Streaming giant Netflix has apologized after being criticized for sexualising little girls in the poster of an upcoming French film “Cuties”.
“Cuties” follows Amy, an 11-year-old girl who joins a group of dancers named “The Cuties” at school and rapidly grows aware of her burgeoning femininity — upsetting her mother and her values. The film was premiered in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition sector of 2020 Sundance Film Festival and won the Directing Jury Award praising the script of the film.
The artwork for the French-language film depicted four adolescent girls wearing revealing cheerleading outfits and posting provocatively. The original tagline for the film said: “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 petition campaigning to remove the film received over 30,000 signatures, NME reported. The petition reads, “This movie/show is disgusting as it sexualizes an ELEVEN year old for the viewing pleasure of pedophiles and also negatively influences our children!
“There is no need for this kind of content in that age group, especially when sex trafficking and pedophilia are so rampant! There is no excuse, this is dangerous content!”
A Twitter user Claire Heuchan said, “It is so revealing that the first major @netflix original to centre young Black girls hinges on explicitly sexualising 11 year old children.”
“I am supportive of the arts. I want the stars of @netflix #cuties to reach for every star in the sky. That being said, I can not support allowing children to be portrayed in a way that is overly sexualized,” @elizableu said.
Netflix has now issued an apology for the poster and the description. In a statement released on its Twitter page, Neflix said:
“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 said.
The film currently has an 82% fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes. Netflix recently began promoting the film ahead of its release on the platform on Sept. 9.
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