By now, I think most of you have heard the controversy surrounding the French-made movie Cuties on Netflix. The film starring 11-year old girls is, according to Netflix, “… a social commentary against the sexualization of young children.” I, along with 1,000’s of other people, have posted on social media regarding this film and the dangers that go along with it. In these posts, we have been asking friends and family to #CancelNetflix in hopes that Netflix would remove the film from their line-up. So far, Netflix has refused to do so, even though thousands of their subscribers have canceled their memberships over it. You may wonder why myself and many others feel so strongly about this film. Hopefully, this blog post will shed some light on this.
My First Thought as a Christian is, “What would God Think of this Film?”
Imagine for a moment, God in Heaven, seeing his adult sons and daughters watching this film, which features scantily clad 11-year old children dancing provocatively, looking up internet porn, blowing up condoms to use as a breast, slapping each other’s bottoms, and various other sexualized scenes. (See IMBD’s list of concerns here https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9196192/parentalguide). I ask you, what would God say about this? What would He think? Would God want His children to be used in a film in this way? Would God stand by Netflix’s need for SOCIAL COMMENTARY on this subject? Would His heart be sad to see children portrayed in this way, knowing that many people with sick minds will be watching this film in a sinful, lustful manner? You may answer, “I don’t think God would like it, but it doesn’t mean I have to cancel Netflix over it. I can just not watch the film.” I would ask you to reconsider this way of thinking.
Throughout the bible, we often read about God as Protector, God as the Good Father, and God as the Good Shepherd. He wants to protect us from sin. The verse, 2 Thessalonians 3:3 is a great example of this: “But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.” Just as God wants to protect us (His children), we adults are called upon to protect those who are weaker than us. Did the makers of the film Cuties protect their child actors when they asked them to do the things listed above? In my opinion, they most certainly did not. If you agree, then as an adult, you are called to do something about it—not just ignore it because you don’t want to give up Netflix.
You may say, “Kerry, I don’t believe in God so you are not speaking my language.” I would say, even if you are a secular humanist, I am certain you can agree that adults should always protect children. I think any decent human being can agree on that.
The Making of This Film is Child Sexualization Period
Make no mistake about it, the children who auditioned (about 650 of them) along with the stars of Cuties, have been exploited. It is unbelievable to me when people say things like, “I would not want my kids to watch it or my grandchildren to watch it, but the message is good.” DO YOU REALIZE THAT KIDS WERE USED TO MAKE THIS FILM? These kids were not protected. Just because they don’t belong to your family does not make it okay. These girls were taught sexual dances, asked to wear tight clothing, asked to say and do provocative things, asked to use the f-word, asked to pretend to take a picture of their private parts, and so much more! As adults, we must protect children’s innocence. In the case of this film, the parents of these children and the filmmakers failed them. They used these kids to sell a movie and to make money. If they are not willing to stand up for these children then we must! It doesn’t matter that they are not our own children or grandchildren. If we care about all children, as we should, we need to take a strong stand. Canceling Netflix sends a message to not only them but to our culture in general that this is not acceptable— nor will it ever be.
Speaking of Culture… Have You Heard of Desensitization?
More and more we are seeing the use and effects of desensitization to change popular opinion in society. A simple example of this can be found in music. Back in January of 1957, singer Elvis Presley made his third appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show but was only seen from the waist up. His previous two appearances had caused such a stir with his hip-shaking and dancing that they decided it was indecent for television viewing. Over time, as we all know, things have changed immensely with both performers and the music itself. Some may say it was a good change and some may say it was not so good. This is a matter of opinion, but what is true is that slowly over time, small changes amount to large changes. We have gone from a world where Elvis shaking his hips while singing was considered risque to performers like Cardi B. singing about her Wet A$$ P**** and gyrating continually in her music video. We have been desensitized due to the boundaries continually being pushed. Movies like Cuties are also a way to begin desensitization to things like child pornography. If we allow this now, (because it is supposedly an artistic expression or because it has social commentary) I have to wonder, what is just around the corner? What is the next movie to come out that pushes the envelope? How much further will it go with young children? It is a very slippery slope and to me, one that is not worth risking. We should take no chances when it comes to our beloved children.
There are Underground Groups Working to Make Pedophilia an ACCEPTABLE Sexual Orientation
There are many sick people in this world who are sexually attracted to young children. I have read studies that show people with pedophilia, when shown pictures of children vs. adults, have an area of their brain that reacts sexually to the children’s faces and bodies more so than to the adults. I do believe this is a mental illness and for that, I think we need to support studies on how to help people who have this inclination. As of right now, there is no known cure. Where I begin to become very nervous, however, is when I start to read stories about pedophiles lobbying for this to become a recognized and ACCEPTABLE sexual orientation. If you don’t believe me just google “Normalizing Pedophilia” and you will find articles about the topic. Some of you may say, “Oh well this will never happen.” I would ask you, did you ever think that one day society would ask you to not only believe but also to support the idea of more than two genders? This has happened. My daughter is filling out college applications right now and right on the applications, it doesn’t just list male and female as options, but a whole slew of other choices as to how she identifies her gender. To me, this is insanity. You are either born male or female. For all of history, we have believed this because, well…biology and the bible. But now, society has changed the rules and if we don’t accept it, we are called terrible names. We are basically bullied into believing. If society can do this to gender, you better believe they can do it for pedophilia. We cannot allow this to happen on our watch. Allowing this movie to be shown on a mainstream network like Netflix only encourages what pedophiles are hoping for (normalizing pedophilia) and I for one do not want to be complicit in that.
Why is Netflix Digging in Their Heels Regarding This Film?
Netflix has lost 9 Billion dollars on the stock market due to the anger over this film since the social media movement #CancelNetflix began. They have lost 1,000’s of member subscriptions and have alienated a huge portion of their customers. Why would they refuse to take the movie down after losing tons of money on the film and losing previously happy customers? I do not know the answer to this question but it definitely makes me wonder. Are they trying to support some kind of movement for pedophiles? Are they hoping that down the road this will become more profitable and they can end up making lots of money off of kids in the future? I truly don’t get it, but I definitely think it is suspicious.
About 120 Million girls are being sold into sex trafficking worldwide.
According to Save The Children’s website girls are 2x more likely to experience sex trafficking as are boys.https://bit.ly/2ZOniia. You may think the movie Cuties has nothing to do with sex trafficking but I would warn that it most certainly could. As movies like this are accepted into our culture we are essentially giving permission to pedophiles to feed their hunger for it. What happens when this no longer satisfies? Won’t they go looking for more? Movies like this can be a stepping stone to sexual abuse and to child trafficking down the road. Why would we as a society want to encourage this in any way? Is this “art” or “commentary” really worth the risk?
I hope this blog post has really made you think. I hope it has reminded you that our children are precious. They should be allowed to have safe and innocent childhoods. This movie is garbage. We don’t need it. It is also dangerous. Let’s protect our children and by “our children”, I don’t just mean the ones in our own family. Let’s have the courage to stand up against big companies like Netflix, and society’s continual push to break down our morals and our values. Please, if you care for the future of our kids and our country, consider canceling Netflix and show up for our children. #CancelNetflix
Thank you!!
XO-Kerry
Talked to my 20 year old daughter a few weeks ago for this exact reason. She has a subscription on her own and cancelled it all on her own! So proud of her. Thanks for brining this critical topic to light Kerry!