I Heard it Through the Gracevine

The release of the award-winning French film “Cuties” has sparked a controversy within the Netflix community. The movie is about a 11-year-old girl who is struggling to find her identity in a social media influenced world but the film has received backlash for the outfits, makeup and choreography used in the production. The hashtag #CancelNetflix went viral as well as a petition on Change.org that has already received over 600,000 signatures requesting viewers to come together to cancel their subscriptions. Yesterday, Netflix responded by stating that it is, “a social commentary against the sexualization of young women”.

 

To be completely honest, I do not think Netflix’s response to the criticism was what the community needed to be persuaded to continue to use the streaming service. Parents are angry and frustrated that the once family-friendly app, included this film to be potentially accessed by their pre-pubescent daughters. From a crisis communications perspective, their statement comes across as a form of denial, when an apology would have been more appropriate. 

 

As the PR person for Netflix, I would be most concerned with parents who primarily use this streaming service for their children. While subscribers can choose to use parental settings, this may not stop a young girl from clicking on a movie that features girls the same age as themselves. 

 

Thinking back to when I was 11, I was so intrigued by women older than myself. I wanted to dress like them and be able to wear makeup, but I always knew that then was not the time. Yea, I might have messed around with my moms makeup but the thought of walking out of the house like that never would have crossed my mind. I think its important that Netflix considers this perspective, because through a young woman’s eyes, who probably doesn’t even understand the sexualization of bodies, this may be very confusing and misleading. 

 

If Netflix chooses to keep this movie on the app, I think it’s vital that it is marketed in a different way to avoid having a younger audience. It needs to be marketed as a, “social commentary against the sexualization of young women,” and should include some type of warning for parents. 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/movies/2020/09/11/netflix-cuties-film-controversy-watch-movie/3466923001/

As coronavirus cases continue to rise across the country, many universities are struggling with what to do on their campuses. This week, Gettysburg University announced an all-student quarantine due to an increase in positive cases because of a number of social gatherings. Beginning on Sept. 1 at 10 p.m., all buildings were closed and students were asked to only leave their rooms to retrieve food, use the restroom, speak with a counselor, and to go to a scheduled COVID-19 testing appointment. 

 

Here at Penn State, we currently have 211 confirmed student cases, 174 just from this week. Students who test positive are being asked to quarantine for 10 days and stay indoors, but this is all up to them to hold themselves accountable. So what will happen here on our campus?

 

From a public relations perspective, Gettysburg is setting the tone for what needs to be done to protect students and the community. A campus wide quarantine forces students to stay inside their dorms and focus on schoolwork and not on their social lives. This article specifically was posted in the form of a letter from the dean of students. She states the facts and explains what needs to be done to continue to stay on campus. Overall, the tone is urgent but hopeful for everyone across the country looking to other schools for guidance.

 

In class we discussed the importance of always preparing for the worst case scenario as a PR professional. In my opinion, it is apparent that before the arrival of students, Gettysburg planned to do this if they saw an increase in the number of positive cases.

 

As a student here at Penn State, I am extremely worried about my own well-being and  as well as other students. My sister was just confirmed positive and I immediately went to get tested, but then I thought of how many people I have come in contact with just from being at work and in my apartment. Unfortunately, I feel like it is almost impossible to completely control the spread. If the university chooses to go completely remote, students off-campus are bound to stay in the state college area in their apartments and houses and continue to socialize and go to bars. Bars could potentially change their hours to prevent late night activities but then risk losing money, or even going out of business. I am optimistic that as the cases continue to rise that other students will understand the urgency and cautiousness that needs to be taken, because ultimately you never know who you could infect, even if you are asymptomatic. 

 

https://www.gettysburg.edu/opening/messages/20200901-all-student-quarantine

An act of arson is believed to be done to the University of Delaware’s Chabad Center Tuesday night. When the firefighters arrived, a sweep of the inside was performed to ensure that there was no one inside but immediately ran into numerous unexpected factors such as construction hazards and an unusual building layout, however, no one was harmed. Shortly after the state fire marshal’s office began an investigation and determined it as an act of arson but did not see any evidence of a hate crime. The investigation is ongoing.

 

Members of the community have started a gofundme page to help rebuild the building that many Jewish students used as a sanctuary away from the rest of the world. The Chabad Center is believed to have suffered more than $75,000 worth of damage and has currently raised $171,000 of their $250,000 goal. 

 

This act of violence has occured in the midst of other numerous hate crimes, including the death of George Floyd. Although it has yet to be concluded that it was an act against the Jewish community, individuals across the world have begun to use their social media platforms to spread the word of this horrific event. 

 

Antisemitism is something that unfortunately continues to be a part of our society. Just recently, a popular brand, Shein, was placed under fire for posting a Swastika necklace on their website. They publicly apologized via instagram and twitter, claiming that it was intended to be sold as a buddist symbol for “prosperity and goodluck”.

 

Any act against a religion or race is unacceptable in today’s time. I would advise the Chabad Center to use this terrible event as a way to spread awareness of antisemitism that still occurs daily.

 

It’s the schools responsibility to respond accordingly and properly prosecute the individual responsible for these events. Measures should be put in place on The University of Delware campus to ensure events like this never occur again. Universities across the country should see this as a sign to put in place a crisis plan to deal with events along the same plane.

Chabad Center Intentionally Set on Fire