Netflix Should Be Ashamed

On September 9th, 2020 Netflix made a huge mistake that caused them to lose five times as many subscribers as they had in the last 30 days in just five, and they will most likely lose more due to the film added to their streaming service, Cuties. In the article Cuties controversy sparks #cancelNetflix Campaign, it states, “A petition on change.org calling on users to cancel their Netflix subscriptions currently stands at more than 600,000 signatures.”  As a user of Netflix, I find that the film is disgusting and many other users would agree. 

Just by looking at the film poster and the trailer, you’ll see that the young girls are portrayed sexually because of the inappropriate clothing such as “flesh-baring tube tops” and what looks like booty shorts, there’s sexual choreography such as “twerking,” and inappropriate poses. With all of those examples, you can see why people are furious. The film Cuties is practically child pornography and is putting more children in danger. The film is attracting pedophiles and other child predators, which is fueling the idea and act of the child sex trade. In the article ‘Cuties’ Director Speaks Out Amid Backlash Film Sexualizes Children, Netflix Stands by It, it states, “The poster led to accusations the film sexualizes its stars, when in reality ‘Cuties’ openly criticizes how society puts pressure on young girls to be overtly sexual.” The director is saying that the movie Cuties wasn’t meant to be taken the way everybody took it, that it was to spread awareness about how young girls are treated. The director Maimouna claimed “this movie was her way of saying that we need to protect our children. She stated that she has seen children around her living with these things and issues and she wanted to ‘sound an alarm.’ She said that her movie is bold and feminist and that it was necessary to force a debate to happen and to try and find solutions.” While some people see where Maimouna is coming from, a lot of mothers around the world are unhappy with how the film is portraying the young girls and want the film to be removed anyway.

In the same article, it states, “This was not the way the movie has been perceived by moms everywhere who have either watched the movie or based judgments on what is being shared online. They are unhappy with the way the young girls are being portrayed and wanted it removed from the platform immediately. Netflix has remained firm on keeping the movie in its catalog and stated that the film is actually against the sexualization of young children.” Even though Netflix is losing users over the film, they’re still keeping the movie on their streaming service because it’s not being portrayed the way everybody thinks it is. Netflix apologized for the original cover art that was chosen for the film that was claimed to be sexualizing children, and Netflix is continuing to stand by their announcement that the movie is a powerful story that tells the tales of the pressure that young girls are facing today in society. In my opinion, I feel Cuties shouldn’t be on Netflix, and if they were trying to send that message about society today pressuring young girls, they should’ve taken it in a different direction.