History Film / Cuties

* BrokenAesop: A major problem with the declared intent of criticizing oversexualization of children in Western culture is that the film kind of forgets to actually do that. There's no discernible antagonist pressuring the Cuties to incorporate sexual elements into their dance routines, like a stage parent or a sleazy producer. Furthermore, the girls never really suffer any consequences of their behavior, at least none that would actually befall children who engage in such practices. In fact, the only time their lewd dancing is plot-relevant, it helps them get out of trouble. The only real consequence the girls suffer, that being [[spoiler:booed by the audience for their dance routine in the climax]], seems to outwardly imply that Western culture does not approve of or condone children engaging in such sexualized behavior.

** The staff at their school are mostly ignorant if not outright passive with what the girls do and they only ever intervene if a full-on fight breaks out.

** The girls are shown not only dancing ''way'' too maturely for kids of their age, but the songs they dance to also contain explicit lyrics, some of which are [[IntercourseWithYou initiating sex with other people]].
** Amy watches a ''very'' sexualized video of black women in a music video that, of course, contains a lot of twerking towards the camera. She does this ''in the middle of an Islamic praying circle underneath her hijab'' so she could watch in secret.

* BrokenAesop: A major problem with the declared intent of criticizing oversexualization of children in Western Culture is that the film kind of forgets to actually do that. There's no discernible antagonist pressuring the Cuties to incorporate sexual elements into their dance routines, like a stage parent or a sleazy producer. Furthermore, the girls never really suffer any consequences of their behavior, at least none that would actually befall children who engage in such practices (such as unwanted sexual attention). In fact, the only time their lewd dancing is plot-relevant, it ''helps them get out of trouble''! The only real consequence the girls suffer, that being [[spoiler:booed by the audience for their dance routine in the climax]], seems to outwardly imply that Western culture does not approve of or condone children engaging in such sexualized behavior.

* DirtyKid: The Cuties to an unnerving degree, with their established interest in twerking. They end up egging on the naive Amy to take a picture of a boy's private parts who was peeing in a urinal (she fails, obviously).

* EveryoneHasStandards: As sexually mature as the Cuties were trying to act for their age, such as suggestively dancing, watching porn, and attempting to take pictures of a classmate's penis, they feel alienated by Amy's impulsive decision to take a picture of her genitals and posting it on the web. Even Coumba, who had been shown to be foul-mouthed and aggressive so far, feels uncomfortable about it and says she'd be severely punished by her mother if she ever tried something similar.

* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: The Cuties' first interaction with Amy is to hurl insults at her and one of them even threw a rock at her for peeping at them during their dance practice, and they continue to bully her when she meets them again, eventually being subjected to their peer pressure. Despite this, Amy ''still'' wants to join their group and befriend them in some twisted way of getting their approval.

* KarmaHoudini: Amy, to a disturbing degree. [[spoiler:She steals money from her struggling mother, stabs a boy's palm with a pen, and nearly drowns Yasmine to take her place in the dance competition.]] Her only comeuppance is that she feels bad for few moments, if even that.

* LeftHanging: [[spoiler:Is Amy's friendship with the Cuties and Angelica irreparably damaged after she runs off on them in the middle of their dance routine during the contest? Do we get to see what happens in her father's wedding when her mother tells her that it's okay if she decides not to attend? And what did her mother mean by that? It's ''never'' explained as [[GainaxEnding the movie just ends with Amy skipping rope with some girls.]]]]
* MatureWorkChildProtagonists: The film is about a Muslim girl who joins the titular dance group who specializes in suggestive dancing including twerking. It deals with and intends to criticize the hypersexualization of young girls, and in addition to the sexualized dancing and skimpy clothes, the girls are depicted doing other age-inappropriate things such as flirting with grown men and posting pictures of their genitals (which is intended to be alarming and repulsive to the adult audience). The film's subject matter is considered both inappropriate for kids and would probably go over their heads.

* ProtagonistCenteredMorality:
** Amy, big time. She steals her cousin's cellphone, some money from her mother, gets into a fight with the rival dance crew that ''she'' initiated (even if the other crew sort of started it by calling them names), [[spoiler: and in one instance, she even gets away with nearly drowning Yasmine.]] And yet when other characters finally call her out for the way she's acting, it's never portrayed as getting her just deserts but rather we're supposed to see it as a tragic turn of events for her.
** The Cuties and how sexualized they are for people so young is portrayed as something normal, or even good from their perspective until it was {{subverted}} later during the dance competition where the audience begins booing and thumbing down at them during their performance.

* NoPronunciationGuide: Amy pronounces her name with a short A ("Ah-mi") rather than a long one. (Justified as it’s short for Aminata, a common name in Senegal.)

%% Due to the ongoing controversy surrounding the film, and to avoid any controversy with the administrators of Wiki/TVTropes,

** Amy, big time. She steals her cousin's cellphone, some money from her mother, gets into a fight with the rival dance crew that ''she'' initiated (even if the other crew sort of started it by calling them names), [[spoiler: and in one instance, she even gets away with nearly drowning Yasmine.]] And yet when other characters finally call her out for the way she's acting, it's never portrayed as getting her just desserts but rather we're supposed to see it as a tragic turn of events for her.

* NoPronunciationGuide: Amy pronounces her name with a short A ("Ah-mi") rather than a long one.

* MatureWorkChildProtagonists: The film is about a Muslim girl who joins the titular dance group who specializes in suggestive dancing including twerking.

* SpiritualSuccessor: It being an adult-oriented live-action movie about [[FreeRangeChildren free-range]] preteens engaging in underage sexual behavior coequals it as a gender-inverted version of ''Film/GoodBoys'' (in the latter's case, the sexual behavior involves three sixth grade boys attempting to gain admission to a kissing party).

* CuteButCacophonic: Angelica, Columba, Jess, and Yasmine always [[{{Squee}} scream at the top of their lungs when they're excited]], which can get rather annoying after a while.

The film was presented at the Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2020, and was theatrically released in France on August 19, 2020 after a delay caused by the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic Creator/{{Netflix}} acquired the rights to the film and released it outside France on September 9, 2020.

The film was presented at the Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2020, and was theatrically released in France on August 19, 2020 after a delay caused by the UsefulNotes/{{COVID19Pandemic}} Creator/{{Netflix}} acquired the rights to the film and released it outside France on September 9, 2020.

The film was presented at the Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2020, and was theatrically released in France on August 19, 2020. Creator/{{Netflix}} acquired the rights to the film and released it outside France on September 9, 2020.

* ContemptibleCover: When Netflix picked the film up for distribution, its marketing began to emphasize the hypersexualized aspect of the film, changing the poster of the film from a shot of the underaged cast walking down the streets with shopping bags and confetti, to a shot of the cast wearing revealing outfits and doing provocative poses, making the film look like the very kind of media it was making a statement about.

* EveryoneHasStandards: As sexually mature as the Cuties were trying to act for their age, such as suggestively dancing, watching porn, and attempting to take pictures of a classmate's penis, they feel alienated by Amy's impulsive decision to take a picture of her genitals and posting it on the web. Even Coumba, who had been shown to be foul-mouthed and aggressive so far, felt uncomfortable about it and said she'd be severely punished by her mother if she ever tried something similar.

* GainaxEnding: [[spoiler:With her relationship with her family and the Cuties both severely damaged, Amy steps out to play jump rope with some girls. The camera pans up with Amy continuing to jump. She manages to continuously jump higher and higher (eventually higher than humanly possible). The scene evokes a kind of spiritual ascension.]]

* FilleFatale: The movie's events transpire from an early adolescent girl joining a dance group with underage members dedicated to twerking.

* BilingualBonus: Amy's older relatives would speak in Wolof from time to time and songs in Wolof are heard in the soundtrack (the ending credits music, for instance). Some prayers in untranslated Arabic are also heard.
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: Would be a DownerEnding without the MindScrew element. Pretty much everything Amy was fighting for is ruined as both her relationship with the Cuties and the dance contest are lost. On top of that, she is further alienated from her family. Nevertheless, she seems to find some kind of peace after having lost so much.]]

* ChildrenAreInnocent: A revolting example with one of the Cuties finding a ''used'' rubber and blowing on it like a balloon. When she was chastised by the other girls that it's a condom, she remains oblivious until they explain to her that people with AIDS use it, which itself is a precocious example by the girls who have misguided perceptions about sex.

* DirtyKid: The Cuties to an unnerving degree, and they end up egging on the naive Amy to take a picture of a boy's private parts who was peeing in a urinal (she fails, obviously).
* DisproportionateRetribution: Amy stabs a boy in the hand with a compass in retaliation for him smacking her in the butt.

* FilleFatale: The movie's events transpire from an early adolescent girl joining a dance group dedicated to twerking.
* FirstPeriodPanic: Amy doesn't know what to do when she has her first period in front of her parents.
* FishOutOfWater: Amy, when she gains an interest in the titular Cuties dance group who she wants to join but she is mocked for her homely clothes and "flat butt."
* FromTheMouthsOfBabes: Eleven year-old Amy and the similarly aged Cuties make a lot of sexual references and they also pepper their sentences with unfiltered swearing.
* GainaxEnding: [[spoiler:With her relationship with her family and the cuties both severely damaged, Amy steps out to play jump rope with some girls. The camera pans up with Amy continuing to jump. She manages to continuously jump higher and higher (eventually higher than humanly possible). The scene evokes a kind of spiritual ascension.]]
* GoodShepherd: A version with the imam that Amy's mother brings to their house to examine her. He treats Amy gently and kindly reassures Mariam that Amy's [[BrattyTeenageDaughter behavior]] is not due to the Devil's influence. He also counsels Mariam that, if the situation with her husband is causing her and Amy more suffering than they can handle, she should consider divorcing him.
* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: The Cuties first interaction with Amy is to hurl insults at her and one of them even threw a rock at her for peeping at them during their dance practice, and they continue to bully her when she meets them again, eventually being subjected to their peer pressure. Despite this, Amy ''still'' wants to join their group and befriend them in some twisted way of getting their approval.

* KarmaHoudini: Amy, to a disturbing degree. [[spoiler:She steals money from her struggling mother, stabs a boy's palm with a pen and nearly drowns a girl to take her place in the dance competition.]] Her only comeuppance is that she feels bad for few moments, if even that.

* LeftHanging: [[spoiler: So is her friendship with the Cuties and Angelica irreparably damaged after she runs off on them in the middle of their dance routine during the contest? Do we get to see what happens in her father's wedding when the mother tells her that it's okay if she decides not to attend? And what did her mother mean by that? It's ''never'' explained as [[GainaxEnding the movie just ends with Amy skipping rope with some girls.]]]]
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: [[spoiler: For some reason, when a piece of wedding confetti that was stuck on her hair suddenly falls in front of her, it triggers this reaction from Amy during the dance competition where she suddenly cries and becomes petrified in the middle of their dance routine, perhaps due to the realization that the audience was reacting negatively to them or that she had abandoned an important family event just to dance--[[AmbiguousSituation it's never made clear]]. As a result, she runs away from the competition altogether to go home.]]

** Angelica's parents; according to her, they just work in a restaurant without worrying about Angelica and her brother. The film shows that Angelica and her brother do not get along so well.
* PeerPressureMakesYouEvil: "Evil" might be too strong a word to describe an 11-year-old girl, but Amy does a lot of questionable or immoral things while trying to gain the approval of the Cuties, including stealing money from her mother, dressing in provocative clothes, and [[spoiler:shoving one of the girls into a river to take her place in the dance competition]].

** Amy, big time. She steals her cousin's cellphone, some money from her mother, gets into a fight with the rival dance crew that ''she'' initiated (even if the other crew sort of started it by calling them names), [[spoiler: and in one instance, she even gets away with nearly drowning another girl.]] And yet when other characters finally call her out for the way she's acting, it's never portrayed as getting her just desserts but rather we're supposed to see it as a tragic turn of events for her.
** The Cuties and how sexualized they are for someone so young is portrayed as something normal, or even good from their perspective until it was subverted later during the dance competition where the audience begins booing and thumbing down at them during their performance. [[spoiler: It's assumed this is why Amy decides to abandon the competition when it happens.]]
* SoapPunishment: In a variation where instead of doing it because someone said a bad word (a moot point because FromTheMouthsOfBabes is in play), they subject Coumba to this after seeing her blow on a used condom like a toy balloon, presumably to clean out the "AIDS" she caught from doing so and so she wouldn't infect anyone else.

** The Cuties are a dance group who specialize in highly suggestive choreography with the music to match, including twerking. In addition, they are very curious about boys and sex in general despite not even being teenagers yet. Their behavior eventually rubs off on Amy.

** In one scene, the girls, with Amy overhearing them, are seen examining a porn video (the video in question is not shown to us, thankfully) and discuss among themselves whether or not it's rape because of the woman's facial expressions. ''Not'' okay.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Yasmine, the fourth Cutie, is replaced by Amy after she and Angie had a fight for humiliating her (Angie) in front of an older boy she liked at a video call. This caused her to disappear for most of the film and only returns when she reclaims her position after Amy is kicked out for posting a nude online. [[spoiler: She is last seen hanging for dear life on a buoy after Amy pushes her into a river. Whether or not she was rescued was not shown, but it's most likely she was.]]