Netflix and "Cuties" = child pron?

[Foxaèr]

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.’”

[The Valkyrie]

I understand the need to bring attention to this issue, but I think Netflix has gone about it the wrong way.

As for Cruz, he should be more concerned with how his buddy Trump used to treat girls at the various "miss" contests he used to run.

[Sal]

I've read critique about the "Cuties" film. For whatever reason, the French version of it is considerably different from the Netflix version.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuties

[Fireball]

I was driving to the auto parts store to take back a malfunctioning alternator I bought. Some guys were walking with their children up to the HoA pool. One little girl (maybe 5 or 6?) was skipping along without a care in the world. Heart-melting stuff, for sure. Not a sexual object.   Just a cute, innocent little kid. FWIW, I feel the same way when I see teenage girls having a good time. They are still children, but it's heart-warming to see them laughing and having fun.

[Nay_Sayer]

No. It's not even remotely close.

[Rev. Rye]

Here’s a review from a Youtuber I’m subscribed to, and for a 4channer who frequently makes videos in a monkey mask, he’s actually fairly insightful and makes me almost want to watch the film:




Admittedly, it might have been better if he phrased the theme as more being caught between patriarchal culture and an oversexualised social media age than degeneracy, but he makes the damn good point that it’d probably have been better to make it into a book first so that we’re not distracted by the image of actual, flesh and blood, preteens twerking in neon hot pants and crop tops.

And the ending points to a big point why I think this might be overblown. As summarized by the last sentence of the Wikipedia plot summary: “Amy then abandons both the traditional wedding dress and her sexy dancer's outfit, and, in jeans and a t-shirt, her hair down, she goes out to play jump rope with a group of girls.” In essence, she’s explicitly rejecting both of these toxic cultures. I may have to watch the actual movie to be sure, but the evidence points to “it’s not child porn.”

[The Grand Nudger]

The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show isn't put on so that some deviant can badger the witness...but someone definitely is. It's got kids in it, and it's about the sexualization of kids. If that's good enough for pron - we need to have a talk with the networks about dogs. My kids watch that filth.

[Rev. Rye]

The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show isn't put on so that some deviant can badger the witness...but someone definitely is.  It's got kids in it, and it's about the sexualization of kids.  If that's good enough for pron - we need to have a talk with the networks about dogs.  My kids watch that filth.

Yeah, For What It's Worth, my #2 favourite movie has a  sexualised child as a main character. Surely, Scorsese must be a scumbag who's trying to normalise child prostitution, right?








Also, the analogy with the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show being sexualised reminds me of Show Dogs ... next week in the Deep Hurting Project.

[GUBU]

I understand the need to bring attention to this issue, but I think Netflix has gone about it the wrong way.

As for Cruz, he should be more concerned with how his buddy Trump used to treat girls at the various "miss" contests he used to run.

As with most pushy religious people, Cruz is more interested in seeming to be good than actually doing good. Hence calling for a fatwa over Cuties* and doing nothing about the thousands of children kept in concentration camps at the border.

*Which by all accounts I've read is simply a not very good film which garbles an important message.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

I understand the need to bring attention to this issue, but I think Netflix has gone about it the wrong way.

As for Cruz, he should be more concerned with how his buddy Trump used to treat girls at the various "miss" contests he used to run.

As with most pushy religious people, Cruz is more interested in seeming to be good than actually doing good.  Hence calling for a fatwa over Cuties* and doing nothing about the thousands of children kept in concentration camps at the border.

*Which by all accounts I've read is simply a not very good film which garbles an important message.

Sexualization of children is a thing. A film ABOUT the sexualization of children is nothing to get in a twist over.

We’ve all seen films with rape, torture, murder and abuse as the subject matter. How is this different?

Tangentially, I’d be willing to wager that if the Obamas hadn’t signed a development deal with Netflix, people on the right wouldn’t give two shits about ‘Cuties’.

Boru