Netflix issued an apology following the release of a movie description depicting a diverse group of scantily-clad preteen girls twerking in a dance troupe.
The movie, ‘Cuties,’ is set in France and intends to address sociocultural questions concerning authenticity and belonging within a liberal secular society for outsiders with a stronger faith and tradition. However, the sexual overtones of underdressed prepubescent girls engaging a hypersexual primordial mating dance was considered tone deaf, to say the least.
In a tweet, Netflix issued their apology for the movie which sparked a massive backlash, dozens of articles, and dominated social media trends.
“We’re deeply sorry for the inappropriate artwork that we used for Mignonnes/Cuties. It was not OK, nor was it representative of this French film which won an award at Sundance. We’ve now updated the pictures and description,” they wrote.
We're deeply sorry for the inappropriate artwork that we used for Mignonnes/Cuties. It was not OK, nor was it representative of this French film which won an award at Sundance. We’ve now updated the pictures and description.
— Netflix (@netflix) August 20, 2020
The apology was not welcomed by social media as thousands of commenters descended upon the scandal to pick apart at the undeniable sexualization of children within the original synopsis and trailer.
Much of the wording in the apology was ripped apart by social media users unhappy with the lack of accountability taken by the streaming platform. By glibly celebrating the film’s accolades, instead of broaching the inappropriate dancing routines, the streaming giant apologized for the artwork rather than hosting a film inspiring the artwork.
The trailer itself revealed little more than sexual overtones as the group of young girls stripped into revealing attire and met up with a group of older teenage boys in a separate scene.
Some commenters called out the “Islamophobia” of the production, while others blasted the unabashed devotion to progressive causes championed by the streaming services.
“Maybe time to stop pretending you have any moral ground to stand on. Your tweets about the trendy “social causes” of the day don’t fool anyone. You use people’s base emotions of fear and anger to sell your shows. Now you’re trying to capitalize on perversion. Gross, dudes,” one pundit tweeted.
https://twitter.com/MattsIdeaShop/status/1296497575059582977
Others found distaste in Netflix’s alleged deflection of blame due to the movie’s success at Sundance Festival.
“Why you even have to mention that it won an award at the Sundance – the fact that you said that means you are deflecting and the people at Sundance saw nothing wrong with it,” another person replied.
https://twitter.com/CryptoWendyO/status/1296509082392829954
A number of screenshots from various anonymous former customers asking the platform to disavow pedophilia were reportedly unsuccessful.
https://twitter.com/OrwellNGoode/status/1296457411180601350
The initial backlash prompted Netflix to tweak their synopsis to reflect the cultural angle to the movie after having changed it from “Amy, 11, becomes fascinated with a twerking dance crew. Hoping to join them, she starts to explore her femininity, defying her family’s traditions,” to “Eleven-year-old Amy starts to rebel against her conservative family’s traditions when she becomes fascinated with a free-spirited dance crew.”