Netflix faces boycott campaigns over a film

Agencies: The Netflix platform is facing boycott campaigns alongside angry reactions on social media after the French film “Cuties” was premiered on the streaming platform.

The film was first shown at the Sundance Film Festival in January, and its story revolves around an 11-year-old girl living in Paris who wants to join a dance group consisting of three other girls from her neighborhood.

Despite her conservative upbringing and her Senegalese family's strict rules, she rebels against her parents and joins the group.

The film’s poster in the United States sparked outrage online in August, with critics saying it highlights the sexualization of girls and young women.

Thousands of people launched a call to boycott the film, and boycott campaigns escalated through the hashtag #CancelNetflix on Twitter, but the streaming service urged critics to watch the film.

The platform lost $9 billion of its market value after the hashtag #CancelNetflix was launched, and one person said: Building a reputation takes years, but destroying it takes minutes.

A Netflix spokesperson said in a statement: The film is a social commentary against the sexualization of young children, it is award-winning and explains the pressure young girls face on social media and from society in general, and we encourage anyone who cares about these issues to watch it.

Politicians published public statements against Netflix and the film itself, and the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) and the Parents Television Council (PTC) issued statements about the film earlier this week, condemning the platform's airing of the film.

Texas Representative Matt Schaefer tweeted about the film, writing: I have asked the Texas Attorney General's office to investigate the film due to potential violations of child exploitation and child pornography laws.

Senator Josh Hawley wrote a letter to the CEO of Netflix, calling for the immediate removal of the film from the streaming platform.

A petition on change.org signed by more than 600,000 people urges cancelling their Netflix subscriptions because the film's content, many say, is inappropriate.

The petition says: Netflix is no longer the suitable streaming service for families.