Netflix Faces Accusations of Pedophilia
Image Courtesy of the Today Show
By Franchetta Groves
Netflix has come under fire for its recent movie release, Cuties, with claims that it exploits children and supports pedophilia. The streaming service first received criticism in August when they released their poster for the movie and some found it to be too sexual for children.
The Netflix film follows eleven-year-old Amy as she “starts to rebel against her conservative family’s traditions” and “becomes fascinated with a free-spirited dance crew.” In many scenes, the girls are seen twerking and are dressed in revealing clothing, which has been criticized for oversexualizing young girls. Critics also found a problem with a scene in which Amy pulls down her underwear and takes a photo of her genitals in an attempt to seduce an older male member of her family to get out of trouble for taking his phone. These scenes, along with one where Amy gyrates in a sexual manner in underwear and a t-shirt, have led to strong responses from the public.
The IMDb summary had an initial warning of “severe,” but it was recently reduced to “mild for scenes related to sex and nudity.” It warns that there are scenes in which girls view pornography and dance “lewdly” with the camera zooming in on their buttocks.
After the film premiered on September 9, a petition was created on Change.org with over 600,000 signatures, calling on Netflix-users to cancel their subscriptions from the streaming service. Instagram posts, even those unrelated to the Netflix film, are being flooded with calls to “cancel cuties” and accusations of endorsing pedophilia. Along with this, the hashtag “#CancelNetflix” was trending on Twitter, and there has been a spike in subscriptions being ended.
Director Maïmouna Doucouré has come to the defense of her movie saying, “I realize that the people who have started this controversy haven’t yet seen the film. Netflix has apologized to the public and to myself. I’m hoping that these people will watch the movie now that it’s out. I’m eager to see their reaction when they realize that we’re both on the same side of this fight against young children’s hypersexualization.”
Doucouré stated that her intention for the film was to bring to light the over-sexualization and pressure placed on young girls. However, it still faces criticism for sexualization. “Cuties overtly sexualizes young girls, children, in the name of empowerment,” said sophomore politics major Catriona Fee. “Treating children as sexual objects is the exact opposite of empowerment, and I think this film is part of an overall push to normalize pedophilia.”
