The ‘Cuties’ controversy is a failure of empathy
(Originally published on glenslens.wordpress.com on September 29, 2020)
It’s an understatement to say that people across the country have strong feelings towards the film Cuties. Though the film received critical acclaim at Sundance in January (then under its original title Mignonnes), countless Americans were outraged when its international poster and trailer depicting scantily clad eleven-year-olds twerking released in August along with its release in early September. From Twitter to The View to Change.org, audiences were repulsed by a film that they claim was created for the viewing pleasure of pedophiles. The truth, of course, is more complicated.
Cuties, directed and written by Maїmouna Doucouré, is a coming of age story of an eleven year old Senegalese immigrant named Amy (played by Fathia Youssouf) struggling to find the balance between her conservative Muslim upbringing and her newfound social life in a more liberal Paris, France. Unable to express her feelings about her raising her brothers and her father’s second marriage to her distraught but obedient mother, she finds a sense of relief in her friends’ dance crew “The Cuties” along with the world of social media that rewards girls wearing sexuality like a costume. Living a double life of the obedient daughter/future wife and a twerking Cutie becomes too much to bear, so she engages in multiple forms of self destructive behavior- damaging her relationship with her family and friends. After rejoining the Cuties, she immediately quits after an emotional breakdown and gains a new relationship with her mother and herself.
Yes, there are valid criticisms to be had about the way the girls were shot in the film. Some scenes that are shot like music videos, in which the camera lingers on certain body parts for a little too long. This is deeply uncomfortable to watch, as this type of framing usually placed on willing, consenting adults is put on underage girls who likely don’t fully understand what their parents signed them up for. Despite its noble intention to call out the hyper-sexualized image forced on young girls and the clear effect this method had on the audience, perhaps it does come at the expense of these young girls. Even with the support and guidance from Doucouré along with the on and off set counselor hired for them, I really do hope the girls involved felt safe during the making and release of this film. I will support them if they choose to share their experiences.
Here’s the problem: Some (but not all) people who hold this valid criticism are doing a disservice by refusing to dig deeper into their discomfort with the film. I find the online behavior of the most vocal wannabe critics to be concerning. Reactionary behaviors such as calling the film “softcore child porn”, accusing anyone who praises the film of being a pedophile, signing a petition to remove it off Netflix because of a trailer, sharing one of several Youtube videos titled “The WORST scenes in Cuties” that show the problematic scenes out of context, and calling for the Doucouré’s imprisonment for directing this film, are self-indulgent exercises of moral grandstanding that do nothing to solve the problem they claim to be against.
My question to those who unfairly chastise the film and its director is this: “Have you ever been eleven?”. I personally found “Cuties” to be quite relatable. Eleven year old me “freak-danced” (millennials, remember the outrage from the media and middle school staff about that?) with her friends to Lil Jon and the East Side Boyz before her nightly prayer in her Catholic household where the word “sex” was literally never uttered. The transition from child to teenager comes with finding a sense of freedom in adopting parts of adulthood without the full knowledge of what those actions even are, and I think the film captured that beautifully. When Amy twerks, dresses in revealing clothing, and obsesses over social media and music videos, she finds a sense of relief from the emotional repression she feels, whether she knows what she’s doing or not.
A popular argument is that older actresses should have been hired instead of the thirteen-year-old actresses that are in the film. There is value to that argument as I previously mentioned. However, I think that showing that girls this young are adopting the aesthetics of a hyper-sexualized version of womanhood is the crux of the movie. The naivete that comes with the youth of these characters plays a crucial role in this story. With the girls’ complete lack of knowledge of sex, their childish antics in the grocery store, and their clear misunderstanding of what message they send when they dance in front of grown men — it all plays into the cringe factor the audience receives when watching the purposefully awkward dance scenes.
This was meant for the audience to notice that cringe and stop to question why the girls are trying so hard to fit into an image that clearly doesn’t suit them. In addition, this argument implies that sexualization of underage characters is more digestible and comfortable for audiences when placed on the bodies of girls who are of legal age. Rather than question why they must seek comfort in their viewing of a film with an inherently uncomfortable subject matter, they use the argument to push their discomfort under the rug for someone else to solve.
By only focusing on the sexualized images of these girls, harsh critics of Cuties are unable to see what’s actually in front of them. The film is not about the girls’ sexuality at all but rather their unique struggle for power, agency and emotional connection. The final dance competition scene is a perfect example of this. While the Cuties seemingly perfect their awkwardly sexualized dance routine, Amy freezes on stage and cries as the lights fade and the dance-pop music changes to the sound of her mother’s voice.
For me, this portion of the scene (which is cut out in the “WORST scenes of Cuties!!! So disgusted!!!” YouTube videos that reached over 400,000 views) is an emotional blow that wiped away whatever disgust I had for the dance. It’s the culmination of the lack of control she has over her actions. The stress from being prepped for marriage at the onset of her period, the on-again/off-again praise she receives from her peers when conforming to what’s popular, the men and boys who leer at her when she wears revealing clothing, the harsh punishment she receives from her mom after engaging in actions that are clear signs for help- all of this plays into the angst, joy, rage, and eventual sorrow that Amy goes through during this breakdown.
When Amy eventually finds true happiness after her mother finally recognizes her daughter’s pain, the film demonstrates that all kids like Amy really need is some understanding (along with comprehensive sex education). By not batting an eye at the multitude of actions and emotions this character goes through in favor of joining the collective outcry at the admittedly flawed execution the film displays, harsh critics of Cuties are showing a lack of empathy over the young girls they claim to want to protect and only seek to coddle, control, and ultimately overlook.
