“The best opinion is an informed opinion,” I always say.
First, I saw the poster and trailer which I refuse to share. Second, I read the social media backlash. Third, I saw, read, and heard nothing for about two to three weeks. Then, it all returned. The outrage and hashtag #CancelNetflix because of one movie. This movie, Cuties, earned a directing award from the Sundance Institute in January 2020.
With such a heavy presence of anger and disgust, curiosity got the best of me. I wanted to know if the negative reaction was warranted. Being a writing editor and having worked in Hollywood for a number of years, I know and understand the power behind an edited clip, or cropped still-shot piece of work. If done well, it draws the best attention for a horrible story. If done unwell, it draws the worst attention for a great story. I needed to know if Cuties was as bad as the poster/trailer displayed and backlash said, or if it was poor market editing for a great movie. Netflix apologized for the horrible marketing yet that wasn’t enough for me. I had to see for myself.
Warning: “Spoilers” can’t begin to describe the movie-telling you are about to read.
Cuties is a French film actually titled Mignonnes. It was originally filmed in French and first released in August 2020 in France before its international Netflix release in September 2020. This means the English voices are dubbed and if you read lips, there will be discrepancies. Saturday, September 12th, Netflix gave the brief description, “She’s looking for acceptance – and ways to rebel. But for a girl raised in a strict culture, these are risky moves.” September 14th, Netflix gave the brief description, “Eleven-year-old Amy starts to rebel against her conservative family’s traditions when she becomes fascinated with a free-spirited dance crew.” I saw the movie and I have to say, both are correct.
Amy’s mother appeared to be a single mother who moved from Senegal to a down-trodden part of a Paris suburb. The movie starts with Amy and her brother attempting to choose their own room for the first time. Amy’s mother breaks their little hearts by letting them know the third bedroom is off-limits and they will continue to share a bedroom. Amy questions her mother who denies her an answer. This is problem number one. Amy is a pre-teen needing privacy as her body is slowly starting to develop yet isn’t allowed privacy and is given no rhyme nor reason why she can’t have it.
Then we move to problem number two. Amy’s mother forces her to go to their Muslim prayer meeting. At this particular meeting, Amy’s great aunt says, “Where does evil dwell? In the bodies of the uncovered women.” She goes on to say that women must be covered from head-to-toe showing little to no flesh for the outside world to gawk. Her body is her temple and should be treated as the divinity it is. This doesn’t sit well with Amy as we see her not fully agreeing with her great aunt nor the fully clothed adult women. Herein lies the crosshairs.
Amy runs into Angelica. Angelica is a Latina eleven-year-old running around the apartment building dressed in “slutty attire” and dancing provocatively. This completely goes against what Amy was just taught. This goes against what Amy has mostly seen in her life. This new place is indirectly teaching Amy new things and new ways of living. Girls CAN show their bodies and it’s acceptable. Girls CAN dance provocatively and it is acceptable. Amy sees this stark contrast and is immediately intrigued. At no point does Amy discuss this with her mother nor does her mother volunteer to discuss the changes Amy will see in this new place and space. This is problem number three; The lack of conversation and communication between Amy and her mother.
Later we learn Amy’s mother is dealing with her own problems. First, she moved when she did not want to move. Then she can’t afford to supply all of their needs so she’s working more which means Amy is raising two children while being a child herself. Next, we see how Amy’s mother does not necessarily agree with all of the culturally-strict ways of Amy’s great aunt. All of these things are bottled up inside and then we learn the biggest problem of all. Amy’s father has taken a new wife. The third bedroom that Amy and her brother were denied, is for her father, his new wife, and their new child. Remember, in the Senegalese culture, polyamory is accepted and expected. However, Amy’s mother was hurt and depressed. She was not accepting this part of their culture well at all and therein lines Amy’s fourth problem, anger, and resentment for her father.
With all of these issues happening in the home, Amy had no one, no escape until she forced friendship with Angelica and then forced friendship with Angelica’s dance crew. Yes, a dance crew of four eleven-year-old girls. Their dances seemed ok while still being a little on the galling side until Amy stole her father’s cell phone. From there, she went to the internet and learned all types of disturbing dances for an eleven-year-old and in some cases disturbing for adults, especially adults with culturally-strict backgrounds. Amy decided to teach these overtly sexual dance moves to her new friends to ensure they win this dance competition.
Now, this is where the “boycott Netflix,” “cancel Netflix,” comes into play. These eleven-year-old girls are running to practices and then auditions which means they are showing such dancing to adults. Their practices are in private yet we see it on screen. However, the auditions are in front of very adult men and women who think their dancing is great. So great, they are in the competition and excelled in the finals. WHAT? NO! At one of the auditions, some adults should have said, “Oh no,” and canceled their audition mid-booty-pop. That did not happen. Some parents should have said, “What are you wearing?” or “Where are you going?” But no, neither happened. These eleven-year-old girls had so much freedom to do as they saw on the internet it was crazy! It later came to a point where the girls are at the finals. They are performing on stage to a crowd of men, women, and children with their sexy, slutty moves and clothes. The crowd boos them. The men boo. The women boo. Some of the parents cover the eyes of their children. The judges are shaking their heads in a “No” fashion. Yet, the girls keep dancing because the internet taught them, “The show must go on.” Well, not Amy.
Amy runs off stage and runs home to attend her father’s wedding that she tried to evade. It is then that her mother sees her baby girl, scantily clad dressed, wearing makeup, and gives her a hug. The hug Amy’s needed all movie long. The mother-daughter bonding Amy’s needed all movie long. The understanding Amy’s needed all movie long. Then the movie ends.
My biggest problem with this movie was the story itself. There were many holes and the fluidity in production wasn’t there. While I told most of the story, I left out a lot of detail in case you decide to watch. Yes, there were answers but I needed more answers. The ending was so abrupt I want to say the budget was cut or something. The ending did make sense but it wasn’t the ending I was looking for based on the friendship storyline. I don’t think the movie should have been called Cuties. Based on how it ended, it should have been called Amy.
Because pedophiles have Netflix accounts, I can see why people wanted to “Cancel Netflix” without knowing what the movie was actually about. After watching the movie, I see no reason to “Cancel Netflix.” I see another reason why parents need to pay more attention to their children and monitor their internet usage. Parents can’t be everywhere their children are but they should be in most places. Eleven-year-old children do not need as much freedom as this movie indicated they had. While I understand the modern feminist movement and its marketing on the internet, it needs to be truly explained to young and impressionable girls who have access. These younger girls don’t understand the “freedom of expression” of a woman’s body. They just like what they see. It needs to be explained how people can misconstrue the message a person is attempting to send while as an adult in many cases, it is still ok to send those messages. Pedophilia is REAL and our society has become hypersexualized without control and with much vulnerability.
I won’t go into the adult debate about the modern feminist movement, freedom of expression, and the new sexual revolution. That is for another post. Yet much of those ideologies were embarked and portrayed through these eleven-year-old girls and marketed as a movie called, Cuties. While this was not the intent of the scriptwriter nor director, it’s exactly what happened in my humble opinion.
Writing Waves 