Netflix and "Cuties" = child pron?

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Senator Cruz calls for criminal investigation

Following Netflix’s disturbing promotion and defense of its new pornographic film sexualizing young children, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) sent a letter calling on the Department of Justice to investigate whether Netflix, its executives, or the makers of the film “Cuties” violated any federal laws against the production and distribution of child pornography.

In the letter to Attorney General Bill Barr, Sen. Cruz wrote:

“The film routinely fetishizes and sexualizes these pre-adolescent girls as they perform dances simulating sexual conduct in revealing clothing, including at least one scene with partial child nudity. These scenes in and of themselves are harmful. And it is likely that the filming of this movie created even more explicit and abusive scenes, and that pedophiles across the world in the future will manipulate and imitate this film in abusive ways.

He concluded:

“As you know, the Department of Justice has a significant role in preventing the sexual abuse of children. The Department enforces federal criminal law making it a serious crime to produce or distribute material involving the sexual exploitation of minors, including the filming of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct. […]

“Although the First Amendment provides vigorous protection for artistic expression, it does not allow individuals or for-profit corporations to produce or distribute child pornography. Accordingly, I urge the Department to investigate the production of ‘Cuties’ and Netflix’s distribution of the film in order to determine whether Netflix, any of its executives, or anyone involved with the making of ‘Cuties’ violated any federal laws against the production and distribution of child pornography.”

Netflix cancellations spike eightfold due to "Cuties"

"Cuties" director addresses controversy

Cuties director Maïmouna Doucouré defended her film, and reaffirmed her intent and the film’s meaning, in an op-ed for The Washington Post.

As Doucouré explains Cuties — originally released in France as Mignonnes —tells the story of an 11-year-old girl, Amy, who (like Doucouré), emigrated to France from Senegal. In the film, Amy joins a group of girls preparing for a local dance contest, for which they craft “increasingly risqué routines copying what they’ve seen” on social media.

“We, as adults, have not given children the tools to grow up healthy in our society,” Doucouré wrote. “I wanted to open people’s eyes to what’s truly happening in schools and on social media, forcing them to confront images of young girls made up, dressed up and dancing suggestively to imitate their favorite pop icon. I wanted adults to spend 96 minutes seeing the world through the eyes of an 11-year-old girl, as she lives 24 hours a day. These scenes can be hard to watch but are no less true as a result.”

Doucouré said the goal of the film was to start “a conversation about the sexualization of children,” adding, “The movie has certainly started a debate, though not the one that I intended.”

Though Doucouré did not get into the specifics of that debate, Cuties has become a focal point for factions on the far-right that believe a secret cabal of Hollywood liberals is operating a child sex trafficking ring, and that Cuties is further evidence of that. Even though the film attempts to address and critique the way young children are sexualized, it ended up being accused of sexualizing children. The furor even spread well beyond QAnon circles and reached the point where Senator Ted Cruz was calling for a Department of Justice investigation into the project. (An inappropriate and misleading poster Netflix released for the film didn’t help, either; the streaming service later apologized.)

In her op-ed, Doucouré explained how Cuties was inspired by countless conversations she had with young girls about how confusing puberty can be and the way social media can exacerbate the pressures they place on themselves. She also spoke about how the story is a reflection of her own experience, juggling the cultures of Senegal and France, and the way such scrutiny and judgement can effect girls.

“[T]hat’s why I made Cuties: to start a debate about the sexualization of children in society today so that maybe — just maybe — politicians, artists, parents and educators could work together to make a change that will benefit children for generations to come,” Doucouré said. “It’s my sincerest hope that this conversation doesn’t become so difficult that it too gets caught up in today’s ‘cancel culture.’”