‘Cuties’: The raw discomfort of growing up
Like most people, I heard about ‘Mignonnes’ -translated as ‘Cuties’- due to the social media backlash that arose after some controversial advertising. Both Netflix and the creators of the film were accused of supporting pedophilia, and -as seems to be the norm nowadays- even received their share of death threats.
Intrigued, I decided to watch the film and see for myself what all the fuss was about, and I was bittersweetly surprised.
Although the trailer will make you believe ‘Cuties’ is a straightforward coming-of-age movie that focuses on the friendship amongst a group of young girls, the truth is it’s much, much more. And if you felt any discomfort watching the poster, prepare to feel even more uncomfortable while watching the film!
‘Cuties’ follows young Amy, a shy girl who has recently moved into a new neighborhood with her mother and younger brother. The family comes from Senegal, and they’re waiting for the father, who will join them later with a second wife.
The adaptation is anything but easy! Amy must try to find a balance between following her culture’s traditions, while also trying to be part of a society that celebrates opposite values. All the while, she must cope with her own changing body, plus the inevitable loneliness that comes from being part of a minority in a new place.
Although it’s a story we’ve seen many times before, rarely do we get to see it in all its uncomfortable rawness, as we do in this movie. Some of the sequences and shots, especially when the girls are dancing or posing in front of the camera, are truly distressing to watch.
‘Cuties’ forces us to deal with two concepts that our society cannot seem to reconcile: sexuality and childhood.
More often than not, we unquestioningly accept that although we do see sexualized children in entertainment, the idea of kids themselves consciously using and toying with the concept of sexuality is simply unacceptable. Our society desperately wants to hide and possibly erase a simple truth: children are more aware of the power and value of their bodies than we, as adults, would like to admit.
In ‘Cuties’, sexuality is everywhere: in how the kids dress up, behave, dance, and even how they understand the adults’ world. It’s a reduced but tantalizing space where they can be free to explore what it means to have full control over their bodies and minds, in a world where parents, teachers, and media are trying to mold them with an array of antagonistic messages.
With its raw imagery, the movie demands that we ask ourselves how we’re guiding children into adulthood.
Amy is constantly being exposed to conflictive ideas on how to be a proper woman. On one hand, her family is pushing her to act according to her people’s prohibitive and misogynistic traditions. On the other, she’s being exposed to a society that rewards breaking those values in favor of instant gratification.
Simultaneously, she’s being nudged into becoming a woman, while also being punished for exploring certain aspects of what it means to be a female.
As a result, children like Amy are forced to deal by themselves with all of the notions they’re being exposed to. And for a girl like her, who is desperately trying to fit in and find herself, her body becomes the only space where she can experience a brief but effective sensation of control.
Beyond the controversy, ‘Cuties’ presents a raw version of a coming-of-age tale that doesn’t try to provide a straightforward answer. Instead, every uncomfortable frame and situation portrayed should make us question how we deal with growing up.
Reaching adulthood is, at its core, deeply uncomfortable. In essence, we’re being prepared for making family units of our own, and though as adults we might not instantly recognize it, that means becoming aware of our bodies and desires. That is: recognizing our sexual identities.
Yes, the posters and shots of scantily-dressed little girls might -and should- make us cringe. However, instead of attacking the people behind the movie, we should take a moment to question what we’re constantly showing our youth.
After all, it only takes an easily-accessible video to teach Amy how to twerk. And yet, it isn’t less impactful or damaging than her family’s constant imposition of an immovable code that determines how to be a proper woman.
What we show, do, and say, affects our children equally. So how do we stir them in the right direction without vilifying the way they walk the thin line between childhood and adulthood? ‘Cuties’ doesn’t have the ultimate answer, but it dares to ask the question stripped from the complacency we’re used to.
