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Post by Jan on Sept 12, 2020 17:50:00 GMT
A particular problem with Cuties is that Netflix created a advertising poster for it based only on a photo of the dance scene - no context at all and no way of judging the intent of the creators or the content of the film. That was a crass mistake which was likely to inspire not just a moral but a legal problem for them. Absolutely, Netflix’s marketing team sparked the initial panic. It’s a feature of moral panics that once they are in progress fuller information or context is brushed aside. Panic mode channels all the free-floating stress and anxiety people are feeling towards a target, and with emotions running so high they become impervious to the sort of contextual information they would normally use to re-evaluate the situation. I guess given the year we’ve been having and how powerless people feel at the moment a moral panic was inevitable. They’re cathartic. It’s not a moral panic though - it’s against the law to show sexual images of children, morality doesn’t come into it. |
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Post by intoanewlife on Sept 12, 2020 17:57:01 GMT
On this subject that's exactly whats happening with anime artists at the moment. Artists have raised their concerns with the Japanese government because there is a push in places like America or Australia for censorship because people on twitter and politicians, like Connie Banaros, think there is an apparent sexualisation of children in comics. Except the characters they refer to are in fact adults. It's just that the anime style makes characters look younger than they are (wide eyes etc) Sure there are anime drawings that exaggerate body proportions and some can be more explicit than others. But it is an art form that is not bound in realism and there are some talented anime artists that are now under threat of loosing money because their work can no longer be sold abroad because some people decry their comics without actually looking reading them. So in response to your reply to my comment I do agree with you but this “getting up in arms without understanding there is a grey area” is happening not just to anime but all over the place and I would like to know what these people who decry anime think about Cuties. I'm an editor and my partner is a director, so we both watch a lot of stuff that is 'out there'. I like challenging cinema and while I don't agree that EVERYTHING is valid and worthwhile film making, I will defend stuff that I think is 'valid' and has something to say about this crazy world we live in. I am not into anime beyond the fact it is visually stunning, but I love Japanese horror and a lot of their cinema and entertainment is ULTRA violent. I can remember having a migraine from wincing after watching Itchy the Killer lol The top rated review for Cuties currently on IMDB is from someone who supposedly loves all kinds of cinema and even owns Salo and A Serbian Film, but was so disgusted by the first dance scene in Cuties that he 'HAD' to turn it off. Sorry but I just don't find his outrage at all convincing... |
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Post by intoanewlife on Sept 12, 2020 18:00:53 GMT
Absolutely, Netflix’s marketing team sparked the initial panic. It’s a feature of moral panics that once they are in progress fuller information or context is brushed aside. Panic mode channels all the free-floating stress and anxiety people are feeling towards a target, and with emotions running so high they become impervious to the sort of contextual information they would normally use to re-evaluate the situation. I guess given the year we’ve been having and how powerless people feel at the moment a moral panic was inevitable. They’re cathartic. It’s not a moral panic though - it’s against the law to show sexual images of children, morality doesn’t come into it. Just as well they didn't do that then isn't it. |
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Post by kathryn on Sept 12, 2020 20:18:28 GMT
Absolutely, Netflix’s marketing team sparked the initial panic. It’s a feature of moral panics that once they are in progress fuller information or context is brushed aside. Panic mode channels all the free-floating stress and anxiety people are feeling towards a target, and with emotions running so high they become impervious to the sort of contextual information they would normally use to re-evaluate the situation. I guess given the year we’ve been having and how powerless people feel at the moment a moral panic was inevitable. They’re cathartic. It’s not a moral panic though - it’s against the law to show sexual images of children, morality doesn’t come into it. You cannot seriously be suggesting that Sundance, the French Government (who support it) all the film ratings bodies that have classified it, and Netflix all somehow missed that this film breaks the law? As well as literally every film critic who has seen it. If that was true, everyone tweeting that poster or the clip of the dance scene would *also* be breaking the law. Because that would be a crazy thing to think. If further evidence were needed that we’re in moral panic mode, that would clinch it. |
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Post by Jan on Sept 13, 2020 8:10:16 GMT
It’s not a moral panic though - it’s against the law to show sexual images of children, morality doesn’t come into it. You cannot seriously be suggesting that Sundance, the French Government (who support it) all the film ratings bodies that have classified it, and Netflix all somehow missed that this film breaks the law? As well as literally every film critic who has seen it. If that was true, everyone tweeting that poster or the clip of the dance scene would *also* be breaking the law. Because that would be a crazy thing to think. If further evidence were needed that we’re in moral panic mode, that would clinch it. None of those bodies approved the poster and marketing campaign - except Netflix marketing department it seems. Even if people’s genuine concerns about that were moral rather than legal I don’t think they’d accept them as the final arbiter. Just loftily dismissing people with genuine concerns as a pitchfork wielding mob in the grip of panic is somewhat condescending. |
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Post by intoanewlife on Sept 16, 2020 12:11:45 GMT
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