The Cuties conversation is infuriating.

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[@ForHarriet619]

Additional thoughts: Americans should think about why this film has premiered around the world and no other country has had this kind of reaction. What’s happening in our culture and in our consciousnesses that leads so many of us to internalize the film this way? There's a long history of white coming-of-age films that have kids pushing boundaries. What makes this movie different? Is the dancing inherently a problem because it’s sexual or are we concerned about why girls want to do things that have been deemed sexual for attention? Fuck Netflix. Their intentionally provocative marketing is why this is even a thing. Cuties is not a perfect movie by any stretch. Things don’t need to be perfect to be valuable.

[@facetsofus2008]

Yes! It’s so sad to see the internet at large miss the point of this film, especially when it really poignantly shows the reality of being a young girl with access to social media. Discovering your sexuality is hard, I can’t imagine how much harder it is now.

[@raen1984]

This xennial remembers watching Kids......and I don't remember any push back like folks are doing with this film. 🤷🏽‍♀️

[@rushreg_]

I fucking love you. I'm watching this video for the 4th time tbh after watching it 3 times already when you released it for members

[@tamaracharese]

raen1984 same pushback but we didn’t have the social media mob mentality we have now...

[@deeplush4693]

If netflix had used the original poster that was used to promote the film none of this fake outrage wouldve occured. But they intentionally mislead the narrative of this film and are single handedly responsible for the attack of this black woman.

[@2120musiclover]

People should’ve been this outraged with Toddlers and Tiaras!

[@emmadilemma7800]

I remember when i use to say how that show is exploitive to girls i would be dragged for not understanding pageant culture and that pageant actually help girls. These girls are being given opportunities. Oh how the tables have turned.

[@mischr13]

YES!!!!!

[@angela_somanythings5670]

Yes but It wasn't easy to cancel inappropriate shows back then as it is now...

[@serazvi5387]

I was thinking this as well. The conditioning of girls to use their bodies for validation and status starts very young.

[@Setsunako6587]

THANK you!!

[@Dontmindbb]

I’m conflicted about this movie. The movie message is good but I don’t know about the execution. I feel bad for the child actors even if it is stated that actions were taken to help them.

[@overgrownkudzu]

​@Lily Angel this. i'm not mad at the story or even the dancing, but did they really have to film it like this? no they didn't, it wasn't necessary for the message at all. i get that it's supposed to be uncomfortable to watch, and it succeeded at that, but i'm not sure if it was worth that

[@PhoenixRising87]

@Dustin Stich Have you watched the film?

[@ParentalDiscretionIsAdvised]

I havent seen it, only others that review it...i was under the impression this was a documentary...i learned just listening to Kim that this is a FICTIONAL work! This changes the complete narrative of how this should be seen!

[@DiorLamour]

Lily Angel the body shots are meant for adults to confront reality. Movies with alternative depictions already exist but adults just leave them without thinking critically about change.

[@DiorLamour]

Émile it was “necessary” because you you’re forced to confront the reality. using older kids, (or even)using even younger,drawing it as a cartoon, or just omitting all uncomfortable scenes creates a buffer for the audience to make it “digestible.” By making it more digestible, you risk minimizing the actual impact and message the movie is trying to get out. It’s accepted that older kids are suppose to explore. We may not like it but it’s somewhat understood because of their proximity to adulthood. Even with younger children, adults sometimes have a tendency to think the children are cute for mimicking adults- beauty pageants (I don’t but that’s me). Omitting the footage of them actually dancing, has us rely on the audience’s and the children’s responses to each other. That give lead way for us to think the audience is being harsh or that maybe they were just bad at their “talent”

[@Elspm]

My only discomfort with this film is the adult direction of the hypersexualised scenes. But I am also uncomfortable about all child acting for that reason. I can't think of a way of directing that scene which I would be comfortable with, in terms of informed consent. That said, if you think this isn't how young girls do act of their own volition in a response to our culture, you're blind. People were trying to sell me thongs when I was 11. I would probably have been more comfortable with anonymous documentary- like scenes at the end or something.

[@BelanceM]

Omg yes!

[@julyboor3704]

Valid but how could they have done it differently. It is not an easy sit admittedly, but the way It is presented is not glorifying it all. In the climax scene where the girls were dancing, it shows the audience abhorred by their moves, informing our reactions. It helps that the director had a child psychologist on the set to ensure that the minors had a safe working environment. Bear in mind that not every film set is safe for minors, I mean Corey Feldman and Corey Haim were sexually abused and exploited as minors. No one was there to protect them.

[@theblasblas]

​@@julyboor3704 hire adult actresses or make it animated

[@Lllllllll413]

But then everybody's mad at Jojo siwa because she's "too girly and childish"

[@Lia-tj6km]

I bet those same people will also complain when/if she eventually decides to stop dressing childishly. You can never win, can you?

[@misspiscesdreamz]

Agree!

[@ariesbyfire]

Lia Oh, they have. Have you seen her new makeover?

[@Lia-tj6km]

@@ariesbyfire The one with James Charles? I just checked it out, skipped to the end of the video and she looks so elegant! She reminds me of a film star from the golden age of Hollywood ^-^

[@joelle4226]

I think this is because our society doesn't like any portrayal of femininity

[@TheShannonShow]

I think there’s some things it could have done differently considering the actors were underage but The film didn’t lie. This is what goes on at this age. People should speak to their kids instead of pretending it doesn’t happen.

[@Oonagh72]

The Shannon Show yep. I’m in my 40’s and I remembered doing so much of this at that same age. This is all the same over time the media just changes.

[@lexielynn03]

What kind of childhoods did y'all have?? I was desperately trying to stop playing barbies at 11. Watch Mrgirls review of this movie and see why people are outraged

[@alishani5736]

Jose Machado I agree

[@TheShannonShow]

LexieLynn So puberty is just not a thing? Not everyone goes to the extremes as the girls in the film but there is a conversation to be had. But beyond that kids be exploring the internet nowadays and ending up on sites they should be. Most 11 year olds have smartphones and would choose a smartphone over a barbie. I had a smartphone at 11. I feel like in every school year there is a group of the ‘cutie’ girls just because you weren’t apart of it doesn’t mean your future/current children or other people’s children won’t be apart of it. Dismissiveness helps no one.

[@TheShannonShow]

Jose Machado agreed.

[@CherokeeMoor]

Throw the whole justification away. Nobody was up in arms about the story line, it was the execution of it. Those children were subjected to being over sexualized to teach adults to stop sexualizing children? Ass backwards

[@CydBee]

“That young man with the twists” 😂😂 I haven’t seen the movie Cuties, but I initially thought of the movie Thirteen and assumed it may be similar! also I didn’t know it was a foreign film, that makes sense as well. Americans are prone to fluffy comforting films, with happy endings. Lol

[@domination6585]

Cydnee Black who is the man with the twists

[@TaylorPie94]

@@domination6585 probably D'Angelo Wallace. He is a young man with twists with huge pull atm on YT.

[@ellax325]

@@TaylorPie94 Ahhh I enjoy D'angelo's commentary.

[@TaylorPie94]

@@ellax325 I do as well, but some things he says do miss me at times.

[@3iMrEaDy3]

DOMInation definitely D’Angelo Wallace, he did a really good video on this movie. I haven’t watched it yet so will have to make time to do so then form my opinion

[@alexinej272]

I thought the outrage was misplaced but couldn’t immediately put my finger on why. If it was a film depicting sexual abuse of girls by adults we wouldn’t have batted an eye. We see those depictions all the time. It seems to be the idea of watching young girls act out their own sexual agency that has been corrupted by us that’s the problem. There is no boogie man in the film to hate and separate yourself from as “better than them”. Watching the girls do it to themselves as a reflection of the society we are all complicit in makes us face the truth that we are all the “boogie men”... and I don’t think people can handle that truth and the cognitive dissonance that comes with it.

[@ladygrey4113]

Seriously that kind of junk is in horror movies all the time that one about the girl that goes missing and they used webcams to film it.

[@lkeke35]

Alexine J This!☝🏾 once again, when it comes to watching black girls and women being abused and suffering, audiences (especially white audiences where I saw a lot of this criticism coming from) don’t have a problem, but this also came close on the heels of WAP, and I saw a lot of the same reaction to grown black women acting in a sexual manner ,while some people applauded the song. As long as those women were being objectified by men they didn’t have a problem with the imagery, but owning their sexuality is wrong somehow. These little girls only imitating things like WAP , which they see all day every day on social media, anyway!

[@sarahhart8079]

This is such an interesting take. I would agree that the lack of a 'bad guy' makes folks really uncomfortable. The two other films that jump to mind are Kids and Thirteen, both of which have lots of drinking and drug use in addition to kids acting out. I think that gives the audience enough distance to feel uncomfortable while still providing the shield of something/someone to blame.

[@christopherperry3895]

Alexine J I love the way your mind operates. I will be discussing the film with my family and using some of your points mentioned. Seeing through others eyes is such a blessing sometimes. Thanks for sharing your thoughts 💭

[@RominaJones]

That's a smart observation. I too wonder when all these horror movies, slavery dramatizations and just nasty violent stuff are seen in popular films using child actors and get a total pass, not to mention child pageants and Dance Moms etc... and this is the one that draws the focus. I do think a lot rests on the marketing department and very poor choice of poster.

[@sageolivia1837]

Ultimately, this film did put these young actresses in compromising positions. Some who are outraged are csa survivors, who were similarly disgusted by pageant tv shows and films like Lolita. We should not dismiss their voices and concerns. Respectfully, children and shock value should never be in the same sentence. I agree that this films message is vital, however it’s execution could have been better.

[@ifeyanishaminya]

I agree 100 percent. This also reminds me of To Catch a Predator. They use adults to text and chat with the pedophiles, and make sure to use to young-looking decoy who is at least 18 or over to play a 12-15 year old. Why not do the same here?

[@PopLife-hb3ks]

Thank you for saying this.

[@emmar4085]

I couldn't agree more.

[@fa7832]

I agree. You explained it in a much better way than I could!

[@emmar4085]

@beugre marie if I can find a video of them preforming an explicit dance on twitter, paid for, filmed and published by adults, they were exploited, regardless of the on set conditions

[@elena_1776]

There have to be better ways to confront the over exposure of young girls besides actually over-exposing young girls. No one reasonable is upset by the message of the film, it's the execution that is actually upsetting. Like I just don't see how an actual child can consent to be shown that way on camera.

[@ang6872]

Exactly. You can portray the message of the exploitation of children without exploiting children. Like the movie precious for example

[@celestesubieta8803]

Exactly! The complaint has nothing to do with the story it's all about the child actresses that got put in that situation.

[@applestrudeldoo7645]

little miss sunshine is another good movie that makes that point without exploiting an actual child

[@Black3y3dAng3L]

Thank you.

[@TanteSklaidos]

and yet... actual government child protection agency and trained counsellor did not find anything wrong with what you call over exposure. And of course a child cannot consent to being portrayed in that way, a child cannot consent to anything, that is the parents' decision and if we allow parents to make decisions about whether to indoctrinate kids with extreme religious beliefs or what they can be taught about evolution, I think we can allow them to make a call on what movies their child can act in, *especially* if the movie is vetted by child protection professionals and takes all precautions to ensure the wellbeing of the child actors. I think the execution of this film has a massive influence on the visceral effect of its message and therefore it is not gratuitous.

[@soaribb32]

To me, the american poster was the biggest misstep.

[@KristinaBon-dt9dq]

Honestly, I think the movie wouldn’t have gotten this amount of criticism if they used the original French poster.

[@quirkyblackenby]

@@KristinaBon-dt9dq agreed

[@nat_to_world]

@Soaribb Sometimes I think Netflix purposely marketed the film that way b/c they knew it would spark “anger and outrage” amongst people who didn’t understand the intent of the film. People just hopped on a hate bandwagon and weren’t open to changing their minds. Sure, it got a lot of people talking and a shit ton of free promotion on KZbin, but the conversation was about whether or not this was cp; not how society affects young girls who are just trying to figure themselves out. That’s fed up. If you look at a young girl and the first thing you think is that there is something “sexy” or “sexually” about a minor, you have problems. Also, I wonder how those pictures even got approved, and why the director would ever let those pictures represent her movie so poorly like that. Overall, while I haven’t watched the movie yet, the message seems good. I think films that make people feel a “good uncomfortable” that causes you to wake up an realize things about society and yourself are important. I’d like to imagine that down the line in a few years we’ll look back on this film as a very introspective look on our society. But I think in it’s current position, poor marketing and a lack of understanding killed the movie’s current chances in America. EDIT: A year later, and I realize now that it's very likely that the director may have not had control on how her movie was marketed in America, and probably was forced to sit back and watch Netflix destroy her movie (which I believe was also her debut as a director).

[@tempesttossed6029]

@@nat_to_world anger is the number one selling force in america. it was well calculated and worked as intended.

[@nat_to_world]

@@tempesttossed6029 agreed

[@danb7507]

Ive been feeling this way too but I've been scared to share my opinion. I'm personally a CSA survivor. People want to ban this movie, shut down Netflix, ostracize the creator, but i wish people actually wanted to speak about sex with children. No one ever helped me as a child despite all the signs I showed. Now, no one believes me because I don't have proof. I've grown up not knowing how to ask for consent, without understanding my bodily autonomy. I'm younger than you, and in middle school I used omegle. I showed my body and watched others m*sturbate, so did my friends. I cant believe that happened and adults didn't know, my parents still don't even know what that is. I spoke to a man 10 years older than me when i was 15. I think Cuties truly depicts those struggles. Children are curious and they need more guidance. Adults makes them unsafe. Avoiding the conversation makes them unsafe.

[@quirkyblackenby]

Yup same here.

[@dudeeveryone391]

I also did that on Omegle in middle school and it horrifies me to think that there is decade old cp of me somewhere out there.

[@heaven7459]

I think people in the United States just put their heads in the sand and pretend that girls are not actually doing these things. SMH

[@vayo34]

Same here.

[@Shalondria]

Was about to watch this video before bed. But I like to scroll through the comments before I listen to Kim. And here I am four sentences into your comment and I’m crying. I’ll come back tomorrow to finish reading your comment and to listen to the video. Not now.

[@juliasanders9155]

"And that young man with the twists telling you that it's perfectly okay to hate something when you haven't seen it" are you talking about D'angelo Wallace?

[@tamaracharese]

Sounds like it... is take was troubling to say the least

[@bbtdgfan890]

@@tamaracharese Right? Like dude, you cannot be fucking serious, you're just going to encourage people to blindly hate a Black Muslim woman over something they haven't even seen?

[@obuomnaynte6584]

I think she is

[@tamaracharese]

reyandknight it was really disgusting... a few years, he’ll be on Fox News, I promise you!

[@Buzz0Killington]

That boy ain’t s**t. I’m sorry but some of his “takes” are just bizarre.

[@georgespiggott5615]

i think they could have told this story in a way that didn't sexualize the child actresses. sure, the story itself has value and is well-written, but those little girls WEREN'T sexualizing themselves -- they were being filmed and directed by adults before they could truly understand what that means for them moving forward. i personally think we exploit children for the sake of "art" way too much. this could have been filmed in a way that didn't have constant close-ups and zooms on the pelvic area of twerking children, because pedophiles who don't care about the message are getting off to it. hell, taking a sexualized role like this made natalie portman's life awful--her first ever fanmail was a detailed rape fantasy sent to her by an adult man. she purposefully cultivated an ice queen persona to avoid creeps like that, and she still got sexualized. billie eilish wears baggy clothes to avoid creeps and still has tons of creeps after her. these young girls WILL face terrible treatment because of this movie from both adult perverts and kids their own age who don't give a shit about the film's artistic merits if they can find something to bully them about.

[@adrianatorres4813]

Totally agree with you, I'm surprised that a lot of The comments here don't adress this. Also, I think, were it directed by a man, no one would question the inappropriate shots and scenes. But because she's a Woman of color, we're questioning if the criticism is legitimate, and the truth is it actually is.

[@Annaiuq1]

We don't address it because if you're not into kids like that it appears to you as weird/uncomfortable/offensive and that's the point. If you're not into children that way you see past the discomfort to the point of WHY the little girls feel this is the way to get what they want. That's what's important. THEIR discomfort. THEIR struggles. Not ours. As it's been pointed out over and over again ONLY bad people would intake these scenes as arousing and those same people would have the same reaction of the girls were playing jump rope

[@georgespiggott5615]

@@Annaiuq1 but those little girls didn't get to tell their own stories, they were directed and filmed by adults. if she wanted to address this she could have filmed a documentary or used adult actors that look younger. hell, she could've deep faked like in the irishman. instead she purposefully put REAL little kids into sexual situations. and you really think a pedophile finds children doing normal things as arousing as sexualized ones? if that were the case people wouldn't make child porn, they'd just wank to sesame street. as far as I'm concerned, this movie is soft-core child porn. it's as bad as toddlers and tiaras, but no one thinks toddlers and tiaras is "art." a grown man can get away with watching this film "for the story," but he can't admit to watching toddlers and tiaras without people knowing he's a creep. i don't want to step out of my lane, because we're all adults and thus not vulnerable the way children are. but you cannot ethically say "child exploitation is bad" by exploiting children. those little girls need people to stand up for them, because clearly their parents won't if they let their kids' images be used like that.

[@aiba6540]

Exactly. Just hard to see people try to act like these actress’s can’t look back and feel exploited. We must stop showing awful things to prove a point.

[@aiba6540]

Vitamin QUI I disagree. I was sexualized a lot as a kid. Had adult men follow me around. She could have done it without scarring them for life.

[@amateurastronomer9752]

Eh, I just don’t think underage actresses can actually consent to being represented the way they were in this movie. Like most movies involving child actors, I’m sure the filming process for this movie involved their parents signing certain legal documents which proves that the children (though they may express consent) can’t actually give it. Sure, the director is saying we took all these steps to make sure the children weren’t exploited now, but years down the line, only the girls will know if that was the case. It wouldn’t be the first time a child actor grows up only to realize that they were severely exploited and mistreated. I like the message of this movie. It’s a much needed convo, however I wished they would’ve used babyface adult actors or just gone about filming it in a better way. Someone in the comments said it best, “shock value and children should not be in the same sentence”. This movie made a lot of people run from a very necessary topic so I don’t think the end justified the means in this case.

[@jurgenrembold8379]

Yeah this is my thoughts on it too. Well put

[@outherewildinb2874]

Concurred. Just because the outrage may be moral posturing with an easy target, doesn't take away from the fact those were child actors doing those scenes. It didn't need to be on par with illegal material to be unethical. In the same way most of us are complicit when faced with child sexualisation, it applies to this director. Even more so because she was deliberately exploring this topic. Harm doesn't need to be malicious, it can be well-intentioned, but it is still harm. It irritates me that her being a Black woman was so highlighted, as opposed to the girl children, two of whom are Black too, and the impact it'll have on them. Their likelihood is there forever and it was never worth that for 'thought provocation'. I hope they're ok in all of this.

[@misbahmalik6537]

And this is exactly what it comes down. This is the issue (a very real one) the outrage is all about. You summarised it so well

[@tp2005]

So, this then begs the question of why, after decades of child actors being a thing, this is only drawing such a level of outrage now. It's only very specific contexts where we see an uproar around the objectification of kids, while any other context gets to sail under the radar. I do believe the objections to putting children in most any situation of doing labor are valid (and Kim even affirmed as much in the video), but I don't believe that's really getting to the bottom of the conventional outrage around this, particular film.

[@alltheworldatmyfeet]

I agree so much. Granted, i don't think the movie would have been fine with older actors playing 11 year olds, but at least the shots of their crotches would be more ethical. Like, i think Cuties would have been better as a documentary of the real children's testimonies the creator said she made the movie from. Without any scenes of them dancing sexually or being sexualized. Yes, there are parts of the movie real to life as well as little girls sexualizing themselves, but it's the responsibility of the adults in the room to reign them in and not exploit them for it or just use the excuse of "it's legal, therefore it is moral."

[@onarosebeam]

"Are y'all so disconnected from the experience of girlhood that none of this is familiar?" That right there hit the nail on the head! Being a young girl in this world that encourages you not to be a little girl is confusing and difficult. Especially being a young black girl. I always felt like I was kind of childish growing up because in middle school people had started hanging out with boys and dating and I was playing outside and watching cartoons. And the pressure STILL didn't skip me! We all pop, lock, and dropped it! Boys would still talk about my body or touch my body, even when there wasn't much of one. And now with my youngest sister and the age of tiktok (I'm 23, she just turned 15) I worry all the time! I felt how this movie is a call to shield and protect our girls. I was wondering if I was crazy for not finding anything wrong w Cuties when I watched it, but this solidified the things I was thinking. It feels like the people who are calling this movie child porn are being a little over the top especially with how they've been exaggerating the content of the film. Plus with so many pieces of media where we watch children enacting violence or violence enacted on them, this doesn't seem any different. Especially when the point of the movie is a call to be more understanding and to change the pressure on these young girls.

[@alienunicorn4178]

I was the same way

[@onarosebeam]

TruMusic89 I understand what you’re saying. However, a man’s version of “protecting female chastity” is often suppressing and controlling women. Without actually knowing and understanding the things they see and go through. And these same men will talk about the sexual value women have but ‘no not my baby. That’s my baby.’ Y’all gotta realize that you don’t actually shield us from that shit. And I say this with care. You should prioritizing our CHILDHOODS and not our CHASTITY. Otherwise that’s putting emphasis on the wrong thing

[@RyanStorey1231]

Let's be real, the puritanical types calling this movie porn have probably never seen actual porn. No pedophile is going to get their child porn from a Netflix movie.

[@juicyparsons]

this!!!

[@juicyparsons]

that's why I loved the movie Thirteen tbh because as a preteen I had the WORST time and trying to navigate and heal from self-harm and bullying and isolation and family stuff and everything we go through as girls can be hell. it was like someone finally speaking to me in a language I understood

[@philindigo1013]

I don’t think the American promo poster looks right honestly. People have a right to feel uncomfortable and not everyone who finds it triggering is a hypocrite.

[@lorenzaii]

I agreed with you about the promo poster being a problem but from what I understand that was a misstep of Netflix's marketing team and not the filmmaker. The promo and marketing was much different in France. In regards to uncomfortability, isn't that this part of the point: that these preteens are mimicking the explicit overt sexuality around them without context which is off putting yet happens in real? life?

[@kategould4857]

Minors portrayed that way makes you uncomfortable? Great, you are ok. But some people are not. And minors are growing up in a world where they see all sorts of adult stuff. And minors being kids act out what they see. Do we blame these minors when they are molested? I say no.

[@notthefather3919]

@Kay A that's enough to complain about. The poster is a tool they use to get people to watch. I don't need to look at sexualized kids for any message.

[@hideem1]

Yes. You’re right. Not all people who find it triggering are hypocrites. This video isn’t talking about people who were abused and triggered by the film. There’s a difference.

[@WaffleBat]

I think there is a serious conversation about responsible labor practices involving children that we will never get to have because we're trapped in this binary where people have to be either okay with the questionable use of child labor in this film because it's good art or be labeled utter hypocrites who are only pretending to care about children. I will admit I'm really annoyed to be grouped in with conservatives on this and I accept that this is effective art but I have huge problems with the use and presentation of the child actors in this movie and I think the director should have been more mindful of her choices and the ramifications of the media she was creating with actual children. An adult woman can make informed decisions about how she uses her body and give consent to be involved in sexualized media, a child can't. Movies exist potentially forever and aren't always used by good people for good purposes and a child can't fully understand the ramifications of that. This isn't the first movie of it's kind to use child actors like this and not all those child actors grow up to be okay with it. We often handwave away questions about consent if the adults who are using the child actors assure everyone it's okay, and it's insane to me how we will give media a pass on exploitation if it's popular or considered "for a good artistic reason" or point to the fact that children get sexualized like this in real life as if it's pass to do the same thing to child actors. It's very frustrating because we should expect better from adults, there is absolutely a less exploitative (but also less attention getting) version of this movie the director chose not to make and it's valid to be frustrated with that. I don't understand how this is dismissed as concern trolling when we are talking about actual children and actual potential for harm. We can't just act like this 100% okay because it's good art and some conservatives are fake mad about it.

[@chelseaxoxo784]

Thank you and I hope Harriet sees this. This is exactly what I'm worried about; the children's safety.

[@melodyhicks5810]

These girls are actors. I’m more concerned over the children on TikTok (example Dani Cohn who is a very real girl go look her up) which is honestly what this movie is trying to point out.

[@minimalistdragon216]

Melody Hicks all girls are real actor or not

[@Talisastory]

Melody Hicks The difference is maturity and intention. The whole point of this movie is that the narrative recognises the behaviour is inappropriate. The girl doing Tik Tok dances in her bedroom is doing it for fun or to copy someone or because it’s cool and there’s a genuine element of a kid just doing something without realising it. In this case, all the adults involved are fully aware it’s inappropriate and have gone ahead and made underage children do it for the purpose of showing its inappropriate. Do you see the difference? One is accidental sexualisation and the other is purposeful. It’s like making your actor kill someone for real in a scene to show killing is wrong in a movie. You’ve just made a real human being do a real action that you KNOW isn’t appropriate and you’re setting them up for the fall just to get the narrative you want. The means do not justify the ends.

[@k.d3983]

Talisastory In other words, you’re fine with a kid doing inappropriate stuff as long as YOU don’t see it ....nice🤦🏽‍♀️

[@feev4571]

Dismissing that these girls were sexualized by saying they are actors telling a story seems intellectually dishonest and irresponsible. They’re children. And while I hear you that the outrage relative to what we condone is hypocritical, it’s ridiculous to say that a child filming herself on tiktok is the same thing as being filmed, dressed, directed, choreographed by a team of adults. Just because the final dance is “supposed to make us uncomfortable” does not negate that real children had to do it and adults were complicit in it. You really don’t think that an image itself has power beyond whatever message it’s trying to convey?

[@brylaw]

I feel like for the first time I'm seeing my opinion reflected in the conversation around this film. Thank you for making this video!

[@suchtrivia3757]

As a French-Ivorian 18-year-old black girl, I want to thank you loudly for this review. There's so much I want to say about it !! I wish we could discuss that even more! I'd love to hear more experiences of black women/girls from the diaspora. After watching Cuties and listening to Maïmouna Doucouré's interviews, I'd recommend everyone to see it, particularly people who bash this movie. It covered a reality which I've experienced, which French statistics confirm, and though it was uncomfortable; I've seen my younger self -and I must admit my current self too- in many scenes. As said, this reality is unbearable, but we must face it if our true intention is to protect young girls, especially young black girls. Our society doesn't equip young people with the educational tools which would allow them to explore each dimension of themselves and grow safely. Recently, there was a debate in France about starting to teach sexual education in kindergarten, and some people were furiouuuuus ! They mostly argued that it would "pervert" kids when in reality this bill aimed at raising awareness about consent. I mean, if you wanted to cross a street with your kids, but noticed an enormous hole on the road, wouldn't you try your best to analyze and evaluate the risk in order to cross that road safely? In order to avoid your kids from getting hurt? Then why not apply this to getting kids through childhood and adolescence? Because this hole is deep, dark, ugly and tells us uncomfortable truth about ourselves and the world we live in, lots of people remain in this hypocritical cognitive dissonance. According to a 2007 survey, over 50% of French kids under 11 had already seen pornographic content, we grow up with those images! Refusing to talk about their meaning, and all those feelings we discover, exposes us to various hazards. The scene at the park wherein Coumba blows in a condom she mistook for a balloon is so INTERESTING! This and the following scene (in which they all wash her mouth with water and soap) is crucial in understanding what this movie's about. These young girls recreate those images without truly knowing what they mean. See, they didn't even know about the diseases they tried to "wash away" from Coumba. "Cuties" is a call for education, care and conversation. I think that another interesting point is that this "oversexualized character" is often the only path towards "attractiveness" and visibility offered to black girls. Many of my closest friends, who are dark-skinned and have larger features, have grown up internalising the idea that it was the only way for them to be seen, and become "valuable". France has still a lot of work to do when it comes to deconstructing the impact of colonization. As soon as I hit sixteen, these white men in their 40s starting to catcall me using blatantly sexual phrases, calling me "exotic". My body was changing, and unfortunately, I wasn't given proper support to feel comfortable in it, I ended up interiorising what was projected onto me and my body, and it led me to alter it. I'd also love to expand other points including polygamy, and hear more experiences about it. I watched this movie with a Senegalese-Mauritanian (and French) friend, and we both dealt more or less directly with this situation. But this is already a long comment, and again this was a great video. Thank you for this nuanced point of view, we truly needed it. I love your channel even more.

[@espifreak]

That's really interesting. There's valuing educating children in what sexual activity is so they recognize it as wrong if it's done to them. Too many kids don't understand what is happening to them and crimes go unreported.

[@heiressananiah8788]

This was a great response. I agree wholeheartedly, I couldn't have said it better myself.

[@kennyb1588]

@SandboxArrow then you also need to get off of Instagram, Twitter, free p*rn websites etc they all allow CP and people who thrive off of creating this type of content thrive on their platforms. There is literally a society of people who create these things called deep fakes where they photoshop pictures of kids onto p*rn stars and community's like the Maps who thrive on Instagram because their content doesn't violate the community guidelines. Also most free p*rn websites have links that will take you to Cp websites and feature videos of underage trafficking victims and minors who got videos leaked or had tapes of them being a*sualted and even when reported to the website they wouldn't take them down.

[@Libusheful]

Thank you for sharing this! It is really interesting and relevant to see the take of someone who is closer to the age and experiences of the characters. Even I (44) could relate to the way they look for acceptance and some recognition and to escape the worries at home. I was lucky not to carry social media access in my pocket 🙄.

[@arlettes7498]

I’m from Côte d’Ivoire and living in Canada. I know well France a part of my family lives there and I’m going very often for one month or more. I did not watch the movie but when the first week it was out in France I watched some interviews and I was interested because the topic is so real. I’m 25 and sometimes you’re between two worlds. She did the movie to call society out, we as society have to be aware of what’s going on. And frankly USA is living in the hypocrisy because the same USA who don’t want this movie it’s the same who inspired the book Lolita, and usa created beauty pageant for babies and children. This little girls are wearing tons of makeup. I saw documentaries where some parents made them wear pushups. She doesn’t need to apologize

[@jessinthecomments]

Cuties has some uncomfortable movements sure but people are missing the main reason the little girl in the movie started “acting out.” She was rebelling against the oppression she witnesses her mother go through. Also speaking as a 6th grade teacher who loves her babies, 11 year old girls do these things in real life. Shoot they do it on Tik Tok. Girls today are being taught that being sexy is profitable, being sexy is powerful, being sexy is freedom. That’s why they mimic the worst part of being sexy because they’re trying to find their voice but they’re not old enough to understand the responsibility that comes with being sexual.

[@jasminetaylor5416]

They didn’t need to put ACTUAL kids into those situations. They will forever have this footage out there. It’s NOT the MESSAGE most people are unhappy with....

[@dillardgentleman3013]

You didn’t watch the movie I see

[@strawberrycola1994]

Agreed

[@jasminetaylor5416]

I did watch it 😅

[@TeeNoir]

Yes ma'am.

[@melisacaceres8740]

My two faves

[@shambreyel]

I honestly loved both of your perspectives on this movie. I understand why other people reacted the way that they did but I’m glad that there’s at least a few people on KZbin that are focusing on what the movie was about, not just outrage.

[@amandalopes3048]

Your video about this is perfection and leaded me to this one ♡

[@floives7703]

so glad you both made videos about this, it's given me a better understanding of why they needed to make the film the way they did.

[@schoolhookeygirl]

Y’all both had the best videos on this.

[@Bellabellbell]

The people who think they should have gotten older actresses should consider that when we have adult women playing teenagers, making it acceptable for many to sexualize those characters, the effect is the sexualisation of actual teen girls. Just look at the porn industry. We should not be normalizing using grown women we feel comfortable sexualizing as stand-ins for children. There was no way to get this message across in the same way with “age-appropriate” actresses, because the way we teach girls to sexualize themselves is not “age-appropriate”. We can’t want artists to soften the blow of reality so we don’t have to look things in the face.

[@amateurastronomer9752]

For me personally, I think they should’ve gotten age appropriate actresses because I don’t think 13 year olds can consent to being sexually represented in a movie. They just can’t. You’re 100% right that there’s no way to escape the sexualization of young girls in a coming of age movie but at least adult actors are aware and able to consent. The movie industry has been and continues to be a very very dark place for children and people are just genuinely concerned at this point. There was similar outrage with Dance Moms and Toddlers and Tiaras. You can’t blame adults for wanting to protect kids to the extent they can. Everyone’s trying.

[@annoyedbyyourface]

@@amateurastronomer9752 "You can’t blame adults for wanting to protect kids to the extent they can." - THIS! I agree with the OP's point about how using adult actors can affect how children see themselves and their sexuality BUT the response to that shouldn't be "well, let's sexualized kids anyway for our entertainment and their representation" lol. Like, WTH? There's a better way to talk about preteen and teenage life in the media without sexualizing actual children and if you don't think so, that's a huge problem. Also, most shows targeting teens are getting better (these days) at hiring adults who look like actual teens. People love bringing up Euphoria BUT everyone on that show (excluding that white boy who dated that skinny latina) looks like they belong in HS. So yeah, "realistic" doesn't have to mean real children.

[@devonmunn5728]

Yeah. Cause teen characters being sexual and having sex is quite normalized in American and other western media

[@phanatic215]

Someone brought up the movie American Pie. Shannon Elizabeth was supposed to be a high school student aka a minor, and she got naked in the film. Also, one of the character's mother has sex with one of the high school students.

[@yltraviole]

Thank you! This is what I think everytime someone says "oh, they should have just used adult actresses". It would never have been able to convey the same discomfort and "wrongness" of the situation to viewers.

[@shethewriter]

Just finished. It seems to be about being fully trapped; she is NEVER treated like a child until her mom protects her in the end. I question a couple of shooting decisions-ESPECIALLY the “exorcism” scene, which was disingenuous at best. Unnecessary and gratuitous-and other scenes accomplished the same messages with more nuance. In my opinion. But there is a lot of value in this film and people don’t get angry about so many other sexual things with kids in films, as long as it serves their narrative of freedom and empowerment.

[@rom6343]

Girl! This! Thank you!

[@mennoknight78]

Finally someone that made the effort to actually watch the movie.

[@jackcartman]

THANK YOU KIM. You express yourself so well, thank you for explaining it this way. I'm 29 and when I was 12/13 all the girls at my school were doing the Lady Marmalade dance for a talent show - I remember the teachers being really uncomfortable with the crouching down, opening legs part and requesting the girls not wear skirts, and part of me didn't understand the problem at the time. We've been mimicking things adults did throughout the years. Babies wear bikinis ffs, why would a little kid need a two piece, it's like a bra but they have the same chest as boys when that young... idk. I think people want to pretend they aren't okay with the depictions in this movie but honestly in the street I notice men looking at girls who you just know are underage.

[@TheAngryCleric]

I can’t imagine growing up in this age of social media...being 11 was hard enough when it was just MTV and my friends.

[@vntajones]

Um like you are the parent. So you definitely have the power to keep social media away.

[@crownofeunoia1907]

Alex Jones Who said that she isn’t doing that or going to do that with their kid?

[@TheAngryCleric]

Alex Jones who said I have kids? Lol I am thinking about what it’s like to be a pre-teen girl in 2020. It would be a lot. I am sympathetic to all of those girls regardless of their relationship to me.

[@vntajones]

Jaxtraterrestrial X then if you have any means to move to a small town or homeschool if you can. Parents who actually care at least

[@vntajones]

Blu Noire I am a girl. My parents didn’t let me have any sort of cellphone or computers access until I was 16. I grew up in a small town.

[@lt7153]

As TeNoir on her page pointed out, folks so focused on the dancing aspect of it, they missed the home dynamic where Ami is also being forced to grow up as she is like a second mom to her siblings. We see her feeding them, grocery shopping with them, doing the little counting trick with her brother. So it's not just the dancing. The movie is showing us all the ways in young girls are forced to grow up and take on adult responsibilities. Also I hated the period scene so much and unfortunately that's the reality for so much girls and in some west indian households instead of talking about the changes taking place in your body, they love to say "yuh betta nuh start act like nuh big ooman in here or nuh come with nuh belly in here". Makes no sense. We need to approach girlhood better and start creating spaces for girls to just be.

[@starcherry6814]

As well as her father Although we do not see him in the film he is responsible in a lot of ways Ami grows up. It's safe to assume her and her mother have been forced to take on so much responsibility because he is not present, and when he does come home he's bringing another woman I thought the scene where we saw the bedroom, compared to the rest of the house and more importantly Ami's mother's bedroom was very powerful. It goes to show that her father was able to provide a wedding and nice room for his new wife but isn't willing to spend money on getting his family a bigger place or at least sheets on his 1st wife's bed

[@newjeanskitchynicknamethat2258]

Thank you so much for adding these points. That's what I was coming here to say. As a woman raised in purity culture within a religion that also involves a lot of toxic masculinity, I was glad the director showed that girls like Amy are often pulled in various directions (two, in her case), by groups of people trying to protect us from exploitation, all the while unintentionally exploiting us as well. Both her family and her extended society were sexualizing people like her, just in different ways. I think it's unfortunately common for people to underestimate the naivite of just-pubescent girls, but also to underestimate their intelligence and their capacity for self-ownership. I'm glad Amy found her dignity.

[@AThickGirlsCloset]

exactly. Like there is a whole scene of Ami trying to iron her hair...which a lot of little black girls have either thought about or done.

[@Lynn-ee9hq]

I feel like the outrage directed at Cuties should have been channeled YEARS ago, at all these ingrained institutions; not at 1 goddamn film. The truth is uncomfortable, but that doesn't mean it should go ignored. If Cuties was erased from Earth right now--if Netflix was shut down tomorrow--what the hell changes? About society? About girlhood? About our hyper sexual, profit-driven culture? Nothing. Literally nothing. We'd go back to ignoring how our girls are raised and sheepishly accepting the materialistic world they're expected to thrive in. But what's happened ever since this movie hit the mainstream? People have *talked* about it. People have been forced to *question* these issues, and with any damn luck they'll bring about far more meaningful change. When I saw those girls on screen, they looked exactly how middle schoolers handle themselves. This started back in *my* school days, and I'm a millennial. Dressing skimpy, dancing provocatively, screwing around with boys, NONE of this is new. It is HONEST. But it took a woman to have the balls to make us face reality.

[@Motuochez]

THIS. and honestly it makes me so angry that it's not talked about and completely ignored as a problem. the fact that kids are listening to artists like nicki minaj and cardi b and the music videos aren't age-restricted in YT or anything... I remember watching similar youtube videos when I was 11 (around 2009) and it fucked up my self-image and how I view woman-/girhood completely for years.

[@Frwill126]

I felt the same way! And one of those “suggestive sexual” dances, they were dances I remember doing as a child (the crybaby). People don’t mention how this girl learned at 11 that she could use her body to get what she wants from men. That’s disgusting but the world will just say “older men like younger women” and not acknowledge that anyone under 18 is a girl, not a woman. But I definitely agree, this wasn’t ANYTHING that’s currently not happening in communities but it’s not addressed.

[@Anonymous_Gambito]

That's what I hated the most. I've seen much worse shit done in other movies and they didn't get all this backlash. I really wish that conversation was started years ago with some other movie by some big director instead of people suddenly start caring when it's a black girl doing it, and when it's about twerking. It's like the end of little miss sunshine. People don't care about the sexualization of children when they can still pretend it isn't there and throw some thin veil of fake purity and innocence over it, but when a little girl awkwardly dances like a stripper, suddenly the "magic" is gone and everyone is insulted. I don't think this is a perfect movie (no movie is duh) and personally I'd cut like half of that final dance scene bc I thought it was unnecessary, but it doesn't seem like people want to have that discussion at _all_ . It seems they want to avoid it and forfeit ignorance bc reality and its nuances makes them uncomfortable. These girls were portrayed so accurately as kids I was impressed. I could see my classmates and myself in them when we were that age, and I hope these honest stories continue to be made and told, despite it all.

[@Monie71793]

Good point. I remember dancing to "Hot In Here" by Nelly @ summer camp when I was around their age. 😶😩🤦🏽‍♀️

[@tempesttossed6029]

100%

[@katiehope2132]

I’m not a big fan of these takes bc I feel they overlook the young actresses who played these roles. Like f*ck sacrificing the health and well-being of these girls just so we can have important conversations. Miss ma’am shoulda found another medium or a better way to execute her story, imo. That being said, the outrage was nothing but crocodile tears of yt ppl trying to police the art and bodies of blk women. Tom Cotton? Coming out against the film? I’m sorry but that man prolly has a few underage skeletons in his closet 👀

[@hideem1]

I think you have made some excellent points and even though I’m more inclined to agree with the video we are commenting on, your thoughts are coming from a loving, protective and needed perspective. I am glad I got to read your thoughts. Thank you for sharing them. ❤️

[@aiba6540]

I feel like her and Tee really missed the mark here. I like to listen to both of them but often times I feel like they aren’t taking into account pivotal parts of the story.

[@siukong]

That is a valid stance to have. But personally I think in order to be consistent one must then be opposed in general to most other instances of child acting. All the cases where they participate in scenes where they pretend to be murdered, abused or be subjected to the atrocities of war. Or even something that seems more innocuous like an emotional monologue, a heated argument or a school scene involving bullying, that could still nevertheless result in that child actor being traumatized in some way.

[@accomplushed]

black women? theyre children , whattt

[@hideem1]

Riv Miller the director is not a child.

[@usernameunknown9940]

I'm not against having a discussion about the way the girls were filmed dancing in this movie, but the outrage was definitely disproportionate

[@charlybrown5264]

Yes, because everybody is jumping on a bandwagon that drives in the wrong direction!

[@fredrika27]

People should be outraged at why Simone Biles has to wear next to nothing at the Olympics!

[@glxysurfing]

MN Hill does she not wear a leotard like every other gymnast?

[@fredrika27]

@@glxysurfing Yes, she does, but her leo along with everyone else's seems to be getting more see through and smaller in the backside area to the point she has to glue her leo to her butt!

[@fredrika27]

@Bayboy 925 No, this is an issue of modesty because if you look at the leos of the past, they covered well. FIG should allow the girls to wear shorts, but I am told this is a "safety" issue!

[@jazmincontreras109]

"You know who actually abuses children, ICE" THANK YOU!! Nobody seems to take that seriously, this was a very interesting take on the movie. I haven't watched it yet but thanks for recommending the original French version. I will say I was opposed to watching it because other people were describing the sexualized scenes and I was immediately put off, but when I heard the director speak on her film it helped me look at it differently without even watching it .

[@dirankomorov]

You forgot to mention the White Helmets.

[@e.r.2020]

I think the intention was there and it’s an important conversation, but I still feel weird about a group of adults using real children to tell this story. I think she could’ve done this in the form of a documentary or a book, it just feels like a power in-balance to use real kids who couldn’t fully consent to what story they were telling. The story’s message is amazing but I think the path taken there is questionable.

[@NaturallySharri]

I never heard of this movie until you recommended it. I was a middle school teacher for eight years so I wasn’t shocked by the girls’ conversation or how they dress or how they acted. I saw this all the time as a teacher. The 6th graders come in so innocent and by December they’re sneaking on make up and changing clothes in the bathroom. The 6th graders are trying to act like 8th graders and the 8th graders are trying to act like highschoolers and they’re trying to act like college girls. What I thought was appalling was when Amy took a picture of her crotch. I was like oh my God! That part was glossed over because that would have been a major issue in reality. I hear girls at school talk about girls doing inappropriate things on social media, quite a bit. It’s just adults aren’t privy to these conversations.

[@quianavee]

I haven’t watch the film yet but I want to just to say “hey, I used to do that when I was younger”

[@ladygrey4113]

Seriously, most of the harranguing is from men.

[@juanicole617]

We called it the Crybaby. I personally never did it but I had plenty of friends who did. This movie was REAL!

[@kennyb1588]

Right! I literally use to do a lot of this stuff when I was younger. If we are being honest most kids do similar stuff when they are younger

[@tianasao]

I've watched the movie and personally still believe the execution could have been done better without going all out on the sexualization of the young actresses. To me, my problem wasn't the message of the movie, or the fact that it discusses this issue that is very real. I'm pretty sure the young actresses were happy to be in a serious movie where they get to share a serious message, that's a great opportunity. I'm more concerned by the fact that these kids who legally cannot give their full consent (the parents had to do it) were tasked with this. Even if they aren't toddlers and definitely have an understanding of the situation, I can't help but think about myself at that age and all the implications I wouldn't have considered, because they're still that young. But I do agree with a lot of your points, I don't believe the director had the intention to sexualize kids for the sake of sexualizing kids and the fact that some people are taking this opportunity to fully antagonize this woman is ridiculous. There needs a be a more nuanced conversation around this, whether we agree or disagree with the way children were displayed in the movie. I also have an issue with the weird dance mom, pageant etc culture that currently exists and I don't understand how some of these people are outraged at this movie and yet completely comfortable with these other things. Seems a little hypocritical to me.

[@itslonda4157]

Yes thank you, the thing that bothers me the most is the issue of consent. We all agree that kids can’t consent so are we really ok with young kids consenting to a movie that portrays them in such a sexual way ? I do think there was a lot of fake outrage but there are some legitimate concerns that we need to address

[@kennyb1588]

The thing that's funny about you mentioning dance moms is that in the fandom most of the kids and teens have acknowledge that the show is literally filmed child abuse but the adults are the ones who will literally attack the kids within the fandom for bringing up the fact that most people who went on the show literally had to see therapist and quit dance when they left.

[@aiba6540]

Agreed. Just should have been done without sacrificing the actresses.

[@overgrownkudzu]

@@kennyb1588 dance moms is super fucked up, the thing that worries me is that so many of the fans will defend it because "dance coaches are supposed to be tough" or bully people who were portrayed as mean on the show. Abby was racist, abusive and mean, and production was even worse.

[@1elitegeek]

But with pageants the kids are being carted in front of judges by their parents, I'd criticise it but at the end of the day it's the parents prerogative, we can ask for directors not to sexualise children and can cancel a movie we can't really do that to parents

[@holigatis7588]

Netflix made it seem that the whole movie is about little girls are trying to win a twerking contest. I liked the overall message of the movie. However, there were moments that I couldn't watch.

[@Birdsarefake114]

“Murder is wrong now. Let me murder this person to show you how murder is wrong.” My point is did the Director have to show us the over sexualization of children in order to get the point across that children are over sexualized in modern media. I mean she brought up the fire while adding fuel. I just don’t see how we can look past that just because she had the right message.

[@mell5707]

Okay but ... I still think it was still exploitative to have real children perform like this. The movie has good intentions, but it was forced to sexualize real child actors in order to tell its story.

[@EShields13]

I keep hearing this but IMO the movie doesn't sexualize kids it shows them dancing, imitating media they're inundated with daily, which kids do in real life all the time. It's up to the viewer to assign sexual meaning to that. It wasn't sexual to me because I don't find kids sexually attractive. In fact it acutally made me giggle at some parts because it reminded me of young girls who try desperately to "act grown". I think the director rightfully tries to lead the audience down that path to have us interrogate our discomfort at seeing these depictions.

[@jazlynmichelleraby7744]

@@EShields13 same for me. With all the controversy, I decided to watch the film myself. I was so surprised. These kids were not sexualized. They acted like freaking kids throughout. They imitated videos (which me and my siblings use to do as kids). Its alot of the adult audience sexualizing the kids .

[@nae6485]

Erin Thee Earthling they imitated sexual videos tho... a=b b=c a=c

[@EShields13]

@@nae6485 there's nothing inherently sexual about kids dancing.

[@nae6485]

Erin Thee Earthling of course but if they're imitating sexual dance moves then those moves are sexual...

[@ashleiwithani4910]

I understand the intention however, it's okay to acknowledge the intention does not match the impact. I'm not outraged by the film and don't consider it to be child p*rn*graphy. As a Black Woman there were times that I connected with the film however, I think the film and the storytelling is bad; which is probably why the audience is having a disconnect with the message.

[@felicityb93]

This movie makes me inextricably sad. Actually, it's not even the movie, itself. I have not seen the movie, and I don't plan on watching it. Ever. I'm a CSA victim; been there, done that, got the t-shirt, need HELLA therapy. But I have been watching commentary videos about it (which, I didn't even mean to start doing *that*), and I an inextricably sad that a movie like this had to be made. Despite the MOUNTAIN of evidence that our culture sexualizes and exploits children (particularly Black girls), someone STILL felt like a movie detailing that shit had to be made. It makes me sad, In fact, when I dwell on it a bit too long, it makes me ANGRY.

[@chelseaxoxo784]

What is CSA please

[@lexthelovely3805]

Chelsea xoxo childhood sexual abuse

[@chelseaxoxo784]

@@lexthelovely3805 thanks

[@chelseaxoxo784]

I'm so sorry mechanimekid. You are beautiful and loved. Please stay away from all negativity. You deserve everything honey❤️

[@felicityb93]

@@queenii I was younger when I was sexually assaulted. There are still parts of my childhood that I either can't remember or feel like an anime dream sequence. Shit's cray. (And honestly?! This might be shaking the table a lil bit, but I'd say developing hypersexuality as a child was a lot worse than the actual act because a) I was damn near an adult when it hit me that I was sexually assaulted and b) the shame that hits you when you realize your peers don't think the way you do is paralyzing as a child. There was something wrong with me, but I felt like it was my fault.) Anyway, I feel so bad for the director, because she had all this b/s lumped on her shoulders because Netflix's roll out of the movie was a fucking circus show. Netflix's marketing for Cuties is a masterclass in how NOT to market films like this, because fam... I saw those posters, and existed stage left. Like, who the fuck watches a movie detailing and condemning the sexual exploitation of children and decides to market said movie by sexually exploitating children?! It don't make no sense!! Like I said in my initial comment, I hate that this movie exists for the simple fact that the exploitation of children being wrong should be a no brainer. But it's not. And I've resigned myself to the fact that in order to make people realize how wrong that shit is, you're going to have to force them to face that shit head on. On the flip side, I've been on the internet since I was a child (I'm 27 now); I am acutely aware of a VERY SPECIFIC subset of human garbage that is going to want to watch this movie for all the wrong reasons. I'm scared this film is going to expose these girls to a whole lotta unwanted attention. It's good that the crew was taking care of these girls on set and making sure they were doing everything right, but rly hope there's going to be followup. Those girls are need it.

[@PhuutThaiMaiDai]

I find it interesting that a woman makes a provocative film to draw attention to the sexualization of young women and society rewards it by chastising her for showing how society sexualizes young women. Like...that's exactly the point. Good art makes us uncomfortable.

[@xinamoira274]

You don't even think of the CHILD ACTORS in this scenario as people, just props to be used by this woman for her art. Fuck you, the criticism is well deserved.

[@julyboor3704]

@@xinamoira274 umm, you do realize that there was a child psychologist on the set to ensure that the children were safe and that one of the girls came forward about how they were sexually exploited.

[@zaynabpotter]

The part when her mother tells her she's a woman when she gets her period, in Islam it's the marker that makes the transition from child to woman, you now have to fast and pray and be more modest, so that type of reaction from her mom was not uncommon, same thing was said to me and to my Muslim friends when we got our periods, just to clarify, love ur videos xx

[@dearlyanna1121]

That's why I really appreciate you Kim. As a French woman, I was very surprised and quite hurt by the reception over there in the US. I have seen the movie in theaters and I understood the message that the director wanted to convey. Thank you for the review. I personally loved the movie. It is brilliant

[@chilln2009]

I can't agree more! I'm from Germany and I was waiting for somebody with a brain commenting on this film!!!!

[@funkylilmouse]

Another French here 🖐I think the same though it did take some time to get over my uncomfortable feelings. Sometimes people should think before reacting emotionally and I'm glad I did.

[@lostalbrand]

I totally agree. I was at first overwhelmed by the awkwardness, and then later I was so moved by the message. Yes it was awkward, but as Kim says, it was supposed to be. Great movie and great review.

[@babyxkande]

Yes!! I think the International perspective fails to consider the French context that it was filmed it

[@attou1506]

Interestingly enough, in my circles, most of the criticisms I've heard of this movie weren't primarily about the sexualization of young girls but rather about its supposed promotion of islamophobia (i.e. the "Muslim girl removes her hijab and suddenly feels empowered" trope)

[@iindiraa]

But she wasn't a hijabi though...

[@priscillaisawesome3]

I have to say, the first time I encountered discussion about this movie was through D’Angelo Wallace. For a while I was working with teenagers as a sexual health educator, and so I really value creating safe spaces for young girls and non-binary youth, and give them a chance to ask questions and explore the subject of sexuality in a safe and welcoming environment. So after watching D’Angelo’s video, I immediately felt nauseated - like in my head I was like “oh this is child exploitation it has nothing to do with the race and subject matter of the movie.” But the truth is, I took on someone’s opinion without even thinking twice or formulating my own conclusions. And as usual, thanks to my white privilege, I forgot that yes, it has everything to do with race, that it is inextricably linked to the reception of this film. Anyways, thank you Harriet and Tee Noir for opening my eyes and reminding me that critical thinking is important. Because whether we like it or not, young girls are consuming these images 24/7, and are 100% being affected by this. So yes, I’m not sure this made any sense whatsoever, but thank you thank you thank you!

[@anacastrodavila2689]

Thank you. I'm a latina women and saw the film and I identify a lot with the little girl battling between purity and hypersexualization. That little girl is my cousin, my neighbor, me, my sister. In my country dancing is really normal in parties, and the kids do it too, but sometimes those 13 year old kids are seeing reaggeton dances and the copy them because it's cool, and that was in my childhood and can't even imagine what the kids see know with social media.

[@Phoenixhunter157]

If these girls were being abused and raped by grown men in this movie, people would say this movie is disturbing but important because this sort of thing happens. But when little girls try to harness and display their ideas of sexuality, this movie is all of a sudden child porn. When I watched this movie I just felt embarrassed for the girls when they were trying to be “sexy”. If anyone watched that and thought those girls were “Sexy” then the problem lies within the viewer. People don’t want to believe that 11 year old girls are trying to figure out sexuality at that age. They may not understand it fully but they do explore. Right wing doesn’t allow for that. Females can’t own or try to own their sexuality. It’s only ok when women /girls are being abused or raped in a film. That’s totally acceptable.

[@petalchild]

@@flamingmanure You need therapy.

[@Phoenixhunter157]

AH silver you mad?

[@charlybrown5264]

@@flamingmanure You are wrong here... bye

[@Aster_Risk]

@idk That's not common at all. Most 11 year olds are aware of sexuality, even if they don't have words for it.

[@dorlisastjean4072]

Why does it have to be political? Normal human beings will have that reaction and anyone who wants to make it seem like we are not ready to have this discussion when we have been discussing child exploitation since Brooke Shields needs to pay attention and stop using politics.

[@mennoknight78]

This is the most fair and to the point review of Cuties I've come across on KZbin. In my opinion, you've seen the movie for what it is: a moving and realistic coming-of-age story of a girl torn between two worlds. People who see this as pornographic need to see a therapist asap. Or get a basic education in humanities. Sure, predators may get a kick out of those girls dancing. Then again, predators may get a kick out of just about ANYTHING. The Sears catalogue, a ballet performance, a sunny day at the beach, 10.000.000 TikTok clips - the list goes on.

[@shanikahunter1642]

So was I the only preteen that pretended to be grown and idolized my teenaged aunt....I learned the “Push-It” dance(I’m aging myself) and it was pretty damn provocative for an 11 year old in the late 80’s....this is real and everybody who is acting like they were still bopping to Barney in middle school is telling a damn lie...like you said “it’s uncomfortable to look at” but it’s real....adolescence is uncomfortable and one of the main reasons millennials and Gen A act like they do is because y’all so damn busy erasing their experiences as a way to deal with parenting guilt (a topic for another day)....and I AM SICK AND TIRED OF PEOPLE TRYING TO STOP BACK WOMEN FROM TELLING OUR UNCOMFORTABLE STORIES...thank you

[@eliliabdinassir3226]

👏🏾👏🏾

[@0116Lori]

11 year olds may not be bopping to Barnie but they are not in middle school yet either. At 11, I wasn't into Barny or into this kind of stuff. I guess because my parents kept us kids busy with going to the beach, horse back riding, camping, skating, bike riding, doing chores at home and making sure our school work was done.

[@Birdsarefake114]

This is projection… just because you were that way doesn’t mean every single 11 year-old girl ever is was or is going to be.

[@RedskinwithCurls]

I saw A LOT of parallels between the movie and my friends’ and I’s experiences growing up. This movie has led us to have a continued conversation about the standards that girls are held to during this crucial time in development. One place that I can see where the movie lost realism (and this could be a cross-cultural discrepancy), was when the main character posted a picture of her vagina. I haven’t seen many grown women post bare photos of that piece of them (other forms of nudes yes, and sending them to a specific person, of course). But given young girls typically push the boundary of what grown women do without completely surpassing it, I understsnd how this part can be critiqued as sensationalism. Still does NOT take away for the absolute need for the conversation around the sexualization and shame placed on young women and girls. Definitely open to hearing your experiences and academic perspectives.

[@crownofeunoia1907]

Unfortunately, it’s pretty realistic these days and happening so much that children can be prosecuted for distributing CP if they send nudes of themselves in the US.

[@lp5170]

I think that’s supposed to mirror the old woman’s wedding

[@BodyCulinary]

@@crownofeunoia1907 Wow. Children can be prosecuted?

[@crownofeunoia1907]

Body-Culinary Yup. I’m personally on the fence on it because it works as a determent for minors to avoid sending nudes but I am not comfortable prosecuting minors over this when they make their own nudes.

[@salb5610]

@@HumorousLOL I see you didn't watch the video. Come back to us once you have

[@nicoletaelor279]

My biggest concern with the film is that the actors are young, and I just know the clips of the girls dancing are now online for everyone to see, including people who are going to do absolutely disgusting things while watching them.

[@Ronii523]

My best friend is a psychologist who deals with sexual predators and believe me when I say they don't need that to get off. It could be as simple as kids in they underwear in the JCPenney catalog.

[@tamaracharese]

So the outrage should be put there, not on the film. The film is important to see just for that reason.

[@inamib.9786]

THANK YOU. I couldn’t understand the outrage when nothing in the marketing of the movie looked like it would be out of place from a cheering or dance competition. It might be because I have a lot of young cousins but everyone getting outraged made no sense to me when this is just how kids act in real life. Kids put sexy images of themselves everywhere nowadays, on Tik Tok, on Insta, on their Snapchat, to the stranger on Chatroulette. A lot of it behind their parents back. And no one talks about it. And now with a chance to bring this conversation to the forefront, rather than contending with the message, people got mad at the messenger

[@lindiwengwevela524]

The people who are all, "I have young girls, I would never want them to see this movie!!" don't want to confront the possibility that their own daughters might be doing the same thing. They don't talk to their kids about anything, they just assume their daughters are clueless little angels. Also, so many adults are too immature to grapple with discomfort. They'd rather just avoid it.

[@phoebe543]

My daughter’s turning ten soon and some of the clothes she asked for for her birthday made me uncomfortable so this kind of thing has been on my mind a lot. I remember being a preteen and wearing little shorts and vest tops and getting weird reactions from people that I didn’t understand when I started to develop. Being told you can’t wear certain clothes and express yourself in certain ways is sexualising a child in itself so, as a parent, you’re constantly torn between protecting your child from being sexualised by others but not wanting to be the one who sexualises their innocent desire to wear fashionable clothes etc.

[@aidam7822]

I'm a 16yo who identifies with the activity in Euphoria, this film wasn't that insane to me I'm watching ny own 10yo sisters live this

[@LizNeptune]

exactly.. and no one has tried to ban Euphoria..

[@ranii7895]

Liz Neptune that’s different and majority of the actors on euphoria are 18+

[@zoehsam]

Yeah it’s a different story with Euphoria, because all of the actors are adults and can consent.

[@sjor3569]

Red Diamond so in essence you’re still ok with this kind of sexual behavior as long as it’s adults pretending to be teens.

[@ranii7895]

s jor yes because they can consent

[@Scorpion-oz2ns]

The same people who are "upset" about "Cuties" have no smoke for "Good Boys" which was rated R and the main cast was under 15. Is a movie about oversexed children and it's presented as a comedy, but yes, let's boycott Netflix over the thoughtful examination that is "Cuties."

[@bewiesinsalone1874]

That’s a good point - oversexed boys are seen as funny but I personally did not

[@dorlisastjean4072]

The huge problem is that like the person in the video, they only focus on young girls and not overall children. They forget that boys deal with worse scenarios from a lot of them having to believe that their sexual assaults are just a win to constantly be pressured to enjoy sex to even having to suppress their feelings because the world doesn't respect them enough especially feminists.

[@dorlisastjean4072]

Also, you have to think about the time where many people did not understand what was going on behind the scenes back then and thought that it was a movie. The psychological effects in a child actor even this one will change them in the near future. It sucks but this is why many people were outraged now and speaking out about things like pageants and the same WAP music video.

[@petalchild]

@@dorlisastjean4072 Feminists are the ones actually standing up for male victims. Where do you even get your information? Also it's not "worse scenarios." Sexual abuse and the trauma that comes with it is horrible, regardless of who it affects.

[@lemonsherbert8915]

@@petalchild true if you go under any comment section where a minor boy has been abused by a woman, it's only women who fight for the child while all the men are like "oh he's lucky" "he must be gay if he didn't like it" "I wish that was my teacher growing up" and that is why no men stood up for good boys ,the only time men stand up for sexual assault against boys/men is if another man is the abuser.

[@DimaRakesah]

I totally brought different clothes to wear to school. In my case my mom was religious and had unusually strict clothing expectations. All of my clothes fit the school's dress code. The only thing 'provocative' was that I dressed in an alternative style. Even that made people shun me for stepping outside the expectations of how a young girl "should" dress to be attractive, even though at the time Brittney Spears in a sexy school girl uniform was all the rage. People are such hypocrites.

[@Internal_radio]

I thought the outrage was directed at netflix for marketing this as a sexy child film... I didn't know that many people were mad at the movie itself.

[@deneshiaash876]

Not true

[@Janna_Ash]

Outrage is definitely aimed at Netflix. But I’ve also seen a lot of it directed at anyone that won’t join in on the bashing. Literally calling people pedophiles for defending or explaining the point of the film smh. I’ve even seen people trying to somehow link this to Obama, saying he has some deal with Netflix, therefore he’s connected to this.

[@Internal_radio]

@@deneshiaash876 it's ok if it's not true. It's just what I experienced. I didn't look too far into it, because I didn't care too much about the outrage, so I'm fully ok with being wrong about that.

[@chronicallychic]

The "Cancel Netflix" campaign was probably geared more toward Netflix as a platform for its PR imagery, but the director herself was also receiving death threats and accusations of pedophilia 😣

[@Smile-ni9nc]

There are interviews of the director here on YT, and the like to dislike ratio is insane for them with the comment section going crazy.

[@toomuchtimeontheinternet6804]

I love you Harriet but, I've watched this movie and went into it with no expectations or biases. I wanted the movie to succeed. I did not go into thinking it was bad. But, I've got to say, this movie to me did not reach that depth that criticizes such a delicate topic. I could understand what the movie was trying to accomplish, but the way it was executed did not work for me. The camera work, the shots, and the way the scenes were depicted were all questionable. There were some scenes where the camera just lingers on the characters in a voyeuristic way. Not in a way of the first-person perspective like the audience is watching the world as the characters move. The camera was almost always following the girls, not with them as their day played out. Throughout the movie, the camera work to me, felt very reminiscent of the 'male gaze'. Including this, some of the shots had no purpose to be there. For example, shots of the girl's behinds as they are walking or the scene with the 'exorcims' with Ami, her grandmother, and her mother. The exorcism in particular was depicted in a way that added no value to the plot. There was no need to have Ami in her underwear amidst such a dramatic scene, and dressing in all white would have been more appropriate to their culture. I've never heard of an exorcism where the participant is barely dressed. Secondly, the way the camera zoomed in the children's bodies and rotated around so many of the characters was just not right to me. There were too many scenes that were 'disturbingly' focused on the girls in a way that did not add to the value of the story. Any type of movie with such a topic should have a balance of the implied and explicit, and many of the scenes in Cuties would have worked better if it were implied rather explicit. The dance scene at the end, for example, lasted far too long, focused far too much on the girl's bodies, and did not focus enough on the look of horror on the audience's faces. While I understand the sentiment of what the director was trying to accomplish, the execution of the movie did not work for me. I've watched disturbing films that deal with heavy issues. I've watched films that are hard to swallow. But, after watching Cuties at the end I just felt sickened by the fact that any sort of message would be hindered by the fact that the wrong crowd of people will watch the movie for alternative reasons. And thus, a movie meant to help expose the exploitation and sexualization of minors and explore young women's feminity in a changing society will be a movie where people ignore all of that and reduce the message into nothing but a movie about sexualizing children. Plus, any movie that fails to reach its intended audience and gathers the wrong audience is a movie that could've done better.

[@charlybrown5264]

Her name isn't Harriet, her name is Kimberly.

[@celestesubieta8803]

This

[@halloween482]

Completely agree with everything you said

[@TessaDShort]

My last visit to this channel. I can't support this.

[@SidraAbbas1]

🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽

[@LooksByNaheemah]

the director/writer's message gets completely lost when you participate in the same systems and exploitation that you are trying to critique

[@dixienormus769]

@beugre marie *disagree

[@rf313]

exactly

[@messyvlog21]

I wont be watching the sexualization of children. Nope not doing it

[@sophiameneely694]

It’s crazy that people pretend that girls don’t have sexual thoughts. Our sexual identity is supposed to be suppressed into boxes of love and romance. In the US, we understand and respect that boys have sexual thoughts. We permit that. But girls? We ignore them and leave them on their own to navigate what sexuality and sex mean to them. We don’t ask them or talk to them. And then we blame them when they get it wrong. I was hesitant to watch this film, but this has made me want to watch it yesterday. Thank you.

[@delilahrose62]

Exactly, the outrage is part of the problem. Abandoning girls to discover their sexuality through social media inevitably leads to issues, as the film reveals. If we can't have stories pointing out this issue, then the issue will continue.

[@mayaoppong8847]

I watched this on the patreon and I loved this review! You approached the film in good faith and made me really excited to check it out!

[@ForHarriet619]

I appreciate this a lot.

[@DS-wp2dj]

Never seen anyone try to cancel Little Miss Sunshine. Funny, how people can recognise the sense of humanity and empathy -and the clear intent- behind showing a little girl doing a sexual dance in a film, and this being intentionally super awkward and uncomfortable, when it's established white American filmmakers behind it.

[@julyboor3704]

Double standards for you. Or how instead of trying to cancel Cuties, they should actually support victims who were sexually abused and exploited.

[@OpqHMg]

lol what???? I was going to bring up Little Miss Sunshine as an example of a film that did a great job of making its message clear!! I am sorry but have you even WATCHED cuties??? it is absolutely NOT clear about its message. It is absurd to me how many people rush to defend this movie purely because of the woman who made it. The hypocrisy is deeply absurd. Like no one here would be trying to defend this shitty movie if Lars or Roman Polanski made it. Jesus Christ people, men are not the only ones capable of exploiting and sexualizing innocent girl bodies you know?

[@smarty2985]

@@OpqHMg i agree completely!! also to add on to your comment just because a woman directed it doesn't mean that those girls weren't forced to exploit themselves in front of the men within the cast and crew. they had to encounter male actors, casting directors, sound instructors, editors etc who were more than likely male. to me the message of the film is valid, little girls ARE hyper-sexualized. but in order to make a film about such things, sexualizing actual children is not the way to do it. just because a woman of colour directed it doesn't excuse it! i don't believe the director had evil intent but lets just say, HAD a white man directed the film, we would of seen absolute mayhem. it's not about who directed it. the director is not the victim in this, those girls are. and the fact people are making comments such as Odette's really tells where the priority lies for some. the difference being cuties had those girls touching their crotches and grinding on one another while making sexual faces. in little miss sunshine the most provocative move was the main character slapping her bum, while laughing and giggling. the difference being there is an element of innocence to what little miss sunshine was doing, it wasn't meant to be explicitly titillating, it was awkward but expressed the discomfort without forcing the actress to exploit herself. cuties made those girls grind up against a camera, showing shots of their crotches, forcing them to dance sexually in front of multiple grown men in order to gain something throughout the film. not to mention, they had one of the girls act out taking a picture of her vagina. the comparison is void. little miss sunshine is self aware enough to not actively exploit that young girl. there were no shots of her crotch or her groping herself. cuties actively exposed those young girls for the world to see.

[@anti1training]

You're way off. This is something Netflix is promoting. Normal people don't watch those stupid shows and we've always talked about how disgusting those shows are. Hollywood doesn't care though. Blame them for over sexualizing children!

[@tonimartinez320]

The outrage against this has made me feel ashamed of how I acted as a young adolescent [11-13]. Like I got to thinking that I was "Fast" and that I somehow earned the violence that happened to me. So many folks feel so uncomfortable with this movie and it makes me think that collectively, we believe that ignoring and dismissing the growth behaviors of young adolescence, will somehow keep them innocent and thus safe from pedophiles. But that ignores that pedophiles will be pedophiles regardless of how a child dresses or acts. It has come across to me as victim blaming, because these girls have their agency taken from them "these poor dumb babies, we exploited them, they don't know anything about anything" the internet exists and as a young teen, some of the first things you realize is how innately sexualized you and your body are. "Take children's stories seriously". The antidote to child sex abuse is to see children as humans, to hear them, to see them as a human being because ultimately this is all them performing and learning about adulthood. It's adult responsibility to give real guidance to really hear kids, instead of doing what amounts to is victim blaming - "child sex abuse exists because of all those little girls running around in skimpy clothes" newsflash: only pedophiles will see a child sexually. point blank period. So we can and should move on in the dialogue to figuring out how we can hear kids better... because true connection can save the lives of kids and prevent trauma. If a kid doesn't feel like you'll listen, then they won't talk.

[@aaw265]

Reality scares people. Look at the shows that they have with these beauty pageants and dance contest. These critics do not mention these shows that are exploiting the youth. The issue is the black story teller. You rock and I love your commentaries.

[@Lochness19]

I actually did see a decent amount of people referencing Toddlers in Tiaras and how that was inappropriate/exploitative as well.

[@heiressananiah8788]

I always found pageants and stuff weird as a kid and now that I'm older I understand why it made me feel this repulsion when you would see the adults egging it on like I thought it was so creepy..

[@DJ-lc5wy]

I haven't seen the movie yet, and after D'Angelo Wallace's review, I was convinced that I didn't need to. But I can't help but notice that everyone is outraged by the spectacle of Cuties except for (mostly) black women. Between you and Tee Noir, I've been introduced to an aspect of the conversation that has been dismissed by others as "unimportant because of the child exploitation," which is disappointing because it reflects the experience of so many people who were socialized as girls. I think back to how I was only 9 years old the first time that someone tried to teach me how to twerk, and how by 11, I thought it was so cool to twerk with other people but found myself deeply uncomfortable after the fact. Do I still think that the movie is child exploitation? I don't know. It's probably not more exploitative than anything else we do to young girls in our day to day lives. But the point is that I actually want to watch the movie for myself before I gain a proper opinion on it. It's unfortunate that it'll be affected by all of the controversy around it, but I'm convinced that there is a meaningful conversation behind this movie. (Although I am still bothered by that "MAP" that insisted that they were aroused by the movie and that was the intention. 🤮🤮🤮)

[@devonmunn5728]

Yeah most of the other reviews are just bashing it and feeding preconceived notione people already had (even one from a person who i recently got into and like. She's a white woman btw who is pretty liberal). Tee Noir's video is pretty good. BlackCriticGuy and a video from a guy he recommended (forgot the guys name) also did good videos about the movie

[@Alexandra31T]

i like D'Angelo but yea that review was not it

[@redcitadel9123]

Everything you just said!

[@Libusheful]

If someone is "aroused" by the dancing scenes in the movie...well 😖 the problem is within that person.

[@Angeline453]

I still can’t get how people can just accept someone else’s opinion, without trying to make one for themselves

[@ghostofjayme]

It's also so odd to me that so many people will attack a peice of fiction that actually discusses these issues in and presents them in a way to that actually dissects them, yet will watch Dance Moms and not bat an eye. I've yet to see any of these "save the child" people discuss Dance Moms...

[@annaf3915]

I`ve never watched Dance Moms and I saw Cuties on Netflix without being aware of the controversy - some weird Netflix algorithm suggested it to me (maybe because I watch foreign language films... I`ll never know). The first 20 minutes or so were OK, but then the story got shalllower and shallower, there was less and less dialogue and the way the dance scenes were filmed was more than cringe worthy. It`s possible to discuss issues without making actual children perform like that.

[@shelby9510]

When Dance Moms was airing adults were really outrage. But Dance Moms audience were children. There’s been discussion about the show and shows similar to it ie Toddlers Tiaras of the harmful affect it had on the girls

[@wissalkocht]

the argument that we're all complicit sounded like when people criticize capitalism and someone says "oh but you own an iPhone so you're not allowed to disagree"

[@kate5492]

Funny how Jodi foster was 12 when she played a prostitute in taxi driver but it's never brought up as a criticism of the movie, and it's still considered a great film. Also funny how bad baby's career started when she was like 14?? And no one seems to care unless they're making fun of her, a teenager whose sexuality is being exploited for profit

[@tabj7595]

Funny how people forget that...

[@marbleblue5127]

Jodie didn't do anything physically provocative in Taxi Driver. And people did criticize it. She and the filmmakers had to address that role for decades.

[@Rissyquietisideal]

a lot of the outrage for this I saw coming from young people, specifically people around my age (20), many of us/them haven't seen that movie or even know who jodie foster is. youre asking them to be outraged about a movie they've never heard about that came out in 1976. i agree that many people overlook other instances in the movie industry or tv industry where children are exploited however. but rather than demonize people for getting upset about this, i'd rather just encourage them to be on the look out for it in other places and be just as critical to other movies/tv shows as they were to this one. (also im 100% not trying to attack you, i fully believe we should look back on all films we've considered great in the past decades and critique them for their objectively bad choices)

[@hideem1]

Holy crap. I didn’t even consider that! Good point.

[@angelicastern2385]

A better example is Brooke Shields in “Pretty Baby” at age 12, plus posing for Playboy at age 10.

[@lisaswenson1999]

The reaction to this film reminded me of when Millie Bobby Brown wore a designer dress and everyone criticized the people around her who let her wear it (it was a floor length, long sleeve dress that wasn't skin tight but had a low cut neckline). And I had the same thought of "they're not sexualizing her, are YOU sexualizing her?" I think society, American society specifically, is so used to sexualizing girls and women implicitly that when it is presented to them explicitly they react defensively.

[@TheWarriorpony]

I do think that there is a difference between those 2 situations. MBB was 15 in that dress. She looked well over 20 with that makeup on. The way child stars were dressed in the early 2000s vs now is honestly stark. I get that teenagers want to look grown up and there's not neccessarily anything wrong with that, but letting teens dress in their own approximation of adulthood and actively choosing a style of makeup and clothing for them that makes them look twice their age are two very different things. I have nothing against young girls exploring their femininity on their own terms, but it just feels irresponsible to dress a young girl, who is extensively scrutinized by the public and looked upon by people who find her attractive because of her young age, as far more mature than she actually is.

[@user-eu3hi2vo3e]

Okay but there’s a huge difference in a floor length dress and children behaving and dressing in an intentionally explicit manner.

[@TheWarriorpony]

@@user-eu3hi2vo3e It's not about the dress per se. It's about the fact that the way she's dressed and the way her makeup is done makes her look like she's in her late 20s. Teenagers in the public eye just don't look their age anymore. In the video, Kim was talking about how kids these days walk around with a bombardement of images in their pockets, which then causes them to try and emulate these images. It's not just about acting and dressing sexy, it's also about dressing in a way that makes you look far older than you are. If you look at red carpet pictures of Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez and other 2000s child stars, they looked fancy as well, but they looked their age. They didn't look 27. Presenting famous teens as much older, creates a culture of teens wanting to look like them, aka much older. You're basically handing predators the "but she looked over 18" excuse.

[@rpgnc]

MBB being dressed that way is a part of what this film intends to criticize... Compared to her male co-stars she was dressed and treated above her age and there should be conversations about it and awareness of it. But there's even a conversation in there about how Finn Wolfhard is treated by some fans and objectified as a minor but that might be slightly off topic

[@petalchild]

@@TheWarriorpony I don't think that's accurate. In the early 2000s, you had teen stars wearing super low rise pants (so low their cracks were almost showing), tiny bare midriff tops, etc. And plenty of teenage actresses and singers also dkd nude photo shoots for magazines. This has been a thing for a long time. It's not new.

[@XxNachtalbxX]

I understand that the intentions of the movie might have been to criticise the sexualisation of young girls in our society, which I think is an important conversation to be had - but, and this is a big but, the way it is portrayed is absolutely awful. The way the camera moves while showing these very young people being overtly sexual is 100% objectifying them. Treating them like a movie would treat adult women under a male gaze in any other movie, sometimes even zooming in on certain body parts that would considered sexual if the person portrayed was older. I get that that is the language of cinema and that it's ingrained in all film making, but in this case it very much conflicts the message of the film. You can't say these girl look awkward with what they are doing while the camera is zooming in on their crotches or chests.

[@entertain7us148]

'People think "this makes me uncomfortable" is the only argument needed for "this should not exist". It really frustrates me how incapable America is of having frank conversations about prepubescent sexuality. almost all kids are aware of sex or their changing bodies by around 10, and a lot of them are curious about it, but we as a culture are so terrified of being honest and open with them, so they end up suffering in silence.

[@MPPG663]

Oop! The "young man with the twist". Sounds like DeAngelo lol.

[@dasanmitchell]

Not the "man with the twists" IM CRYINGGGG //DEANGELO 😂😂😂😂

[@user-sb5vx8dc6p]

She was right though, his take was so stupid

[@herefortheshrimp1469]

@@user-sb5vx8dc6p I'm a big fan of his but right after I watched his video about it I remember thinking "...I wanna hear about this from a black woman." And every other black woman I've heard talk about this actually acknowledges the CONTEXT. So no, D. I'm gonna watch it lol

[@shanzoni1200]

Yeah I like DeAngelo but his review was a miss for me

[@stardoogalaxie9314]

He's gonna dismiss it and dismiss her

[@msmiami212]

Venessa Lets not. There’s no need to call his take stupid, this is subjective art. And obviously he landed elsewhere b/c he can’t speak from a woman’s POV. I think he acknowledged that actually.

[@ankejl3830]

This movie tries to critique a problem. People should be mad at the problem and what's causing the problem, not at the thing that is critiquing it.

[@marln2157]

Watching this for the third time, now that I'm writing an essay about this. Love your work!

[@tamaracharese]

This is such a great film! I’ve talked about this film at nauseam. Folks cussing me out for promoting child porn. It’s been exhausting. The film is SO important for caregivers to watch. We need to really open our eyes and make the necessary adjustments and have the necessary conversations especially among WOMEN. Just watch the film. Watch the film. Watch the film. Watch the film.

[@woofalice3098]

I felt this way too. I volunteer with girls that age, I’m studying to work with them as a career and I liked the film. I remember being that age and wanting to grow up too fast and be seen as a grown up, I can’t imagine what that’s like with social media added on top, or while being from a very different culture to the one around you. I feel like I can empathise more now. I grew up and live in a very working class, deprived community in wales and kids around here do try to act a lot older than they are, it’s uncomfortable, but it’s their reality. I can’t help them by burying my head in the sand.

[@tamaracharese]

Woof Alice all of this!!!

[@devonmunn5728]

Yeah on a comment of a more postive review someone said i was letting "pedos get their way" which of course offended me

[@incognitoincognito7500]

I think the film would be perfect if they didn’t have young actors or they didn’t put in explicit scenes

[@tamaracharese]

incognito incognito so just remove everything authentic

[@Kiki09012]

also, as a girl that didn't go through this phase of "I want to be an adult" I definitely felt lonely. I remember my friends using tight clothes and push up bras when we were 11/12 and I was too focused on one direction to care about any of this, but bc of this my friends and I suddenly didn't connect anymore. While they were talking about boys and teaching each other how to twerk to Brazilian funk music I was reading Harry potter and playing mario kart. While this is good on one hand, I felt very alone, I didn't understand why my friends didn't like what I liked and I also couldnt behave like them. I remember feeling very sad, I cried a lot and I got very depressed (which is also why I started to become emo and make friends on the internet). This sexualisation of kids are negative for both girls who sexualize themselves and for girls that don't, bc I for sure felt like shit for most of my middle school for not fitting in.

[@kennyb1588]

Maybe I am weird but I had both of these things going on except for me it wasn't "I want to be an adult" it was "I want to be pretty like the girls my age" like I still was obsessed with fandoms and stuff but I also had friends who weren't and they liked me all the same as my friends who did. Like I use to write walking dead fanfic at lunch and then the next day talk about the show to my friends who were just casual viewers and we would wear the makeup and crop tops and stuff and like that. Like I found a good balance between the two but I still experienced depression for other reasons.

[@Kiki09012]

@@kennyb1588 oh, i Sorry that you had to go though what I went though. even tho we lived the same thing but for different reasons we did live the same things, so I'm so sorry for that. I'm glad you were able to find a balance tho! I know I wish ai had lmao but even tho, no kid should need to kind a balance between sexualizing themselves or not :///

[@egyptfrazier]

As a grown woman and mother of two girls, I couldn't handle watching Cuties. However, when the director mentioned about looking at this movie from the lenses of a 11 year old girl who lives through puberty and social media influences 24/7 in her life, that led me to pause. I had to sit back and think about some of the things I have been expose to and done when I was 11 (I'm a 90s kid and 2000 teen). The scenery is different, but the situations are the same. One thing I wish I had when I was little is for my mom to have a open and honest conversation with me about womanhood instead of the classic "You're a child. Stay in your child place" treatment. That way I can see her point of view of what is womanhood and she could have some understanding of what I go through as a growing woman at that time. This is important conversations that (not just girls) all parents should have with both their daughters and sons.

[@symphonysonic8643]

I undersatnd what you’re trying to do here. It was a great story she was trying to tell. But she exploited little girls to do it, and I can’t believe you don’t see even that much

[@devonmunn5728]

She said in this video that there were shots that should have been omitted. So she does agree in some aspects. But also it is nice to see that sone people while on either side of this debate being respectful. Cause in this honestly weirdest debate i have seen (cause usually people on either on one side or the other but on this debate people on all sides are all over the place) i have myself been accussed of "letting the pedos get their way" which of course offended me. I know people who are CSA's so to have some asshole flippantly accuse me of being pro-pedo angered me. And in no way i care to defend this film, i just want to see people being respectful (except that MrGirl guy, fuck him)

[@ameera.abubakr]

did you even watch the video lol

[@digthewarmth]

Are you saying filmmakers should never use child actors to tell tough stories from kids' points of view? Like The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete, The Kite Runner, Slumdog Millionaire, etc.? Should they always use 18 year olds only, and kids never be able to act out their own stories?

[@symphonysonic8643]

digthewarmth I’m saying she could’ve filmed this, with children, without including extended close ups on their buts in short shorts.

[@jasminetaylor5416]

Exactly 👏🏽

[@emiliepryor51]

I was reminded of Thirteen too!!! I absolutely needed that movie as a young woman and I think Cuties will help people too. Great video girl, thank you.

[@letsalltakeawalk6906]

I really thought there was something wrong with me for not thinking the poster or the trailer was shocking.

[@devonmunn5728]

I didn't find it that shocking either and I'm sure it's because I've have seen/heard of waay more worse things

[@carmendelcastillo7724]

Its unsettling. Which is good if we find it unsettling cause you know now we know that we're not into that. And it may be that we've been desensitized of the shock value because we have been inundate with it for so long. Yall remember the thong song? That was on tv and I and elementary schooler could watch it.

[@carleylester9691]

Same!

[@Chucci]

At 11 YO (and younger) I lied about my age, and I took provocative photos. So much of this film I relate to. It was uncomfortable as hell, relatable as hell, and realistic as hell. I appreciate this video. It was very well done and hit every point in my heart

[@xinamoira274]

Yeah, but you're an adult now. Children are not here for you to exploit for the sake of working out your trauma. That is one of the most selfish, neoliberal things I have ever heard.

[@Acentra277]

@@xinamoira274 who said she watched the film to feel better? She related to it and you know what, so would many 11yr old girls. Like the film or not people are actually talking more about how young girls are growing up and what they are exposed to. It started a discussion and you honestly can't believe that that's a bad thing. What I think is bad is that the anger is at this film and not at what the film portrays. How do we stop the sexualisation of All girls? Not just the few we see on TV.

[@shelbytiger07]

I'm late, but thanks so much for this breakdown. I still feel some type of way when people want to talk about Cuties like it was some horrible way to normalize child pornography without ever seeing the film or at the very least doing a little bit of research into the director's message. There are so many things to be up in arms about instead of creating some fake outrage, but here we are. I still feel bad for the director.

[@shelbytiger07]

@@viviancooper5892 And I think the people that have seen the movie and been outraged are valid in their feelings. They're allowed to feel how they feel about the movie too. I have a problem with people that haven't seen the movie (which are a lot of people dominating the conversation) and being outraged by it. At that point they're not thinking critically for themselves and are choosing to base their ideas off of what someone else said (who often also did not see the movie but just saw the really distasteful ad on netflix). I'm all for taking a look at the movie critically and having a frank discussion on what people were and were not okay with in the portrayal of these children. Did I think the scenes were a little much? Yes, absolutely. I know that that was the intent of the director, but it was still a little much for me personally. However, we can't have these really good discussions that the author brings up in the film because too many people are jumping on the outrage bandwagon to care. That's what I have a problem with. I also think this movie would not have been good being marketed to children. This movie isn't about the sexualization of children (which like you said we know is bad). It's about the processes that lead children to follow this idea that sexualization is good and wanted in society, and how they get to that conclusion. It would take away the whole message of the film, in how our society is so quick to market sexuality and an unrealistic standard of beauty, which so many of these young girls internalize. Children would not be able to do anything about this message because they are the ones being directly affected in a world where they have no power. We as adults need to understand how our society contributes to these ideas, and how we can give children the tools to be okay with being just kids.

[@shelbytiger07]

@@viviancooper5892 Absolutely. I think it could have gone much more in depth as a book or documentary and the message would have been clearer.

[@buggydust]

THANK YOU, yours was the response i was most interested in hearing. it disappoints me greatly to see how many people have said this is a "black and white issue" and the movie should be banned, the director should be jailed, etc. nothing about this movie is on the same level as csem and i hate that people are trying to make that comparison. i feel for the director. i dont know how much of this backlash has reached her but i hope she has a good support system around her right now

[@fedorah8315]

The director should be jaileddd???? Nah people are wilinnnnn. I feel like the director literally put a mirror in the face of society and the girls are shaking. If anything, the director was extremely successful in forcing people to look at themselves and do some introspection. She literally generated worldwide conversation by critiquing society. Chapeau! The censorship of this movie would be the epitome of hypocrisy and disregard in my opinion.

[@saltedbuttercups]

@@fedorah8315 I mean, she was kind of successful because the movie got people to feel the way she wanted them to feel, but most Americans are apparently allergic to introspection so rather than examine the movie and learn from it they just dramatically throw themselves onto their fainting couches and point fingers at anyone they can blame to avoid having to examine themselves or their society.

[@bums009]

I mean I don't think she should be jailed or hated on but I do think she made a movie about child exploitation and sexualisation, through the exploitation and sexualisation of child actors. These are real children who are not necessarily aware of the consequences of appearing in such a film.

[@buggydust]

@@bums009 u think the children signed a contract to be in a movie all on their own?? surely they had parents or guardians to help them come to a decision and then signed off on it. it's clear the director took care to make sure they felt ok on set. thousands of people very loudly insisting these kids were exploited does more harm to them than acting in this film did

[@fedorah8315]

crusty bobusty crusty bobusty it’s also the lived experience of these children tho... i don’t think people understand how pervasive social media and access to information is in the life of kids in today’s time. I’m 22 and I do think there’s a disconnect. Also the director said counseling was available for the children on set, AND they weren’t filming explicitly sexualized things. Again the camera work and the unsaid is truly what carries the “narrative” i guess you could say. To reiterate it does make us question why we feel so uncomfortable and why we’re ready to cry wolf when we know that this is how the media is portraying our children in real life. But let someone actually call it out and all of a sudden it’s a problem with the person who calls it out and not with society itself. Like I said, I think the movie is doing what it was intended to do: create conversation. But I must say that the way Netflix decided to market the movie to Americans was real triflin. Ngl

[@StarCatAxel]

It’s honestly a good take, but I feel like it can be both. Being upset by the underaged girls engaging in performative sexuality should cause the outrage it has. Because what ended up happening, in the US at least, was people not being recessive to the actual narrative of a child struggling with the concept of womanhood. Cuz The truth is that people do sexualize these kids. There are child and adult beauty pageants. There are these arbitrary ass dress codes that punish young girls, instead of teaching people not to sexualize someone for existing. Because I don’t see these kids and think any less of them. I think of the sickos that do want to see it. it is evident in the fact that there are platforms for predatory gaze. it is also valid to take it into consideration when making these types of films. there is merit in pointing out how society demands performative sexuality. ESPECIALLY from women of color. It is a difficult line to walk between coming to terms with/celebrating your own sexuality and avoiding it being preyed upon/exploited by the zeitgeist.

[@125loopy]

Do you think people only sexualize kids doing "grown up" things like provocative dancing and pageants? Kids get abused participating in church and doing regular kids things. Pedophiles sexualize them regardless.

[@StarCatAxel]

MeShannan that was kinda my point when talking about the dress code thing. Also when talking about the balance between owning your sexuality and society’s fixation with it. I feel like it’s a journey of discovery for every adolescent. And I feel like that is the biggest message of the movie. At an early age I saw women honing their sexuality as admirable. I didn’t see the sexualization of femme fetales in video games, I just saw badass women about to kick some ass. But that’s from the eyes of a child who isn’t aware of the negative aspects of society. it’s not always an audience of outraged moms. Sometimes moms encourage the behavior. Sometimes men grading women on their appeal starts at childhood. So, while showcasing the actions is supposed to invoke discomfort, we cannot ignore that a lot of people will not only miss the point of the deeper narrative because they’re rightly not wanting to participate in that kind of showcasing, but it will unintentionally appeal a gross demographic for very gross reasons.

[@StarCatAxel]

MeShannan you are extremely on point though. Society needs to realize that children will be targeted regardless. Modesty historically has never protected women from being targeted. I very much appreciate you pointing that out.

[@amateurastronomer9752]

This! I honestly would be VERY concerned if this movie sparked no outrage at all. I understand the movie’s message, it’s an important one. But you can’t blame adults for having a visceral gut reaction to the Netflix poster or the subject matter of the movie. I think it’s a very natural response. Most adults don’t want to see kids getting taken advantage of.

[@jimerodriguez8332]

@@amateurastronomer9752 It reminded me a little bit of the whole Danielle Cohn situation,adults watch a 12 year old dance , companies don't care said child and keep paying them to show off products using her body as a prop;her mother allows the business so at the end,society sexualized her and then punished her for using her body as a tool to gain things: money and attention.

[@jaelahglenn7512]

It also plays into the part of the sexualization of young black girls, and how movies like 13 can get a nomie but movies like cuties gets a hate club.

[@claireclaire3979]

This world we created is so hypocritical. This movie represents the truth

[@kaaydan9306]

Definitely represents the truth because most young kids including myself went through this

[@janetwilson9208]

The problem is with how Netflix has marketed this film. See trailer, see Netflix poster.

[@FabalociousDee]

Netflix were doing the fucking most.

[@DaliaTutoring]

Yeah, they really didn’t do this film any favors by bringing such negative attention. Now the film doesn’t even have room to breathe. It’s really sad.

[@literarybaddie6897]

She touched on that.

[@DaliaTutoring]

Kay A Mostly I was referring to how it got so much attention from people who otherwise never would have even been aware of a foreign-language, festival award-winning film. They’ve dominated the conversation about it and it’s really unfortunate.

[@tobithetabby6376]

To frame all the outrage on Netflix is not right. If it was purely the fault of Netflix, the director and everyone else who openly praised the film wouldn't be getting cancelled.

[@raen1984]

I haven't seen the film, but I was sooo over the fake outrage here in the US. I loved your take on the film. 💕

[@CathDaddy]

You make a lot of really good points. Why does this outrage not translate to other things? Why are we not just as upset about minors dancing provocatively on TikTok?

[@lisah3460]

I thought we were outraged about minors dancing provocatively.

[@xinamoira274]

I am outraged that any child is being exploited by adults, idk what you're on about with this whataboutism logical fallacy garbage of yours sis.

[@biteoftheday6374]

@@lisah3460 but no one has their pitch fork out shouting ban tiktok and that is real life.

[@lisah3460]

@@biteoftheday6374 Newsflash Cuties are real life too. Those girl twerking was not CGI. The girls were really twerking.

[@laurelt3148]

Evan Rachel Wood has been very forward about criticizing "Cuties" - so it's interesting that you brought up the "Thirteen" film aspect!

[@riankagill]

“that young man with the twists” 😭

[@georgianichols5653]

I feel like the outrage about this movie stems from the fact that people don't want to listen to actual young girls about the uncomfortable and taboo feelings and experiences they may have. I liked this movie because it felt like it actually gave a voice to these girls, and it's so rare to see something like this that isn't just adults brushing over the reality of what growing up as a girl is like. It's uncomfortable, but these experiences are uncomfortable!!

[@juicyparsons]

excellent point

[@p4rt_t1me_g0d]

The film isn't necessarily misrepresented, it's the extreme close ups and lingering shots that need only have been implied that's the problem.

[@MsPinkston]

Agreed

[@xinamoira274]

@beugre marie please explain why filming underage children (who cannot consent or understand the consequences of their actions) in overly explicit ways is acceptable for the sake of "art", despite a mountain of evidence from psychologists suggesting that it is not, without calling me an idiot or using other logical fallacies such as whataboutisms. Go on, I'll be waiting. Since you're such an intellectual, after all. Please educate me on this "powerful message" that is so important that children need to be exploited for it.

[@tokingtalkedu4674]

In Spain, the young girls do dress and dance like this. I work in schools and at first I was taken aback but I also realized that this is not the USA, where girls are put on dress codes. But there is an extreme lack of conversation around bodies here though not puritanical