It is a controversy that continues to rage. The French film Mignonnes, directed by Maïmouna Doucouré, shocked American Netflix subscribers. Back to the controversy.
#CancelNetflix is the hashtag that is more and more visible on Twitter. He refers to a controversy that had already arisen during the month of August concerning the film Cute, directed by Maïmouna Doucouré. While Netflix unveiled the American poster of the filmmaker's first feature film, we discovered the young actresses of the film in very suggestive positions. Many internet users have been shocked by this poster, even judging the film before seeing it. Before its release, Cute was therefore accused of trivializing the sexualization of little girls. In France too, many Internet users have used the hashtag #CancelNetflix.
As a reminder, Maïmouna Doucouré's film highlights the story of Amy, an 11-year-old girl of Senegalese origin. She evolves within a traditional Muslim education at home and befriends a group of dancers from her college. She joins the group, fleeing the emotional upheavals of her family. Then, Amy goes so far as to teach her new girlfriends how to dance in a suggestive way. She is probably influenced by social networks and the image they convey of women's bodies in general.
A scene from the film taken out of context
Today, the film is available on Netflix in the United States. And if the Americans could see it, the majority of the subscribers of the platform continue to denounce a film judged "child pornography" by some. Various elected Republican have spoken and rebelled on Twitter, revealing the final scene of Cute. In this sequence, the group of girlfriends face the long-awaited D-Day during the film: the one where the girls have to perform on stage as part of a dance competition. The movements are suggestive, the expressions of the children too, and Twitter ignites again. If the scene is embarrassing, to our great regret, it's taken out of context and that's a real problem. We forget the very essence of the film and its message.
A questioning of the relationship of children to social networks
However, this sequence is essential, because when the girls dance at this moment, an uneasy atmosphere takes over the place. The audience, initially enthusiastic, is shocked and even scandalized by what is happening in front of their eyes. What you don't see from the scene broadcast on Twitter is that Amy subsequently wakes up, cries, and goes home. After reuniting with her mother and aunt, the little girl faces a family conflict. She finally takes off her outfit, goes outside to play jump rope and seems to find her rightful place, the one that suits her best. Cute does not trivialize the hypersexualization of little girls, they confront the viewer with this societal problem and denounce it.
A whistleblower feature
The film thus attempts to question the sexualization of little girls today. At no moment, Cute does not glorify this subject. On the contrary, the feature film lifts the veil on this critical and complex age group where young girls face various injunctions … Often to the point of committing the irreparable. Cute addresses the quest for identity and questions our children's relationship with social networks.
On a daily basis, with television, cell phones, computers and the Internet, our toddlers are showered with some reductive images of women. This range of representations seems limited and, given their young age, they struggle to take a step back from these inglorious models that are presented to them. This is the whole ideology of this film which had received a positive reception within film festivals such as Sundance where it received a director's award.
Virulent reactions to those who defend Mignonnes
The many American conservatives, among members of the Republican Party, who have spoken on the subject therefore have a vision of the film that goes against the real message. Cute is a film on the considerable consequences of the appropriation of cultural codes at a much too young age. It is a theme rarely dealt with in the cinema and yet important: educating children, teaching them to have a certain perspective on what they observe, helping them not to be constructed by a single image of women … Here is what Cute tries to make it clear.
Other personalities who have seen the film have shared their views in defense of it. Actress Tessa Thompson claims to have seen this feature film during Sundance and praises it: "It's a beautiful movie. It left me speechless. It presents a new voice. It's about a black Senegalese and French woman exploring her experiences. The film denounces the hyper-sexualization of pre-teens. I am disappointed to see the current speech. "
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