Cuties: Why Blatant Pedophilia In Hollywood Should Concern You
Poster for the controversial film on Netflix. Photo by Kenise Brown.
November 14, 2020
A parent’s worst nightmare has come to life through a movie called Cuties on Netflix. Cuties, written and directed by Maïmouna Doucouré, is about an 11-year-old girl who joins a twerk dance crew and has come under fire for promotions and scenes that allegedly promotes the sexualization of children.
The problem with the film is the use of minors to play the roles of these characters. It has come to the point where child pornography is being streamed on mainstream television.
The initial backlash had begun when Netflix released trailers and promotional photos for the film. The promotional photos showed the young actresses in tight revealing clothing while positioned in sexually suggestive poses. Many took to Twitter to denounce the film and Netflix for releasing such an inappropriate movie. Shortly after the outrage, Netflix posted an official statement on Twitter, “We’re deeply sorry for the inappropriate artwork that we used for ‘Mignonnes’/’Cuties. It was not OK, nor was it representative of this French film which premiered at Sundance. We’ve now updated the pictures and description.” Netflix refused to take down the film and doubled down on essentially supporting child pornography.
After the release of the film, our worst fears have been confirmed to be true. Many of those who watched the film described revolting sexual scenes of the actresses. The main character, Amy, is played by Fathia Youssouf. According to her official Instagram page, she is 14-years-old while in the film she plays an 11-year-old. The youngest actress is Medina El Aidi-Azouni who plays Angelica, and is only 12-years-old. This angers me not only because she is young but because these children are being exploited under the guise of educating adults of the dangers of child exploitation.
Cuties has a mature rating and can be watched by adults 18 and up. Keeping that in mind, the actresses themselves can’t watch their own film in reality. Why is it ok for these kids to play these characters then? News flash! It isn’t ok in the slightest. According to the United States Department of Justice, “Federal law defines child pornography as any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a minor (persons less than 18 years old).” “Cuties” does display these characteristics through many scenes that slowly pan over the young girls bodies in revealing clothes. The children bite their lips, twerk, and squat in ways that are sexually suggestive. One of the scenes shows Amy getting her pants pulled down in school which is unrelated to the plot. There are unnecessary scenes of the girls undressing and changing their clothes. At one point in the movie, the girls decide to seduce their way past security into a laser tag arena, AND IT WORKS! WHAT!? I can’t stress this enough that these girls are minors and that they haven’t even gotten past the age of high-school students. This movie isn’t informational, it’s disturbing.
Netflix has gotten into trouble with the government as well for the Cuties film. The state of Texas went as far as to indict Netflix for charges of lewd depictions of minors. Many politicians such as Senators Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, Kelly Loeffler, and others have called for the removal of the film and supported making a case against Netflix. It shocks me how many articles are actually in favor of this film and trying to spin it as a political battle between left and right. This isn’t about politics, it’s about common human decency. Children should not be exploited like this on television. Netflix as well as those defending the film by saying it is a Sundance film should also be discredited. Sundance co-founder Sterling Van Wagenen had been charged with sexually abusing a nine-year-old girl. This should concern the public more as it is unsettling how powerful companies are trying to market child porn right in front of your face.
Trissa Hisel • Jan 27, 2021 at 8:47 am
Matthew, you’re without a doubt a pedophile and should be put in jail and castrated.
Matthew Trevor • Nov 19, 2020 at 4:29 pm
No, Silvia, it is you who is disturbing. You have not countered any of my points, and you only proved that you are considerate of pedophiles, a depravity that is unworthy of any consideration whatsoever. How many pedos did you think watched Good Boys and then molested young boys? Guess you don’t care because boys will be boys, and girls when they twerk, they are asking to be pedo bait. Of course, so you are a victim blamer. Your point, “The film postures as a “warning tale” about sexualization of children but revels in portraying exactly what it is purportedly condemning,” is so asinine, because, for example, when you make a movie about racism, you are going to show people the horrors of racism by showing people utter racist slurs and committing hate crimes. Your logic doesn’t work. Also, by your logic, if you are saying that this film is the reason why pedophiles are aroused and why they molest girls, then horror films that portray torture and murder are the reason why homicidal maniacs exist. I find it horrific that you found these dance moves to be erotic and sexually suggestive since any sane and normal wouldn’t. If you found it enticing, then that’s a reflection on you, and not the film. It is people like you that spread misinformation, and intentionally malign and paint a movie as something it is not. Also, these dance sequences consist of 10 minutes out of 90 minutes, and the fact that you are fixated on those scenes, when there is so much more to the film than just that, is concerning. Don’t utter an opinion predicated on stupidity and ignorance when you have not watched the film (not only watching but also paying attention) and research all pertinent facts and information.
Silvia Holland • Nov 19, 2020 at 3:39 am
Matthew, what you’ve written is very disturbing.
The children in the film are overtly involved in erotic, sexually suggestive dancing.
The film postures as a “warning tale” about sexualization of children but revels in portraying exactly what it is purportedly condemning.
Do you believe it’s appropriate for adults to pay children to twerk in a film in order to titillate other adults, under pretexts of a “warning tale”?
How many pedophiles do you think have watched the film, had their arousal stoked by the dance scenes, and then went on to molest girls?
Matthew Trevor • Nov 15, 2020 at 1:18 am
This is one of the worst pieces I ever read. You are part of the problem of spreading misinformation because the film is not child pornography at all. These girls are just dancing, and who is that harming. Before you use the trite and quite frankly asinine point that it could have casted older actors to portray these characters, the problem is that people would be enticed by that, therefore diminishing the point. With minors, a sane person would not find the scenes of their dancing provocative, and you are forced to face the reality that this happening because we have child pageants like Toddlers and Tiaras where young girl are sexualized and no one does anything about it. It is only provocative if you yourself find it to be that.
Oh, don’t say that it should have been a documentary because 99% of the time, docs dealing with this subject matter do not get traction. “My Truth: The Rape of 2 Coreys,” a doc about how Corey Feldman and Corey Haim were sexually abused and exploited as minors, was tossed to the wayside, and people accused Feldman of scamming them out of money or mocked him.
One of your claims:”Keeping that in mind, the actresses themselves can’t watch their own film in reality.” Hate to break it to you, but the young female actors did see their performance when it premiered in France, and I know this because it was shown in Maimouna Doucoure’s Instagram, so once again, spewing out misinformation.
Funny how you turned a blind eye to Good Boys, a film where young boys are sexually exploited, and in the trailers, even Seth Rogen told the young boys that even though they did and said the things in the movie, they cannot watch it.
Another point that you missed completely is your claiming that they were seducing the guards, which is not true. I saw the film in its entirety so I know what I saw, and what happened is that the girls found out that they been accepted into the competition. Excited, the girls said they were dancers and then Amy danced to showcase her skills, not to seduce the guard. One of the guards, a total creep, was evidently enticed, while the other one, the sane one, was perturbed by the creep’s fixation that he kicked the girls out to protect them.
Another point that you conveniently used out of context is this one: “One of the scenes shows Amy getting her pants pulled down in school which is unrelated to the plot.” It is very much related to the plot because Amy gets into a fight with one of the members of the rival dance team, and she gets pantsed and her kiddie underwear is revealed. It gets posted on social media, and because of that, the Cuties get mocked for being children who pretend to be adults and to act more mature that what they make themselves out to be.
Oh, and you want to use the point of Sterling Van Wagenen being charged with sexually abusing a nine-year-old girl to invalidate the merit of this film, well, Roman Polanski and Bill Cosby were members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences and they had say of who wins or gets nominated, so by your logic, any films that won Oscars because of them have zero merit whatsoever. Your logic doesn’t work.
I found it funny that you are preaching common human decency, when in reality, you are jumping on the hate bandwagon, just like that disgusting YouTuber and Bronie named Misanthro pony. It is not human decency to act as though these child actors were exploited because it would imply that they were coerced and abused on set, which was not the case. None of the girls came forward about anything negative and they had a safe working environment because their parents were there and there was a child psychologist to prioritize the children’s interests, which none of 2 Coreys had on movie sets.
I know that children cannot legally consent but they do have the agency to express themselves if something is uncomfortable or out of line. I hate the way you act as though the children are not perceptive and are brainless dolls.
I doubt you actually watched the movie, and if you did, it’s clear you did not give it your undivided attention.