Social media allows anyone to become an instant critic before understanding the context of what they are seeing, especially art. The full context matters when forming a strong critique about any form of art. Regarding the new Netflix film “Cuties,” people seem incapable of looking at the whole situation before calling for its removal.
Controversy about the sexualization of young girls in the movie stems from people’s personal difficulty with being uncomfortable, making it hard for them to realize that sports like cheerleading and gymnastics are guilty as well but face no critique.
The film is a coming of age story examining the relationship that young girls can have with social media and how it influences their perceptions of womanhood, sexuality, femininity and cultural origin. The story follows a young, Senegalese-Muslim girl named Amynata who becomes immersed in a hypersexualized internet culture through a group of dancers at her school, putting her at odds with her family’s traditional values.
While watching the film, there were moments where I felt extremely uncomfortable. The characters are mimicking a sexualized version of womanhood that they think will get them the most attention on social media. To them, this allows a sense of agency that most children, especially young Black girls, don’t get in the real world.
During the majority of this film, we see child-actors giving emotionally complex performances about difficult issues. Part of dealing with uncomfortable topics in art is recognizing that these kids are telling a story from a perspective that’s rarely explored. These girls aren’t simply being reduced to doing sexual dances for the bravado. The film dives deeper, into their dreams, motivations and, more truthfully, how they view themselves.
“We, as adults, have not given children the tools to grow up healthy in our society,” Maïmouna Doucoure, director of the film, stated in an op-ed. “I wanted to open people’s eyes to what’s really 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.”
Doucoure said the actors, like most others their age, had already seen the types of dances in the movie. She said they were mindful of their young age, with only one second of nudity showing an actress over 18-years-old in a video, and kept a trained counselor on set. The film was even approved by the French government’s child protection authorities.It’s absolutely cringey seeing these girls try, and fail, so hard to be objects of desire and to so easily give up their innocence.
In the final “provocative” dance scene, the girls think they are killing the performance only to be met with shock and disgust from the audience. But that’s the whole point of the film.
As the audience, we should be disgusted by the ways that children are robbed of their innocence during a time when they are still trying to understand the workings of the world. Young kids today have access to explicitly sexual photos and videos on their phones wherever they go.
In the end of the film, Amynata runs off stage at the performance because she realizes girlhood is what she really wants. She trades revealing clothes for a long-sleeve red shirt and jeans, a nod to the new perspective she’s gained.
Our society should be way past being upset at kids portraying themselves doing “adult” things. In shows like “Euphoria” and “Sex Education,” adult actors play teenagers who are violent, do drugs and have sex, but there’s no public outrage. Critics should first examine how they might be complicit in this cycle before rushing to make judgements about a film that’s already doing just that.
DeVonte Smith is a current student at the University of Idaho.