After Netflix Cuties Film Screening Sued
JAKARTA - The Netflix film streaming platform has been charged by a legislator from Tyler County, Texas, for showing films containing obscene or obscene scenes. The film is entitled "Cuties" by a French writer.
Quoting the New York Times, Thursday, October 8, the charges were claimed to be a crime in Texas that was passed into state law in 2028. They called Netflix conducting a "Promotion of Obscene Visual Material Describing a Child."
Prosecutors of the prosecution said the charges were based on illegal Texas law to "promote" material depicting the genitals or pubic areas of a child, dressed or semi-clothed at the age of under 18.
Not only that, but the film Cuties is claimed to attract real interest in sex. Meanwhile, Texas law is prohibited from showing films that have no serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value.
"Legislators in this state believe that promoting certain obscene material from children has devastating consequences. If such material is distributed on a large scale, isn't it necessary to demand more, not less ?," said the Tyler County, Texas District Attorney. , Lucas Babin.
For this reason, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and Ted Saeandos received a call on October 1 to provide a number of explanations regarding the charges. As a result, the company refused to justify the accusation. A Netflix spokesman stated, "Cuties is a social commentary film against the sexualization of young children."
The company also described the film as a powerful story about the pressure young girls face on social media and from society in general while growing up.
However, it is unclear what sentence the prosecutor will impose on Netflix. However, from Babin's statement, Netflix really violated the laws of the state, and the penalty of course could be jailed.
For information, the film, which was released as "Mignonnes" in France, won a directorial award from the Sundance Institute in February. The film tells of an 11 year old girl named Amy, played by Fathia Youssouf, who lives with her devout Muslim family from Senegal, on the outskirts of impoverished Paris.
At home, the girl tries to please her mother but she is eager to join a group of girls who have a dance group. However, this was against her strict family rules. Shortly after being released on August 19, this film immediately caused a bit of controversy.
In fact, the hashtag #CancelNetflix has become a trending topic on Twitter. Where parents, politicians and conspiracy theorists asked streaming services to take down the film. The film Cuties has also been plugged into QAnon's baseless conspiracy theory, and alleges that Democrats and top celebrities are behind the global child trafficking circle.