Cuties

⭐ 7.0/10

(Originally written by KathleenQ)

So after seeing that there was quite a bit of controversy around the film, of course I had to watch it. (The Boy was up at 3am and I needed something to watch while I sat up with him).

If you're not already aware, it's a French film about a young Black Muslim girl joining a small clique of friends, bent on participating in a (sexualized) dance competition. It deals with the religious oppression she deals with at home, and juxtaposes it against the sexual oppression she experiences in her social life.

The main argument I've see people make is that it “normalizes the sexualization of young girls.” But personally, I can't see how anyone who has seen the film could think that. I saw it as a poignant critique of today's sexualization of young girls. The film portrays it as extremely harmful and degrading. The story is told through the eyes of a naive eleven-year-old girl who is starved for connection, and tries to find it in a clearly toxic social group. But being a part of that group leads to all kinds of other dangerous and anti-social behaviours as well. We are meant to grieve her loss of childhood and empathize with her yearning for connection. It's disturbing, because it's supposed to be.

The film made me want to nurture even stronger connections with my own daughter, to create a safe space for her to express her desires in a healthy way, and to encourage healthy friendships.

I do have reservations about the decision to cast actual pre-teens in a role with such disturbing scenes, but I've read that the director (a Black woman) made sure each actor had access to on-site counselling while filming.

It wasn't my favourite film to deal with the hazards of being a preteen girl in Western culture -- I think Eighth Grade does it better -- but it was illuminating and moving.