how “Cuties” could’ve been good
I’ve been binging my favorite youtubers rant about this movie and obviously it sucks, but the original Netflix trailer and description, honestly, didn’t sound too bad.. I haven’t actually watched the movie, but I’ve seen clips that are truly horrible but I get what the movie could’ve been like, and the Netflix trailer and description actually wasn’t as bad as the actual movie. The movie could’ve had potential and I thought it would be cool to see an adolescent raised from a conservative environment find her femininity.
Alright, so without watching the movie and ignoring the reviews/rants, and only basing from the description and trailer, I’m gonna try and guess the what the film could’ve been about.
So the protagonist came from a conservative family and, influenced by media and peers, discovered another side of femininity that was never taught to her by her parental figures. This could explore a good conversation about how children who grow up from a conservative household can have little to no knowledge about their sexual identity, whilst exploring how extremely lenient parents tend to raise children who can be overly sexual. If anything, this could’ve been a movie that talks about the nuances of sex ed in parenting and the accessibility children have nowadays to explicit sexual content.
Next, the trailer and description really hit hard on the dancing aspect of the movie. It could’ve shown how strict parents can inevitably alienate their child who will then tend to seek acceptance from their peers. These said peers, would now have the bigger impact on this child’s personality and ideologies rather than her family. It could’ve been about these adolescent girls from different walks of life, finding their identities together through their newly discovered passion for dancing.
So this whole spiel the director had about what she thinks her movie is about (which, without watching the movie, makes you want to actually root for it cuz it sounds like it’s gonna be good). Her movie could’ve been all that she said without the hyper-sexualized scenes though. The whole climax of film, I’m assuming, would take place on the dance contest and that was when the protagonist realizes that she doesn’t actually want to be seen as a sex object as she dances? Yeah, that absolutely sounds like a cool concept. Did it need to have disturbing shots of disgusting dance moves, though?
From the trailer and description (minus the twerking), the movie honestly could’ve been good.
No, it did not need twerking.
It did not need extremely sexual dance moves.
It did not need to seemingly cater to pedophiles. I know this wasn’t her intention, but it still does nonetheless and she needs to take accountability for it.
Honestly though, I think I know where she’s coming from. What happens to Amy isn’t really far from what actually happens with a lot of pre-teen girls raised in a conservative environment. I live in an extremely conservative country. So conservative that we’re the only country besides the Vatican to not legalize divorce, let alone abortion and same sex marriage. And, yep, you can bet that sex ed here is nonexistent. Where does that lead us? One of the highest number of teenage parents because media, which is our primary source of sex ed, says sex is all fine and good. (Legal) Abortion doesn’t exist here, so many young curious minds and bodies end up having to be early parents. I’d know, I, and many of my friends are part of this high number.
Anyways, what I’m saying is, this movie really could’ve been groundbreaking if it was written and directed right. Sorry Maïmouna Doucouré, but this was a badly made film, and you’re responsible for it.
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