{"id":59639,"date":"2020-09-03T17:21:00","date_gmt":"2020-09-03T14:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/cuties-director-received-death-threats-over-sexualized-poster\/"},"modified":"2020-09-03T17:21:00","modified_gmt":"2020-09-03T14:21:00","slug":"cuties-director-received-death-threats-over-sexualized-poster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/cuties-director-received-death-threats-over-sexualized-poster\/","title":{"rendered":"#\u2018Cuties\u2019 director received death threats over \u2018sexualized\u2019 poster"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_89 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6af6bc5fd6ee0\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6af6bc5fd6ee0\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/cuties-director-received-death-threats-over-sexualized-poster\/#A_personal_story\" >A personal story<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#\u2018Cuties\u2019 director received death threats over \u2018sexualized\u2019 poster<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n                        The last two weeks has been a period of contrasting emotions for \u201cCuties<em>\u201c<\/em> filmmaker Ma\u00efmouna Doucour\u00e9. The film, her debut feature that was an award winner at Sundance earlier this year, was released in French cinemas on August 19 to positive reviews and strong word-of-mouth from the public who were willing to don their masks and venture out to the theater.<\/p>\n<p>But then there was <em>that<\/em> Netflix poster.<\/p>\n<p>Released by the streamer at the same time as the French theatrical rollout in a bid to begin promoting the movie ahead of its U.S. debut on September 9, the artwork provoked a furious online backlash from people who criticized it for sexualizing children. Netflix moved rapidly to amend the marketing blunder, quickly switching it out for new artwork more akin to the French theatrical poster [you can see the two side-by-side below] and unreservedly apologizing for what it called an \u201cin<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ropriate\u201d and \u201cnot representative\u201d promotional effort.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, in the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">social media<\/a> era, outrage spreads like wildfire online, and many people began to conflate the artwork with the film, piling in to express their distaste that a movie that \u2018sexualized children\u2019 had been bought by Netflix. Reactions varied in their extremity but some commentators, including among our readers, said they wouldn\u2019t use the SVOD anymore in retaliation. The truth of the movie, as has been well covered by reviews and audience reactions since its buzzy Sundance and Berlinale screenings, is that it is the nuanced, sensitive tale of a pre-teen girl who gets caught between two cultures \u2013 her conservative, religious upbringing and the pull of her liberal French school friends who are influenced by the internet and social media. That reality appears to have been lost in the storm, and the truth is very few of the people reacting so strongly will have actually seen the film.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_16239064\"><img alt=\"The \"Cuties\" poster.\" data- data- height=\"441\" width=\"320\"><\/img><figcaption><span>The \u201cCuties\u201d poster.<\/span><span>Jam Press<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>For Doucour\u00e9, who spoke to Deadline from her native France where she is supporting the theatrical roll out (which had been delayed four times from its original March date due to the pandemic), this has been a difficult and unpleasant experience. She hadn\u2019t seen the U.S. artwork before it debuted online, so the subsequent backlash was shocking and jarring for her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThings happened fairly quickly because, after the delays, I was completely concentrating on the film\u2019s release in France. I discovered the poster as the same time as the American public,\u201d she reveals. \u201cMy reaction? It was a strange experience. I hadn\u2019t seen the poster until after I started getting all these reactions on social media, direct messages from people, attacks on me. I didn\u2019t understand what was going on. That was when I went and saw what the poster looked like.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It goes without saying, but Doucour\u00e9 does emphasize that she is of course against the hypersexualization of children, which she was accused of online. The torrent of abuse got so serious she actually received threats against her life, the director tells Deadlinein her first interview since the incident.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI received numerous attacks on my character from people who had not seen the film, who thought I was actually making a film that was apologetic about hypersexualiation of children,\u201d she says. \u201cI also received numerous death threats.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On a more positive note, high-profile figures did weigh in to support Doucour\u00e9, including Tessa Thomspon, who tweeted twice:<\/p>\n<p>The filmmaker says she was flooded with positive messages after the initial negativity. Those who had seen the film at Sundance and Berlin, she adds, \u201creally supported her\u201d and have helped to highlight the real message of the film. Doucour\u00e9 says she has also received \u201cextraordinary support\u201d from the French government, and that the film will be used as an educational tool in her home country.<\/p>\n<p>Regarding how she feels about that Netflix poster [the streamer won\u2019t be drawn on whether the artwork was made in house or by an agency, and how it managed to get through quality control], the filmmaker states it is clearly \u201cnot representative of the film and especially its message\u201d, and while her voice is tinged with frustration, she is level-headed and emphasizes that Netflix did make a serious effort to apologize to her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe had several discussions back and forth after this happened. Netflix apologized publicly, and also personally to me,\u201d she says. That apology, it turns out, took the form of a direct call from Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos. Doucour\u00e9 won\u2019t reveal what the pair said, but she suggests she was comforted by their chat and isn\u2019t bearing any grudges. \u201cStreamers are a great way to get my stories out and share my messages with more people,\u201d she adds positively.<\/p>\n<p>As evidence, the director mentions she is already writing another project for a streaming service, though she won\u2019t specify at this point whether that is with Netflix or not, while she is simultaneously working on a film aimed at theatrical that will be set in North America and Africa.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_personal_story\"><\/span><strong>A personal story<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Cuties<\/em> was always supposed to be a proactive movie, and the project is a very personal one for its director.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI really put my heart into this film. It\u2019s actually my personal story as well as the story of many children who have to navigate between a liberal western culture and a conservative culture at home,\u201d explains Doucour\u00e9, who is of Senegalese descent.<\/p>\n<p>The movie follows Amy (a breakout turn for the brilliant Fathia Youssouf, who beat 700 other girls at auditions to secure the part), a young Senegalese Muslim girl living in France who dreams of joining her friends\u2019 modern dance troupe, a fantasy that clashes with her family\u2019s traditional values.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_16239075\"><img alt=\"French-Senegalese film director Maimouna Doucoure\" data- data- height=\"441\" width=\"662\"><\/img><figcaption><span>French-Senegalese film director Maimouna Doucoure<\/span><span>AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cI wrote this film after I spent a year and a half interviewing pre-adolescent girls, trying to understand their notion of what femininity was, and how social media was affecting this idea,\u201d the director continues. \u201cThe main message of the film is that these young girls should have the time to be children, to enjoy their childhood, and have the time to choose who they want to be when they are adults. You have a choice, you can navigate between these cultures, and choose from the elements of both, to develop into your own self, despite what social media dictates in our society.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Doucour\u00e9 has mixed feelings about the influx of social media into the lives of young people.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt affects all of us. There is a good side to it, it brings us information and beautiful images, and lets us meet more people, but there is a harmful side, where I find we have a new way of looking at love,\u201d she comments. \u201cLove and self-esteem are constructed through likes and followers. What happens is young girls see images of women being objectified, and the more the woman becomes an object the more followers and likes she has \u2013 they see that as a role model and try to imitate these women, but they\u2019re not old enough to know what they\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While the reception in France has been positive over the last two weeks, is she concerned that the negative reaction to the poster could harm the film\u2019s U.S. release?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI actually hope that those who haven\u2019t seen it, will see it, and I can\u2019t wait to see their reaction,\u201d she asserts. \u201cHopefully they will understand that we\u2019re actually on the same side of this battle. If we join forces, we could make a big change in this world that hypersexualizes children.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Doucour\u00e9 signed with CAA after her film was selected for Sundance, but does she have any reservations about working outside of her native country after this experience?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOn the contrary, I\u2019m really excited to work in America. I\u2019m a French director, but what\u2019s important for me is that my stories have a universal message, whatever language they\u2019re filmed in,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p>The director is also passionate about increasing diversity on screen. As a black, female filmmaker, she acknowledges the lack of past opportunities for people like her in the industry, and says that the cinema has the power to make a positive impact in the wider discussion about racial equality.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople have a need to see people who look like them on screen. \u201cBlack Panther,\u201d for example, gave young boys and girls the realization they too could become a hero. If you can be a superhero in a movie, you can also be a hero in any other profession,\u201d she says. \u201cFilm has this power. I\u2019m sad that in today\u2019s world we actually need to have a Black Lives Matter movement. We\u2019ll continue to fight until we are able to say \u201ccut\u201d, once we have equality in this world in all areas of society.\u201d\n            <\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Entertainment <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/general\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">General category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>if you want to <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">watch Movies<\/a> or Tv Shows go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/dizi.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dizi.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a> <\/span> for forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2020\/09\/03\/cuties-director-received-death-threats-over-sexualized-poster\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#\u2018Cuties\u2019 director received death threats over \u2018sexualized\u2019 poster&#8221; The last two weeks has been a period of contrasting emotions for \u201cCuties\u201c filmmaker Ma\u00efmouna Doucour\u00e9. The film, her debut feature that was an award winner at Sundance earlier this year, was released in French cinemas on August 19 to positive reviews and strong word-of-mouth from the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":59640,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[64009],"class_list":["post-59639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-cuties-director-received-death-threats-over-sexualized-poster"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59639","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59639"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59639\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59640"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}