Cuties is a French movie about a young girl learning how to accept her family’s culture and finding herself. The young girl had recently moved into a foreign country and wanted to fit in. She ends up joining a dance group called “Cuties”. The movie won the Sundance award in 2019 and had sparked a lot of controversy surrounding it. 

Many viewers of the film have claimed how it over-sexualizes the child cast that it’s starring making it very uncomfortable to watch. People were heated about it to the point of trying to petition the removal of Cuties on Netflix. The CEO, Reed Hastings, has come under fire for not removing it. He has not responded yet to the claims. “Democratic Representative Tulsi Gabbard and Republican Senator Ted Cruz, accused netflix of promoting Child Pornography,” reported from an article done by the Atlantic.

There are also a few vouching for Cuties as a “realistic portrayal” of young teenage girls trying to find who they are. Caira Connor, a writer for the Atlantic, stated, “Cuties thoughtfully portrays Amy navigating the exhilaration and cluelessness that can emerge between true childhood and early puberty,” having talked earlier about her experiences with sexual abuse when she was younger. She vouched for Cuties reasonable portrayal of a young girl trying to find herself and related it to her own experiences. She had admitted that it was at times uncomfortable to watch but it did not deter her from admitting it made some valid points.

Upon conducting an interview, Jesus Meija, a senior at Wheeling, he said, “It was uncomfortable after watching it for some time. In the beginning it seemed innocent, but then after a while, I thought it was a bit vulgar or inappropriate and believed that young girls shouldn’t be projected in that way.” He did not like how the movie portrayed the young girls. If someone had not seen the posters or heard about the controversy surrounding it; I could see how someone could mistake this as an innocent movie.