GadgetVicar

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#donotcancelnetflixjustyet - 'Les Mignonnes'

Child exploitation is sin. Always. Followers of Jesus must do all they can to defeat it.

A bit of a furore has broken out over the French film, 'Les Mignonnes' (translated as 'Cuties'). This stemmed from the provocative publicity shot that Netflix used to promote the movie. As is often the case with these things, it kicked off a fire storm of condemnation, petitions and a campaign to '#cancelnetflix'. Christians are apt to see themselves as victims of 'cancel culture', so we need to be very careful when we choose to dish it out to others.

My wife and I decided to watch the movie to see if it deserved our approbation. Our conclusion is that it it does not. Here are some thoughts on the film.

Firstly, it is important to realise what the director, Maïmouna Doucouré, was aiming for in her film.  Here is a helpful piece which makes for good background reading. It turns out that she is an ally to all those like me who are deeply troubled by the sexualisation of children. Cardi B's 'WAP' is an example of someone influencing young people in the guise of female empowerment (I am not linking to it, as I don't want to give her any encouragement!). The outrage against 'Cuties' could be redirected to artists much more deserving of it.

Secondly, 'Cuties' makes for  uncomfortable watching in places. That's the point, children should be allowed to be children, and not be forced or encouraged to act or speak like adults. The adults in the film should know better, but don't. The judges in the dance contest and the security guard in the laser quest centre ("Really?", asks his colleague when his look betrays his inappropriate thoughts) represent those adults who just don't get how children should be cared for and nurtured.

Thirdly, there are strong moral threads running through the story. The central character, Amina (Amy), is part of a Senegalese family. They are Muslim and Amy reveals her indifference to that faith and the pressures of the culture in which she lives. Many Christians will readily identify with that tension. When she goes off the rails, and does something  that even the 'Cuties' think is reprehensible, we see that these girls still know right from wrong. There is a hilarious scene when one of them discovers a used condom and treats it as a balloon, The girls don't immediately understand what it is. Their horror and reactions reveals that for all their sass, they are still children. The film also raises the issues of the emotional pain that polygamy can bring, what being a woman is about in a traditional culture (peeling onions and serving men?), theft and truthfulness. It's got ethics in abundance.

In the end, Amy wanders through the wedding of her father to his second wife and the final scene is a beautiful and joyful evocation of childhood and adulthood.

I confess that I was deeply moved by this film. To tears. I was left angered at the manipulation of children by our culture and at the reaction of those who have condemned 'Les Mignonnes' without seeing it first.

My advice is to watch it first, then critique it. You might be challenged and inspired to stand up for what is right. I suspect that is what Maïmouna Doucouré was hoping her film would do.

'My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.' James 1:19-20

 

 

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