The Netflix film “Cuties” has received broad national acclaim, and extremely harsh criticism, of its portrayal of a dance team comprised of young girls.

Netflix describes the film as: “Eleven-year-old Amy starts to rebel against her conservative family’s traditions when she becomes fascinated with a free-spirited dance crew.”

Free-spirited dance crew?  Really?

These are children.  Young girls put on display for the world to see and any type of individual has quick and easy access at a whim.

“Cuties” premiered on September 10th and the backlash quickly began.  People across the country are canceling their subscriptions to Netflix, in fact, in the U.S. last week, #CancelNetflix was the number one trending topic on Twitter.

A petition opposing the film, and other films which contribute to “the exploitation of children”, has received hundreds of thousands of signatures.

According to Fox News, “Cuties” director Maïmouna Doucoure defended her film amid criticism it hyper-sexualized young girls.  “It’s because I saw so many things and so many issues around me lived by young girls, that I decided to make this film and sound an alarm and say we need to protect our children.”

“Protect our children.” What?

I reached out to Representative Jill Ford of Madison County to get her thoughts on the film.  Ford said, “Historically, cheerleading, feature twirling, and dance teams have brought great pride to our communities. In fact, this discipline helped pay for my college tuition. However, in my opinion, Cuties was purposefully directed by the angles of the camera to promote and encourage global access of young girls for the benefit of bad actors. Netflix should be ashamed for using their platform to profit from this child porn.”

The Parents Television Council wants Netflix to pull the film from its streaming service.

Reality: People of all political persuasions are criticizing Netflix for hosting #Cuties, which promote the sexual exploitation of children. #CancelNetflix

— Parents Television Council (@ThePTC) September 16, 2020

Even members of Congress are calling on the Justice Department to take action.

Opinions during these turbulent times, on almost every issue, vary across the board.  With regard to this film, many will define it as freedom of speech, expression, or even art.  Some will define it as deplorable.

To say the least, it is troubling.