Popular streaming giant Netflix has apologised for using promotional material that sexualises eleven-year-old pre-teens as a part of the promotional campaign for their upcoming release, a French movie titled Cuties. This apology comes in the light of a petition signed by over 50,000 people, as of Thursday morning, to scrap the movie owing to its wrong depiction of young girls in the posters as well as the trailer. The number of signatures amassed is now over 1.7 lakhs.
Helmed by Maïmouna Doucouré and originally titled Mignonnes, the film is about an 11-year-old who rebels against her family and joins a ‘free-spirited dance crew’. The film had premiered earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival, where it won a jury award for directing. It is set to premiere on the streaming platform on September 9.
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 won an award at Sundance. We’ve now updated the pictures and description.
— Netflix (@netflix) August 20, 2020
The apology from Netflix, however, has not gone down well with social media users who are insistent on the ban of the film’s premiere on the platform. Altering the posters and plot summary of the film has not sufficed, leaving them dissatisfied with the streamer.
They have also slammed the makers of the film for this wrong portrayal and have alleged that it has been done for the viewing pleasure of pedophiles. They have labelled the poster to be ‘sick’, ‘disgusting’, and ‘upsetting’.
Because @netflix is promoting and streaming the movie “Cuties”, I have cancelled my account.
This is disgusting. Exploiting and normalizing child sexuality is heinous and must not be tolerated.
A D V E R T I S E M E N TThis movie should be removed, people fired, and lessons learned.#CancelNetflix pic.twitter.com/uNvZxOswWv
— Jared Harfield (@JaredHarfield) August 20, 2020
What’s their pitch? “If you LOVED your private flights to Epstein Island… you’ll LOVE Cuties on Netflix!!!” Cc: @BillClinton
— Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) August 20, 2020
However, the French original poster doesn’t depict the girls in such a way as compared to the poster released by Netflix.
Ok so the Netflix Cuties movie.
I did some research and the director is a French Senegalese Black woman who is pulls from her own experiences as an immigrant and comments on the hyper-sexualization of preadolescent girls.
A D V E R T I S E M E N TBut look at the original poster vs the Netflix one pic.twitter.com/JVbaa5iueG
— 🤔•°{Miggs…?} (@miggsboson) August 20, 2020
In a recent interview with Cineuropa, an online news portal, director Maïmouna Doucouré explained the inspiration for Cuties, which is partly based on her own childhood experiences, as well as those of girls growing up today. “This is most of all an uncompromising portrait of an 11-year-old girl plunged in a world that imposes a series of dictates on her,” said Doucouré to the portal.
The description of the movie, prior to the change, had read, “Amy, 11, becomes fascinated with a twerking dance crew. Hoping to join them, she starts to explore her femininity, defying her family’s traditions.”
A few screenshots of conversations between Netflix users and their customer service also went viral on social media. In the screenshots, we find the customer service executives refusing to comment on whether the streamer condemns pedophilia or not and conveniently sidelining the topic.
I went to Netflix customer service to discuss cuties. They said that they are not allowed to say whether they condemn pedophilia or not. pic.twitter.com/n5OvdGc11h
— Thomas Bekkerman (@thomasbekkerman) August 20, 2020
Watch the trailer of Cuties here.
