Netflix indicted by Texas grand jury over 'lewd visual material' in Cuties
French film about pre-teen girls who form a dance group is called ‘prurient’ in Tyler County prosecution. Netflix defends story as social commentary against sexualisation


‘A mirror of today’s society’ … the cast of Cuties. Photograph: AP
Staff and agencies
Wed 7 Oct 2020 11.16 BST

Netflix has defended the controversial film Cuties after it emerged the streaming giant is facing a criminal charge in Texas over the movie’s allegedly “lewd” depiction of children.

Cuties follows an 11-year-old Senegalese girl living in Paris who rebels against her conservative family’s traditions when she becomes fascinated with a “free-spirited dance crew”.

A grand jury in Tyler County, Texas, has indicted the company on the charge of “promotion of lewd visual material depicting a child”. The indictment claims Cuties appeals to the “prurient interest in sex” and the material holds “no serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value”.

A Netflix representative told PA: “Cuties is a social commentary against the sexualisation of young children. This charge is without merit and we stand by the film.”
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/o ... -in-cuties

CEOCambodiaNews wrote:A Netflix representative told PA: “Cuties is a social commentary against the sexualisation of young children. This charge is without merit and we stand by the film.”
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/o ... -in-cuties

I actually watched the film. (Afraid Netflix would pull a ‘Hina Kimura’ moment by pulling out Terrace House).

I believe Netflix is correct. The main protagonist sexualizes (wanting to be cool) and loses everything. In the end she goes back to her roots.

It DID win awards.

Of course Huck Finn is a banned book in many places, and the winner of the 1950s British Book awards (hailed as a timeless classic) was written off as unworthy trash by that distinguished panel in the 2010s.

People do stupid things.

It’s a worthwhile watch. If the skimpy clad preteen girls bothers some, fast forward through it.

Gotta admit, that trailer is uncomfortable to watch. Perhaps the movie does have some sort of powerful moral message but it looks to me like it's being promoted to people wanting something quite the opposite.

When comparing the original French movie ad for "Mignonnes" with that of the Netflix version "Cuties", the two films appear entirely different.
(Note: I have not yet seen the movie. The people that banned it have probably not seen it either.)
FRENCH

US, NETFLIX

^^^ ffs

i made a vow not to watch another hollywood movie 30 years ago
putrid values

never regretted it

It's not a Hollywood movie.
It's made by a women, at a time when France has a few cases of late teens prostituting themselves, due to a lack of education/ selfrespect, and also due to a recent rise of teen proxenetism.

The movie is aimed at late teens first, because it shows them about the business and consequences of teen sexualization in our fucked up society.

Spot on, although not my cup of tea.
Big issues like this subject are needed to be shown so they can be discussed, to the potential vicrims audience.
It cannot be too trashy/ crude though.

Thanks for the correction, Ghost
i just reacted pretty quick on first sight.

Indeed, as News pointed out - who would have thought it was the same film?
the NextFix promo shot is just SO Hollywood, (and so NextFix)
forgive my mistake

I love the whole French attitude to film. One of the highest forms of our human civilisation.

It's hard to comment when you haven't seen the movie, but I can believe that moralists in the US have got the wrong end of the stick.

This is the French trailer here.


Even if you don't speak French, you get the drift - a girl from a conservative African family in France tries to be like the other kids by joining a dance group with girls her age.
The director is a black French woman. Obviously, the intention of the film is not to exploit children, but to expose the exploitation of children. I will watch it before passing judgement. As someone else said here, those outraged people probably haven't even seen it . (But yeah, the netflix promotion is ew ).