A new sci-fi dystopia is finally arriving on Netflix but not everyone is happy about the highly anticipated flick.
The movie Uglies boasts a star-studded cast with Joey King, Laverne Cox, and Chase Stokes all playing starring roles.
The film follows a teen called Tally (played by King) who lives in a futuristic world that imposes cosmetic surgery at the age of 16.
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At first, Tally is keen for her turn under the knife in order to join the rest of society until her friend runs away and she embarks on a journey to save her.
This results in experiences that upend everything she thought she wanted and everything she thought she knew about the society she lives in.
The movie’s been adapted from a bestselling book series by Scott Westerfeld and fans have been eagerly awaiting the film release.
However, after Netflix dropped the trailer, some people have taken to social media to share their mixed feelings.
On Reddit, one user wrote: “So it is a battle between very attractive YAs (young adults) and very attractive YAs with snapchat filters?”
Another said: “I'm getting a little sick of media depicting literal Hollywood stars wearing slightly less makeup as being too ugly to function in society.”
A third asked: “So uh, where are the ugly people? I didn't see any.”
And a fourth said: “If this is an attempt to appeal to ‘ugly’ kids, they could have gone with some actual less pretty kids. Now it’s just pretty versus AI pretty…”
However, others have argued that those criticizing the casting have missed the point of the movie.
Over on YouTube, one person wrote in the comment section: “For those who didn’t read the books: the point isn’t that they were ugly until they had the surgery, it was that they had been made to believe they were ugly unless they underwent the surgery. It’s a commentary on our own beauty culture.”
Another added: “Everyone complaining that the ‘Uglies’ aren’t ugly... THAT’S THE POINT. It's a social commentary on the capitalisation of beauty standards and ultra consumerism.
“We are constantly told that there's always more we can do/buy to look better, diet, weight loss supplements, botox, liposuction, plastic surgery, etc. That if you buy this product it will make you ‘pretty’ but it's all a lie.
“You will never feel pretty enough because if you learn to love yourself and feel pretty you will stop buying products to make yourself ‘pretty’ the ‘Uglies’ in this series are people who haven't had the alteration surgery.”
Uglies will be available to stream on Netflix from September 13.