disapproving comments under the trailer. Many netizens also took to Twitter claiming that Cuties on Netflix is sexualizing young girls for entertainment. Some internet users believed that the film could have been more powerful if its female actors were a lot older. 

What inspired the French director to make the film?

In an interview given to Cineruropa, the French director Maïmouna Doucoure revealed that when she was younger, she had witnessed young girls dancing sensually at a neighbourhood party. The French director revealed that she had wondered if the girls were aware of the image of sexual availability they were projecting. Doucoure revealed that the incident had made her reflect back on her own childhood. As a child, Doucoure had grown between two cultures, the more traditional Senegalese culture, and the French culture. She also revealed that she had often questioned her own feminity while growing up.

Source: @ProfPlatypus (Twitter)

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The director added that while making Cuties, she had gathered stories from a lot of young girls who had similar experiences of growing between two cultures. She studied the impact that this kind of upbringing had on the young girls, and how it influenced different aspects of their lives. All these stories fed into writing the script of Cuties.

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Cuties on Netflix boycott

A Twitter user expressed that a movie titled Cuties and featuring 11-year-old girls twerking is going to be problematic. Another Twitter user commented saying that Netflix’s decision to feature Cuties on its platform is “corporate paedophilia”. Many netizens commented saying that the poster of the film was shocking and disgraceful.