Maïmouna Doucouré

Netflix is defending its newly released film, Cuties, against claims that it overly sexualizes its young subjects. Cuties (or Mignonnes) is a French comedy-drama that won Maïmouna Doucouré the Directing Award-Dramatic at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. It centers on a 11-year-old Senegalese girl named Amy who seeks to understand her identity while living in Paris. She comes across a group of girls in a twerking dance squad, and begins to seek freedom and acceptance by joining their sexualized troupe. Since launching on Netflix on September 9th, the film has received intense backlash. Now, Netflix has issued a statement defending the movie. “Cuties is a social commentary against the sexualization of young children,” a Netflix spokesperson told Variety. “It’s an award-winning film and a pow...