Here's your mini essay on the problem with cuties, and ultimately our society as well.
Firsthand, the protection of children is a
non-partisan issue. Anyone trying to defend something like this because the director is black, or the children are poc, are ridiculous.
I want to be clear, I blame absolutely
none of these children in the movie. I profusely blame every adult who is willing to sexually sell their child for that amount of money. I blame the director for somehow thinking this was okay.
I of course, have not exactly seen the entirety of the movie. But in hindsight to inform to see if Netflix did just make a bad promo, I found plenty of movie clips. And reviews from people who watched it. So my data on this goes into that.
Children are playing these roles. And they are so sexually provocative, these actresses cannot legally watch their own movie. That should attest to the level of vulgarity.
Those dance routines are extremely sexual, and the movie did a great job as panning in and showing that. Nevertheless, the movie as far as I see failed to really deeply grab the issue at hand. There are some movies where dramatization makes a mountain out of a mole hill. But it appears from what I see, she took a very psychologically nuanced issue and made a mountain into a small mole hill.
The reason it is more likely a pedophile will watch this than another person is they used real child actresses, and they hone in so heavily on the dancing. I realize the young girl is "rebelling" and making her own decisions as many young kids do. But the director completely missed the nuanced psychology behind....all of this. Directors choose to filter and cut scenes. She seemed to have chose to leave out a strong conclusion showing the young girl figuring out this isn't okay, she doesn't need this, and she needs to be a kid. The direction heavily focuses on the dance, the fame, and the smidges of downfall.
Now, I realize the director, likely wanted this level of disgust. She is likely hoping people will watch it to feel enlightened. However, because we live in a society that does in fact groom girls to think this is maturity and that they need to do this, all this movie does in that way is promote it.
I do feel I have a right to say something about this movie as a preteen girl who faced being pushed into far more sexual situations from a young age due to certain assholes on the internet. Who were adults. They've made me definitely realize the only thing they'll do with a movie like this is watch that 11 year old shake her ass for him. You don't end child pedophilia by creating you. You don't stop child pedophilia by showing small repercussions, as if this girl will now not grow up to futurelly have psychological trauma from all this. The story is missing so many elements that would make this stronger. I would much rather they have possibly made it in the instance of her now being older, with flashback scenes to where it started but not consistently. SHOW HOW THIS ACTUALLY FUCKED UP THEIR LIVES FOREVER. that's what the people will get. This? glorified smut of 11 year olds in my eyes. I speak as someone who had similar experiences. Don't tell me to fuck off about my feelings about it next.
When there's a whole "MAPs" community on twitter that you get banned for speaking against, and youtubers trying to actively defend MAPs as a sexuality, I am fucking terrified. Who is going to protect the children? We just hand them the internet and we let it raise them. Now we have the side effects.
