Real County Post

  • About Us
    • Hill Country Post
      • Newsletter
      • Our Lead Editor
      • Editors
    • Mission Transition
      • Related Posts
      • Website
    • Contact Us
  • News
    • Share A News Story
    • Our Newsletter
    • Community News
    • Popular Categories
      • Education
      • Finance
      • Food & Health
      • Lifestyle
      • Politics
      • Sports
    • Obituaries
    • Weather
    • Puzzles
      • Crossword Puzzles
      • Sudoku Puzzles
  • Heroes
    • Hero Stories
    • Wall of Remembrance
  • Counties
    • Share a Local Story
      • Community Events
      • Community History
    • Bandera
      • Related Stories
      • Officials & Public Places
      • Local Churches
      • Parks
      • Did You Know …
    • Blanco
      • Related Stories
      • Officials & Public Places
      • Local Churches
      • Parks
      • Did You Know …
    • Edwards
      • Related Stories
      • Officials & Public Places
      • Local Churches
      • Parks
      • Did You Know …
    • Frio
      • Related Stories
      • Officials & Public Places
      • Local Churches
      • Parks
      • Did You Know …
    • Gillespie
      • Related Stories
      • Officials & Public Places
      • Local Churches
      • Parks
      • Did You Know …
    • Kendall
      • Related Stories
      • Officials & Public Places
      • Local Churches
      • Parks
      • Did You Know …
    • Kerr
      • Related Stories
      • Officials & Public Places
      • Local Churches
      • Parks
      • Did You Know …
    • Medina
      • Related Stories
      • Officials & Public Places
      • Local Churches
      • Parks
      • Did You Know …
    • Real
      • Related Stories
      • Officials & Public Places
      • Local Churches
      • Parks
      • Did You Know …
    • Uvalde
      • Related Stories
      • Officials & Public Places
      • Local Churches
      • Parks
      • Did You Know …
  • Shop
    • Our Community Shop
    • Cart 🛒
    • Checkout ⇒
  • Advertise Here
    • Submit Your Ad
    • Featured Block Ads
    • Free Business Ads
      • Agricultural
      • Business Services
      • Construction Services
      • Healthcare Providers
      • Hunting & Fishing
      • Lodging & Recreational
      • Personal Care
      • Real Estate
      • Restaurants & Markets
      • Retail & Miscellaneous

Texas politicians’ criticism of “Cuties” causes a small Texas county to fine Netflix.

By  Jolie McCullough and Stacy Fernández at Texas Tribune, October 7th, 2020

A grand jury in a small East Texas county has indicted media giant Netflix for promoting “Cuties,” a French film about an 11-year-old Senegalese immigrant who joins a dance group.

The Tyler County grand jury indicted the company, not its executives, on charges of promotion of lewd visual material depicting a child, a state jail felony. In Texas, a corporation convicted of a felony can face a fine of up to $20,000, according to the penal code. If the court further finds that the company benefited financially from a crime, the penalties can increase to twice the amount earned.

GOP lawmakers across the country have criticized the movie, claiming it sexualizes young girls and exploits child actors. Prominent critics include Texas Republicans Sen. Ted Cruz and U.S. Rep. Brian Babin, alongside a group of more than 30 House GOP lawmakers. Babin publicly decried the French film as child pornography, and Cruz sent a letter to the U.S. attorney general asking him to prosecute Netflix.

Netflix did not respond to requests for comment.

The indictment, handed down late last month, came out of Tyler County — though the film has no apparent ties to Texas. The court filing claims Netflix knowingly promoted work that “depicts the lewd exhibition of the genitals or pubic area of a clothed or partially clothed child who was younger than 18 years of age at the time the visual material was created, which appeals to the prurient interest in sex.”

While the film does not contain any underage nudity, it includes a minute-long scene with close-ups of the girls in the dance group gyrating their thighs, butts and stomachs, The Washington Post reported. The movie was shot with a counselor on set and got approval from the French government’s child-protection authorities. The film’s writer and director, Maïmouna Doucouré, has said “Cuties” is a critique of the hypersexualization of young girls.

Tyler County District Attorney Lucas Babin, Brian Babin’s son, said in a press release Tuesday that his 21,000-person county opted to indict Netflix for the promotion of the film in his county. Texas Rangers served a summons to Netflix last week, he said. Brian Babin did not respond to questions for this story.

“After hearing about the movie Cuties and watching it, I knew there was probable cause to believe it was criminal,” Lucas Babin said in the release. “If such material is distributed on a grand scale, isn’t the need to prosecute more, not less?”

Thomas Leatherbury, director of the First Amendment clinic at Southern Methodist University, called the indictment an “unusual test case” and said it was “clearly filed to make a point.”

He said it’s “troubling” when there is a “criminal charge related to First Amendment activity, particularly expressive activity, like a movie.”

Before its Netflix debut, the independent French film won an award at the Sundance Film Festival and had mostly positive reviews. Once Netflix acquired it, the controversy started — first, over promotional materials featuring the young girls posing provocatively in dance costumes, then over the film itself. Netflix eventually changed the poster and apologized for the plot summary that described Amy, the main character, as becoming “fascinated with a twerking dance crew.”

“We’re deeply sorry for the inappropriate artwork that we used for Mignonnes/Cuties,” Netflix tweeted. “It was not OK, nor was it representative of this French film which won an award at Sundance.”

The coming-of-age film follows protagonist Amy, the preteen daughter of Senegalese immigrants, as she navigates her Muslim upbringing, joining a rebellious clique and figuring out what womanhood and self-image mean in a hyperdigital world. Filmmaker Doucouré said in an interview with Zora that the people who started the controversy over her movie have not actually seen it.

“I’m hoping that these people will watch the movie now that it’s out,” Doucouré told Zora, an online magazine. “I’m eager to see their reaction when they realize that we’re both on the same side of this fight against young children’s hypersexualization.”

No jail time comes with criminal convictions of a company, said Shannon Edmonds, director of governmental relations for the Texas District and County Attorneys Association. He also said it’s unclear if a court determined Netflix made money off a crime, whether that would mean the fine could double the amount of money that was gained only in Tyler County, where the court case is handled, or worldwide.

See the original article: https://www.texastribune.org/2020/10/06/texas-tyler-county-netflix-cuties/

  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Pinterest
  • Share via Email
  • Share on Tumblr
Oct 7, 2020Administrator
2 years ago Featured, Hill Country News, Public SafetyBrian Babin, Doucouré, Netflix, Ted Cruz, Texas Representative, Tyler County65
Administrator
Texas has its First Black Male Teacher of the YearHoping to ease teacher workloads in Fredericksburg

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

 Newsletter 
 Recent News 
  • Montana Lawmakers Seek More Information About Governor’s HEART Fund
  • As Texas thaws again, calls to rethink how cities prepare for winter weather are renewed
  • As Long-Term Care Staffing Crisis Worsens, Immigrants Can Bridge the Gaps
Advertisement to submit your business
 Hill Country Weather 
 Follow Us on Facebook 
Hill Country Post
 About Us 

A centralized state of the arts source of information for people who live, work or visit the Texas Hill Country. See About Us for more details.

 Recent News 
  • Montana Lawmakers Seek More Information About Governor’s HEART Fund February 3, 2023
  • As Texas thaws again, calls to rethink how cities prepare for winter weather are renewed February 3, 2023
  • As Long-Term Care Staffing Crisis Worsens, Immigrants Can Bridge the Gaps February 3, 2023
  • State Board of Education eases stance on vouchers after previously rejecting “school choice” policies February 2, 2023
 Contact Us 

Share your Hill Country stories with us. We gladly welcome community input and suggestions for articles on our website.

Phone: (210) 568-1568

Email: editor@hillcountrypost.org

Follow Us on Social Media
Follow Us on FacebookFollow Us on TwitterFollow Us on InstagramFollow Us on Gab
Visitors:
2019 - 2021 © Hill Country Post | A Community-Based Initiative of the Mission Transition Foundation A 501(c)(3) Public Non-profit | Terms & Conditions | Powered by Fidelity Partners Website Designs

Make a pit stop at our Hill Country Community Shop 🛍️ Dismiss