I've watched this movie and found it to be a very touching movie. It's a shame everyone seems to focus only on the children's sexualization when that, while definitely pushing the boundary a bit further than most people are used to, is clearly contrasted to the girl's otherwise incredibly childish behaviour the whole length of the movie, as well as her desire to escape oppression by her own family.
The girls are 90% of the time behaving like completely normal kids (screaming, jumping, playing around), even while wearing suggestive clothes that would be just quite normal in any primary school in most of the western world (at least until the second half of the movie, when the main character starts to slowly go a bit too far even for her own "cool" friends).
As the movie progresses, we see a young child who is already being indoctrinated into a religion she clearly has no desire to partake. She starts to realise her destiny as she sees how the life of her mother is basically centred around being a servant to her husband, to whom she got married when she was just a little older than herself (it's not clear how much older, but it's made obvious that it's not more than a year or two). Now, the husband is preparing to take a second wife, which makes her mom suffer profoundly... but as part of her culture, she must accept that the woman (as the movie explains in the beginning) must obey their husbands always, so she must even call friends and family to "proudly" announce the wedding, adding incredible insult to the injury.
It's against this background that she starts to seek the total opposite life, which she finds in a new friend who, as so many young western world girls, is obsessed with pop dancing and its overly sexualised tones.
To anyone who did not watch the movie, this is where the movie is coming from when it shows the girls behaving, I agree, completely inappropriately for their age... however, that's so common nowadays that I find people who claim to be shocked by this to be turning a blind eye to our society.
Do you really think 11-year old children seeing the kind of dance we find everywhere will not try to emulate that, having basically no idea that they are emulating sexualised behaviour? I think this is the root of the problem which people conveniently ignore. Is it normal for a 17 year old girl to behave like that on TV? How about 20?
The funny thing is : I am a conservative, I just don't like hypocrisy. If you don't want to see children dressing and dancing as portrayed in the movie, ask yourself why you think it's ok for women not much older to do so, openly, and how you expect children to "know" it's something that they shouldn't do (even while you watch it eagerly).
I only watched some clips, so won't super address the movie context, but are you really comparing 11/12 year old girls dancing the same way as a 17 year old and say it is ok? So, is it ok to have sex with 12/13 year olds, since most girls a few years older (18) can do it with anyone? (and in Europe from 16?)
I am sorry but I don't understand. I hope it isn't what you are trying to say, but if you think a behaviour of an 11 year old is ok because a 17 year old also does it, I just can't agree and hate that train of thought.
* this coming from an european liberal with an 8 year old boy
> Is it normal for a 17 year old girl to behave like that on TV? How about 20?
I have seen 17/20 year olds in tv (I think, I don't double check actress ages, but I'm sure at least in porn there are 18 year old ones) and I WOULD NEVER expect to see a show/movie about 11 year olds emulating that.
And you are basically saying (because it is in tv) we should accept the same behaviour from an 11 year old as an 17 year old, which I strongly oppose. there is 6 years difference and A LOT of things in between for me to find it ok. I don't mind a 17/18 old to be naked on tv, I don't think it is ok for an 11 year old. I think it is ok for 17/18 year old to emulate sex/erotic things on tv, I don't think it is for a 11 year old.
There is also the concept of consent, which I don't think an 11 year old should be able to give to spread her legs on tv, while a 17 year old should (maybe not all but hey...).
I believe the person you were replying to meant that if our daughters consume media filled with pop stars dancing provocatively, then they will emulate it, whether at home alone, with their friends, at a talent show, or a cheerleading or dance team.
I think you were interpreting their comment as saying that we should expect society to allow kids to act this way on a public stage, when they were in fact just commenting that we can only expect kids to act this way at home given what they are exposed to. They are not saying that this is a positive outcome.
The girls are 90% of the time behaving like completely normal kids (screaming, jumping, playing around), even while wearing suggestive clothes that would be just quite normal in any primary school in most of the western world (at least until the second half of the movie, when the main character starts to slowly go a bit too far even for her own "cool" friends).
As the movie progresses, we see a young child who is already being indoctrinated into a religion she clearly has no desire to partake. She starts to realise her destiny as she sees how the life of her mother is basically centred around being a servant to her husband, to whom she got married when she was just a little older than herself (it's not clear how much older, but it's made obvious that it's not more than a year or two). Now, the husband is preparing to take a second wife, which makes her mom suffer profoundly... but as part of her culture, she must accept that the woman (as the movie explains in the beginning) must obey their husbands always, so she must even call friends and family to "proudly" announce the wedding, adding incredible insult to the injury.
It's against this background that she starts to seek the total opposite life, which she finds in a new friend who, as so many young western world girls, is obsessed with pop dancing and its overly sexualised tones.
To anyone who did not watch the movie, this is where the movie is coming from when it shows the girls behaving, I agree, completely inappropriately for their age... however, that's so common nowadays that I find people who claim to be shocked by this to be turning a blind eye to our society.
Do you really think 11-year old children seeing the kind of dance we find everywhere will not try to emulate that, having basically no idea that they are emulating sexualised behaviour? I think this is the root of the problem which people conveniently ignore. Is it normal for a 17 year old girl to behave like that on TV? How about 20?
The funny thing is : I am a conservative, I just don't like hypocrisy. If you don't want to see children dressing and dancing as portrayed in the movie, ask yourself why you think it's ok for women not much older to do so, openly, and how you expect children to "know" it's something that they shouldn't do (even while you watch it eagerly).