I fear that Cuties is going to be remembered more for its controversy than all the good its trying to say. For all those people up in arms about how this movie glorifies young girls’ sexuality, I can say those people probably only saw a clip or didn’t see the movie at all. If you give the movie a chance, Cuties has a much deeper purpose than just the surface level BS people are trying to stir up.
Here’s what the controversy is missing: Cuties opens on a Senegalese girl, Amy (Fathia Youssouf), who has just moved to France with her mother (Maïmouna Gueye) in hopes for a better life. Their tiny apartment is pretty lonely and strict, as Amy’s mom is a conservative woman of faith, having to deal with a husband who is absent and galavanting for other wives. Then, one day, Amy spots Angelica (Médina El Aidi-Azouni) dancing in the laundry room of their apartment. Enamoured, Amy starts to slowly get to know Angelica, and finds some solace in her glasses wearing friend and her posse, and their “cause” an essentially twerk-based dancing competition, clearly at odds with her upbringing.
If all you can see watching this movie is provocative dancing from underage girls, then you missed Cuties’s point. Maïmouna Doucouré’s story is first and foremost an immigrant’s tale. Amy’s whole life has been upheaved, and her mom, because she is dealing with her own issues, can’t connect with her daughter, leaving poor Amy with only her little brother as a companion. With no supervision, the impressionable Amy was going to latch onto something that gives her joy. Unfortunately, it happens to be twerk based dancing and toxic friendship. However, these activities provide Amy companionship and purpose, something she isn’t receiving in a home in flux. So when her home starts demanding responsibility form her, Amy doesn’t quite know where she wants her life to go. The last hour is a tug of war for Amy’s future, pinning against it her exciting present with her dancing companions, more than enough to push an 11 year old to their breaking point.
I’m surprised Cuties drew the ire it did, considering all the other programs aimed at sexualizing pre teen and teenage girls. Seriously! Keeping Up With the Kardashians, Dance Moms, Toddlers and Tiaras, Teen Mom. Those shows have been exploiting young girls for a long time. Cuties is much smarter than those programs, because its reaching for something deeper. Though they are bonding over this material, what you see in the dance practices is more of Amy’s happiness that she belongs to something. That she has friends. Do you think these girls learned all of this on their own? Obviously not; they went on Instagram or TikTok and saw the posts with the most likes. Phones play a critical role in this movie, as well as social media, as Amy’s uncomfortable descent is fueled by every teen’s innate desire to be special and connect with someone who cares about them. Amy sees her phone not as a tool, but as the source of her happiness and social education, which I’m sure most teens can relate to today. To stand out on social media requires a bit of desperation and escalation, which Amy slowly learns and terrifies the audience that she’ll post something she’s going to regret, and permanently might alter her destiny.
If you’re into shows like Toddlers and Tiaras or Dance Moms, then yes, you’ll probably enjoy Cuties. However, I beg you, please look beyond the dancing, and really see what Maïmouna Doucouré is trying to say. If you find it, you’ll find Cuties more than just a vain distraction, but something insightful of the plight of young girls and impressionable immigrants, and start empathizing with how hard growing up can be, emotionally gut punching you despite what the material’s surface level suggests.