>>10622376
A new wave of attacks
The “cancel Netflix” trend picked up again on September 9th alongside Cuties’ release. But unlike the original controversy a few weeks prior, attacks online became far more aggressive and targeted.
The fact that Cuties is streaming on Netflix, a big entertainment company with deep tech roots that’s perceived as “liberal,” also plays into this equation. Tech companies with liberal-leaning policies have found themselves at the center of anger and discourse from right-wing and conservative groups. Netflix deciding to carry an evocative film of this nature easily lends itself to those critics.
Posts went around Twitter and Instagram tagging critics who reviewed the film positively, calling them out as promoting dangerous material, but it was also a way to mobilize harassment against those writers. Conservative provocateurs like Steven Crowder and conspiracy theorists like Alex Jones dedicated videos to calling out the “leftist media” that praised Cuties. Writers and personalities from conservative publications like The Daily Caller and Breitbart also criticized the film’s content.
Actress Evan Rachel Wood posted a series of Instagram stories about the film’s use of child exploitation. Republican Senator Josh Hawley commented that Netflix might “like to come talk this over before Congress,” retweeting a Daily Caller columnist. Senator Ted Cruz called Netflix carrying the film “deeply disturbing.” On Rotten Tomatoes, the film was review bombed, with plenty of audience reviews calling the film sick and twisted.
Unfortunately, a marketing attempt to promote a coming-of-age movie took on a life of its own beyond Netflix and Doucouré, as conspiracy theories about deep-rooted pedophilia rings in Hollywood — a popular theory within QAnon circles — grabbed hold of the story.
Supporters of QAnon, a group that believes Hollywood is controlled by a cabal of pedophiles, seized on the backlash. Tweets littered with hashtags like #SaveTheChildren — known for its connection to the group — started populating, and soon it was a perfect storm of anger centered on Cuties that had nothing to do with the film itself.
Not all of the criticism came from people who openly support QAnon. But the backlash makes Cuties an easy target for QAnon supporters to spread conspiracy theories. The focus has shifted away from the actual movie, including its purpose and contextual uses of certain scenes, because of the resurgent backlash. But as a critic wrote in his Rolling Stone review, Cuties is not “a salacious bit of pedo-bait designed to appeal to baser instincts rather than better angels.”
The support
Alongside all of the criticism and backlash that led to #CancelNetflix trending, there’s also been a show of support for Doucouré and Cuties. Several film critics have tweeted positively about the movie and the director, alongside their own published reviews. Their words echo the message that Doucouré worked to show in her film: giving the audience a chance to experience what it’s like “to become a little 11-year-old girl in today’s society and not judge her,” as she told film site Shadow and Act. Netflix also issued a statement decrying the criticism and supporting Doucouré’s film.
“Cuties is a social commentary against the sexualization of young children,” a Netflix spokesperson told The Verge. “It’s an award-winning film and a powerful story about the pressure young girls face on social media and from society more generally growing up — and we’d encourage anyone who cares about these important issues to watch the movie.”
Cuties’ message can get lost in the sea of backlash, online rage, and conspiracy theories that have found themselves attached to the film, but Doucouré wanted to tell a story that was close to her own life. In interviews she’s given, she’s expressed hope that people will watch the movie before they make a decision about whether they think it’s good or bad.
“My one message would be that childhood is precious and we all have to protect our children,” she told Shadow and Act. “We all have to come together to figure out what is best for our children so that we can give a beautiful space to our children to grow up safely and peacefully, so that they can have the freedom to choose who they want to become and the best version of themselves.”