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Americans reaction to "Cuties" is embarassing (3 Viewers)

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I just wanted to rant about this because if I do it on twitter i'd be harassed by Qanon peeps lol. If you have not heard about this movie here's a quick background about and the controversy around it:

Cuties (Mignonnes in its original French) is a film about a 11 year old immigrant girl who becomes interested in a dance group at her school and starts rejecting her conservative upbringing to dance in a competition with them. That's the plot of the film but the message and the commentary the film is trying to make is about the sexualization of young girls in today's society through apathetic/not present parents, exposure to porn, and social media "rewarding" objectification.

Netflix announced it would be streaming the film and released a trailer and poster that was met with enormous backlash. Currently, the trailer has 1.8 million dislikes and since the films release 'Cancel Netlfix' has trended on twitter and the reviews on google have been bombed so that the film has a 1.3 rating. People accuse the film of child exploitation and sexualization and American lawmakers have called for Netflix to remove it.

Now my rant:
WHY DO MY FELLOW AMERICANS INSIST ON BEING STUPID? I had heard about the film and seen the trailer and was apprehensive at first myself but then I looked it up and found out it was actually a social commentary. I watched the movie myself to see if it was well done or not and thought it did a fantastic job but i'm not shocked that Americans (our politicians especially) did not catch onto the message.

The film is told through the young girl's perspective so every thing that happens to her that drags her into situations girls her age shouldn't be in aren't obvious to her but they are to adults. From her friends watching porn, to talking to older men online, to mimicking sexy dances of older girls/women all these things adults know to be bad for children but since she's a child she does not know. The film itself actually gives you big hints throughout that are basically: Why get mad at these young girls when they don't know/understand and we do not teach them?

I think one scene in the film that really captures that the young girls are innocent and don't understand what they are doing is when one finds a condom and because she touches it the other girls say she's going to get a std because "those are used by people with stds" and her friends refuse to come near her because they don't want to catch an std from her. This leads to the girl crying and saying, "How was I supposed to know?" AND THAT'S LITERALLY THE MESSAGE OF THE FILM.

Besides not understanding how the story holds the message people have really missed the points on how certain things were filmed. In the dance scenes where the girls are doing really sexual dances the close ups and angles of the shots were supposed to make you incredibly uncomfortable. If you aren't uncomfortable watching this film then you have a problem. The film is literally asking you to feel this same uncomfortableness whenever you see the sexualization of a child.

So yeah Americans are pretty film illiterate which should not have been a surprise since people still think that Walter White in "Breaking Bad" was supposed to be the good guy. But it is frustrating to see them attack a film especially when 95% definitely have not seen it and even if they did probably would not understand it. There is also the element of our politicians using it to appeal to Qanon folks who believe Trump is taking child sex trafficking secretly so there's that as well.

TL;DR:
Americans (mostly conservatives) are freaking out about the film and accusing it of doing what it speaks out against, mainly because they cannot pick up on the messaging of the film and only take it at face value, or have not watched it at all, or are using it for political purposes.
 

mysteric

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obviously I don’t know about the actual film itself, but I kinda agree with the critics of the Netflix one with their poster choice ;-;
Otherwise though, I’m with you 100%
 
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obviously I don’t know about the actual film itself, but I kinda agree with the critics of the Netflix one with their poster choice ;-;
Otherwise though, I’m with you 100%
Oh yeah Netflix definitely messed up with how they advertised the film. Even the trailer is questionable because the way its cut makes it look like its just a dance competition movie
 

maruberry

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God yes I agree with you!

like the ppl saying they shouldn't actually have it in the movie is like saying you shouldn't show death in a war movie!

Not to mention I god damn hate the obsession with the age 18, in a LOT of the countries (might even be most, can't be bothered to look this up) the age of consent is LOWER THAN 18!!!!!
 
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God yes I agree with you!

like the ppl saying they shouldn't actually have it in the movie is like saying you shouldn't show death in a war movie!

Not to mention I god damn hate the obsession with the age 18, in a LOT of the countries (might even be most, can't be bothered to look this up) the age of consent is LOWER THAN 18!!!!!
oh yeah the responses of some of the politicians are hilarious because they are usually like "FREEDOM OF SPEECH!!!" But now are asking for censorship.

True, like I don't agree with the low ages of consent in some places but at the same time I think having a magical age in general where suddenly it is alright to have sex with teens and to sexualize them is ridiculous from the start.
Americans will never understand Europeans.

That's pretty much all there is to say on this subject.
Ironically its mostly white Americans who don't understand Europeans lol
 

maruberry

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oh yeah the responses of some of the politicians are hilarious because they are usually like "FREEDOM OF SPEECH!!!" But now are asking for censorship.

True, like I don't agree with the low ages of consent in some places but at the same time I think having a magical age in general where suddenly it is alright to have sex with teens and to sexualize them is ridiculous from the start.

Ironically its mostly white Americans who don't understand Europeans lol
I actually agree with it being 14 in Estonia!

bcs in Estonia 14 is also the age where you are considered legally responsible if you commit a crime, meaning, you are considered responsible for your actions and mature enough to be aware whether what you are doing is right or wrong.

I think the age is 14, bcs by that age your brain will have developed a proper moral compass and overall the ability to make rational decisions.
 
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I actually agree with it being 14 in Estonia!

bcs in Estonia 14 is also the age where you are considered legally responsible if you commit a crime, meaning, you are considered responsible for your actions and mature enough to be aware whether what you are doing is right or wrong.

I think the age is 14, bcs by that age your brain will have developed a proper moral compass and overall the ability to make rational decisions.
While I agree if you are old enough to go to jail you are old enough to have sex, that still seems real young to me (more for jail then sex tbh). Especially, since your frontal lobe definitely isn't developed enough at that point to be completely rational. At that age you do have the ability to know right from wrong but whether you can emotionally/mentally make good choices not totally sold on that lol
 

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While I agree if you are old enough to go to jail you are old enough to have sex, that still seems real young to me (more for jail then sex tbh). Especially, since your frontal lobe definitely isn't developed enough at that point to be completely rational. At that age you do have the ability to know right from wrong but whether you can emotionally/mentally make good choices not totally sold on that lol
Well just bcs technically it is legal to have sex with a 14 yearold, doesn't mean manipulating them into sex is legal, if you get my point.
If they were coerced into the situation somehow, it would still be considered rape.

And I imagine a judge would be much more stringent with what constitutes as coercion or manipulation when one of the parties is 14.

EDIT: Not to mention, are most 18 year olds capable of making good choices most of the time?
 

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God yes I agree with you!

like the ppl saying they shouldn't actually have it in the movie is like saying you shouldn't show death in a war movie!

Not to mention I god damn hate the obsession with the age 18, in a LOT of the countries (might even be most, can't be bothered to look this up) the age of consent is LOWER THAN 18!!!!!
yeah like ik that in china there is a massive massive debate about the age of consent (14) right now,, got pretty messy
 

Lovely_Cornchips

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You see, I might agree with this, but I watched a commentary video where a person legit watched the film and made a full commentary on it. The clips he was showing were legit...disgusting. The message of the film could've been handled differently with girls that weren't under the age of consent EVEN in Europe, those girls were 2 years or more below the age of consent there...like the actresses.

If you want to make a film debating this subject or showing the dangers of what you mentioned don't use actual underage girls to act the parts and to be filmed in a sexual manner.

Anyone who wants to see the commentary clip I watched here it is:

 

Lovely_Cornchips

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Americans will never understand Europeans.

That's pretty much all there is to say on this subject.
Saw comments under the video I watched of some Europeans saying please don't think this is our culture because it's not...they were up there higher the other day but more comments took their place. You'll probably have to search now but it seems some Europeans definitely don't believe this is their culture or should be associated with representing their culture.
 

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Also, just wanted to point out may be why people are upset. Even with the message-which, I do get I'm not a complete bonehead. Let's think about it this way with your argument these girls in the film are portrayed to be ignorant and innocent and not really knowing what they are doing or going through.

If this is true which I believe it most likely is that these are girls are innocent and ignorant to what they signed up to for the film. That means they were taken advantage of by a bunch of adults who know better. Their parents, the directors, the cameramen, and women. They were taken advantage of by all these adults who know better, who filmed them sexually and put them in that situation. Now they have this controversy going around about how they were filmed in such a sexual manner and how it's messed up.

When they grow up, even if now at their age all the adults explained the concept to them, odds are when they grow up they'll look back at it and be like...what the hell did those adults have me do or let me do thinking it was ok? We talk all the time about how child actors and actresses get all sorts of messed up from the results of their young stardom, and people seem to be concerned about it. But then stuff like this happens and people are supposed to brush it off and simply call it art with a message.

I'm sorry, but no child should ever be filmed in this context. ESPECIALLY if it is the adults making those poor decisions for them. If the child made the decision then the parent should've fucking stepped in to stop it. I would NEVER let my own children be filmed like this, whether it be for money, fame, or a message-its fucked.

If you think the message of this movie is important, then you should be equally upset with how it was filmed with actual children who were being taken advantage of by the adults around them.
 
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It's not only right-wing conservative Americans (and others) who I've seen take issue with this movie. I hate that it has even become politicized in such a way.

As for the movie itself, it's a matter of very, very poor direction and storytelling. The movie itself isn't good and does the exact thing that it's aiming to bring awareness to without a "rounding up," so to speak. There are no consequences (in the film), no real change (in the film), nothing. Any call to action would be at the viewer's own discretion, in my opinion.

I get your take on it as well, though.

ETA:
1. Also, I think the biggest response in-film that we see is the crowd's reaction of disgust to the dance routine.

2. Though I still hold to my point above, the film DOES show a mirror image of our society today, difference being that many on SM do not react in disgust to seeing minors mimic "grown-folk" dancing, speech, etc. Perhaps in small pockets on forums and whatnot, but for the most part it has been normalized in our society. Perhaps the lack of "consequences" in the movie can reflect on that tacit acceptance in Western cultures? Especially lack of parental oversight or what have you. If so, then a more direct call to action should have been embedded in the film, IMO.
 
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It's not only right-wing conservative Americans (and others) who I've seen take issue with this movie. I hate that it has even become politicized in such a way.
This though, I'm not right-wing in fact I'm in the middle, on neither side and I take issue with how this film was made, produced, and handled.
 
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You see, I might agree with this, but I watched a commentary video where a person legit watched the film and made a full commentary on it. The clips he was showing were legit...disgusting. The message of the film could've been handled differently with girls that weren't under the age of consent EVEN in Europe, those girls were 2 years or more below the age of consent there...like the actresses.

If you want to make a film debating this subject or showing the dangers of what you mentioned don't use actual underage girls to act the parts and to be filmed in a sexual manner.

Anyone who wants to see the commentary clip I watched here it is:

I watched the video and I feel like he's done what everyone who has gotten angry has done and taken the dance clips to use them as rage bait and critique. Like I said above the way the scenes were shot were to purposely make people uncomfortable. I don't completely agree with the choice of casting but this is also not the first time children have been cast to play in movies with sensitive material. If the director, parents, and crew made sure the children were comfortable and explained to them what they would be doing then that is the child's and parents choice to go ahead with filming.

I think its disingenuous to only use the dance clips to critique the film when so much of the commentary comes from how the girls end up in those situations. The only clip outside dancing that he showed was the religious meeting and nothing else that sets up the story and I think that's probably what annoys me the most about the critiques of the film. I do agree there is some merit in being angry about the girls age and the dances they are doing but I also find it odd that if people find them so disgusting then why are they spreading the scenes if not just for rage bait?

It is just weird to demand Netflix remove content because its inappropriate but then re-post it yourself to other sites.
Also, just wanted to point out may be why people are upset. Even with the message-which, I do get I'm not a complete bonehead. Let's think about it this way with your argument these girls in the film are portrayed to be ignorant and innocent and not really knowing what they are doing or going through.

If this is true which I believe it most likely is that these are girls are innocent and ignorant to what they signed up to for the film. That means they were taken advantage of by a bunch of adults who know better. Their parents, the directors, the cameramen, and women. They were taken advantage of by all these adults who know better, who filmed them sexually and put them in that situation. Now they have this controversy going around about how they were filmed in such a sexual manner and how it's messed up.

When they grow up, even if now at their age all the adults explained the concept to them, odds are when they grow up they'll look back at it and be like...what the hell did those adults have me do or let me do thinking it was ok? We talk all the time about how child actors and actresses get all sorts of messed up from the results of their young stardom, and people seem to be concerned about it. But then stuff like this happens and people are supposed to brush it off and simply call it art with a message.

I'm sorry, but no child should ever be filmed in this context. ESPECIALLY if it is the adults making those poor decisions for them. If the child made the decision then the parent should've fucking stepped in to stop it. I would NEVER let my own children be filmed like this, whether it be for money, fame, or a message-its fucked.

If you think the message of this movie is important, then you should be equally upset with how it was filmed with actual children who were being taken advantage of by the adults around them.
I understand where people are coming from on the age thing I really do, but at the same time it just reminds me of the controversy around this video:


People were so angry that young girls were cursing and talking about such serious topics. There was questions on whether or not the girls knew what they were saying, how could parents let their kids be in a video like this, why the creators couldn't have used older girls, etc. But missed the entirety of what the girls were saying about how if you truly want to protect girls then you should be changing the dangers of society that harm them. That is the same thing Cuties is doing and once again people are focusing on the girls age and getting mad instead of receiving the message to change the things about society that leads young girls into these situations. People focus on the elements of these medias meant to shock them and not the messages they deliver.

As I said before if the director, staff, and parents explain to the girls what type of film they'll be making and the girl and parents went ahead with filming that's their choice. Children are more capable of understanding topics and wanting to make a difference than we give them credit for as adults but we'll say the adults are using them no matter what. Heck Greta Thunberg is a teenager and is perfectly knowledgeable about her activism but people accuse her of being a puppet to her parents.

There's also former child celebrities like Mara Wilson (Matilda) who are calling out people's (mostly politicians) reaction to the film as hypocritical because they say they are concerned for children but are not listening to victims like herself of predatory sexualization as a young star. Basically, what i'm trying to say is the attack that the girls in the film need to be protected is a deflection of adults taking actual responsibility.

If you really want to stop child sex trafficking and sexual exploitation don't go after Netflix go after Pornhub which has routinely posted child porn and made money from it while the victims begged them to take it down, reduce homelessness of lgbt youth b/c a lot of them turn to prostitution after being kicked out, hold social media sites accountable for hosting cp and being vessels for traffickers to find and sell youths.

So I get where you are coming from but I just think focusing on the girls age and not what the film was pointing out is wrong with society misses the point and is just a deflection of actually putting in the work to truly protect girls. Also, sorry this is so freaking long lmao
 
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It's not only right-wing conservative Americans (and others) who I've seen take issue with this movie. I hate that it has even become politicized in such a way.

As for the movie itself, it's a matter of very, very poor direction and storytelling. The movie itself isn't good and does the exact thing that it's aiming to bring awareness to without a "rounding up," so to speak. There are no consequences (in the film), no real change (in the film), nothing. Any call to action would be at the viewer's own discretion, in my opinion.

I get your take on it as well, though.

ETA:
1. Also, I think the biggest response in-film that we see is the crowd's reaction of disgust to the dance routine.

2. Though I still hold to my point above, the film DOES show a mirror image of our society today, difference being that many on SM do not react in disgust to seeing minors mimic "grown-folk" dancing, speech, etc. Perhaps in small pockets on forums and whatnot, but for the most part it has been normalized in our society. Perhaps the lack of "consequences" in the movie can reflect on that tacit acceptance in Western cultures? Especially lack of parental oversight or what have you. If so, then a more direct call to action should have been embedded in the film, IMO.
I should have made it more clear in my original post that when I pointed out political alignment and such I was talking more about the politicians reactions. Reading back I really didn't do that at all in the op, sorry! Like the only Democrat politician i've seen speak out against the film is Tulsi Gabbard and even then given her political opinions past and present she is often appealing to conservative voters. I have a lot of feelings on the politicians reactions but I feel like that could be a whole other thing entirely, I kind of scraped the top of it with my last comment to Lovely_Cornchips.

I can understand your criticism of the film because I do agree it is somewhat open ended on what the solution is. I took the last scene where Amy goes out to jump rope with the other children as her starting to find herself again after everything she's been through, I liked it but I do see how it can be perceived as having no real meaning.

From what I got out of the movie I think the director was showing how social media is contributing to the sexaulization of children because sexual stuff gets more likes. The character Angelica has parents that are absent and degrade her and the only way she gets some semblance of appreciation and love is through social media, so she forms herself around what will get her more likes view on those platforms and Amy follows her lead.

As far as consequences go I agree there is not one big summed up consequence but I do think there are many within the film. Amy's relationship with her family deteriorates, she's put through that ritual where they throw water on her, she gets assaulted by a boy and then blamed for her assault, etc. I thought it showed how society treats women and girls always punishing them and blaming them for things we promote them to do and never stopping to help them. When Amy's mom defends her from her Aunt and gives her a hug (the first time we see them do so in the film) it represented to me that her mom was being more understanding and loving to her than she had been which prompts Amy to dress differently again and go play with the other children.
 
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Queen you’ve written like a billion words why do you care so much lol
 

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