Who would have thought a small, indie French film would cause a worldwide uproar? Alas, that’s exactly what has happened with the new feature, “Cuties,” which has been making headlines for all the wrong reasons over the past couple of weeks. While the feature was acclaimed coming out of its Sundance debut earlier this year (it even won an award for its director), when Netflix released marketing for the film, featuring young pre-teen girls in tight clothes, social media went crazy saying the film was somehow inappropriate for viewers and should be banned.
READ MORE: ‘Cuties’: Netflix Apologizes For “Inappropriate Artwork” Used To Market The Sundance Film
Ultimately, we saw Netflix change the artwork and marketing materials and openly discuss how the film is actually the opposite of what people think it is. For those unfamiliar, “Cuties” is a coming-of-age story about a young girl that gets involved with a dance troupe that teaches her sexually suggestive dancing as a rebellion to her strict, Muslim upbringing. However, even with Netflix backtracking and trying to do damage control, the social media uproar continued, with many prominent right-wing folks openly calling for people to cancel their subscriptions to Netflix and boycott the company altogether. Of course, this all ties into the recent conspiracy theories being peddled by QAnon that we won’t even bother getting into here, as it serves no purpose.
Needless to say, “Cuties,” which is intended to be a heartwarming tale about growing up as a female in modern society, has been co-opted by certain groups as the symbol for all that is wrong with Hollywood and celebrities.
David Grumbach, CEO of Bac Films, the company behind the distribution of the film, spoke with Variety about the recent controversy and what he thinks is the real issue. The executive is “astonished” by the “fake news” surrounding the film, especially before its premiere on Netflix.
“I think the protests are coming from the right-wing — from a fringe of ultra-conservatism,” he explained. “But we’re grateful that Netflix [kept] the film [on its platform] and has supported it despite everything. We must be strong and united to protect the freedom of filmmakers. It’s not just for France, but also for Hollywood. Think about Jodie Foster who was 12 when she played a prostitute in ‘Taxi Driver, or the movie ‘Little Miss Sunshine,’ or the countless other movies that would have been boycotted if we caved to this kind of conservatism. We wouldn’t be able to make movies about abortion, violence, etc. because to denounce something, you need to show it.”
Of course, the filmmaker behind “Cuties,” Maimouna Doucouré, has found her name dragged through the mud during the “Boycott Netflix” controversy that has surrounded the film. And the director, who made her feature debut with this film, has been on the front lines trying to protect the image of her movie and talk about what the message is really about.
Doucouré said (via Variety), “The controversy started with that artwork… The most important [thing] is to watch the film and understand we have the same fight.”
“We need to protect our children. What I want to is to open people’s eyes on this issue and try to fix it,” said the filmmaker, adding that it’s “important and necessary to create a debate and find solutions as filmmakers, politicians, and within the educational system.”
“Cuties” is available to stream now on Netflix.
