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THREAD: I ended up watching Cuties because of all the controversy about it, and it really...wasn't what people said it was.
Disclaimer: I'm a bit on the younger side compared to most people, so I do know kids who were my age, influenced by the Internet, who behaved similarly in the inappropriate way described in the film.
I have seen interpretations of the film that it's Islamophobic, and frankly, I don't see it. If criticizing a strict patriarchal culture with Islamic influences is Islamophobic and must be avoided, people are being too sensitive.
The movie purposefully gives off a tense, uncomfortable feeling. Most of the movie highlights their childish interactions with each other to make the moments where they are trying to act like an adult more jarring.
It concentrated on the loss of innocence that came from both from Amy's family's culture and the hypersexualized environment Amy's school was in. In one scene, someone takes Amy's pants off and her panties are shown; however, it is brief and not sexual.
Amy takes a picture of her private area. Nothing is shown, and the scene is not graphic. Later, the other girls get angry with her for doing it, claiming she ruined their image. Amy gets only negative consequences for this.
There is a scene where one of the girls find a condom. She inflates it and puts it under her bra. The other girls, showing their innocence, are horrified and act like she'll get a disease, at which point they take her to a bathroom and squirt liquid soap on her tongue.
There is this really strong narrative throughout the whole film in that they really don't know what they're doing, or understand any of the consequences, because they are just kids.
The camera is more matter-of-fact than anything else. It shows what they do, which is, well, pretty horrid. But the truth is, there are many kids that act this way, which is why I put the disclaimer in the beginning of the thread.
The outfits were skimpy, but were also very Dance Mom-ish. It's terrible they wore it, but it can't be forgotten the culture is terrible too. The director based this movie off something that exists freely, and I suppose this is why she didn't think it would be problematic.
I also noticed that one of the clips circulating around was one where Amy's body is shaking. It's not because of a dance, it's because her mother and another member of her community threw water on her and she was violently shivering.
In the last dance, which is around Twitter, it's shown how people watching the dance disapprove and shake their heads. They boo. Amy retreats from the dance, and she begins to cry at her lost innocence. She runs home to her apartment building.
There's where her father's wedding is, I think--his wedding to his second wife. Both the dancing suit and the dress that was supposed to be worn at his wedding is discarded on her bed, and she leaves the house in casual clothes and plays jump rope.
And overall, it's a very depressing film. None of her inappropriate attitude is glorified; it's portrayed as destructive. Most of the movie is filled with talking and quiet moments.
