Jezebel 
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New York, 8:51 PM
Mon Nov 30
56 posts in the last 24 hours
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11/19/09
11/18/09
11/18/09
But, isn't that why people are saying this movie is refreshing---it is giving a voice to the abused who rarely get any attention? How many Gaby Sidibes have been on screen lately, or ever?
So those who are upset that it doesn't represent the typical African American experience, isn't that kind of the point? Why do all of our films have to show only the best and brightest of our culture, why not share some time with real humanity and open up the worldview a bit?
11/19/09
It's not that I think the movie should be above reproach simply because of its subject matter, but I think that people are getting so caught up in their critiques that they are forgetting just how monumental this movie truly is.
Or maybe it's because this movie is so unlike much of what is out there that it's getting so much criticism, like it's the one chance to tell the story in a national way, and so it better be done perfectly? I don't know. All I know is that the venom puzzles me.
11/18/09
YES! I loathe movies where the female character's life changes for the better/improves mainly because she falls in love, gets married, loses weight, transforms into a beautiful swan. Basically these women have conformed to some societal ideal (be it beauty/relationship standards) and now they deserve to be happy.
In terms of our pop culture (music, books, songs), I'd have to think have to think hard to come up with these kinds of example. I really love this message.
11/18/09
Unlike Precious, most of the girls I represented had nobody to mentor them or to encourage their talents.
I don't know what causes Oprah donates to (except the school in Africa), but I wish that in addition to spending money to finance a film about a poverty-stricken, abused young woman, that she'd donate some money to Chicago programs that provide mentors to young women like Precious. (If she doesn't already.)
I find it heartbreaking that she speaks of passing struggling young women while riding in her limo, in her own city, and yet she sinks money into a film about one such girl who overcame her circumstances with the help of mentors... without providing funding for programs to provide mentors to the girls she actually sees. Because I will tell you, my former fifteen year old client who was pregnant by a man in his late thirties who also gave her syphillis did NOT have a social worker or teacher who cared enough to guide her "to take concrete steps and work on her deficiencies and move her life forward."
That said - Oprah can't save the world. But come on, Oprah. Film and other arts are important in raising awareness, but a program targeted to her own city would be more likely to inspire volunteerism and than to cause white America to gawk at black poverty.
11/18/09
Oprah, do you remember carting out a wheelbarrow full of fat to show how wonderful you were after weight loss and how contemptible you were before it? Why don't you address that instead of reminding us all how rich and perceptive you are?
11/18/09
I doubt Precious will come to any theaters less than two hours from me, because where I live sucks. But I'm really torn about seeing it, regardless. I just don't know if I can put myself through that. I feel like it's something I ought to do as a self-improvement exercise (I haven't been made to feel that way, I just do) kind of like An Inconvenient Truth. Which I haven't seen yet either, which I feel like makes me a Bad Liberal.
11/18/09
It does bother me that people that, to date, haven't given a shit about girls like Precious SUDDENLY are so sympathetic to their plight. People who have never volunteered, people who have argued against their taxes going to welfare, people who are against a public option for health care, people who argue a difference between rape and "rape-rape", people who make fun of the obese are suddenly appalled by the situation Precious is in. Fuck you, you are a part of the problem. You helped create this rape culture that makes it difficult for women to speak out. You don't want women like Precious to have access to good health care. You don't get to protest the building of a half-way house in your neighborhood and then claim to be moved by Precious' plight.
I think that a lot of people of all races are using their movie ticket as a badge to prove they care, and that is bullshit, but it's a problem with the viewers, not the film.
11/18/09
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11/18/09
And for the record, I am not white.
11/18/09
11/18/09
11/18/09
I think you hit the nail on the head, Latoya in concluding that the viewer's life experiences will determine what he or she takes away from this film. That is exactly my concern.
I have been trying to pinpoint why the popularity of the film among white audiences and critics makes me uncomfortable. I do not believe that people of color should police their art to ensure that the only images are positive. At the same time, I am aware that many white viewers WILL see this film as a depiction of the typical black urban experience – and, to the extent that they do leave theaters with this misconception, I share Milloy’s fear that the film promotes an image of black pathology for white consumption.
At the same time, the film tells a story in a way that is respectful and empowering to its main character; Precious is not exploited here. So how do you think about a movie that can say so many different things to different people?
PS - Reading all your thoughtful commentary here and over on Racialicious has really helped me hash out how I feel about the movie. Thanks Latoya!
11/18/09
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11/19/09
11/18/09
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11/18/09
THIS. I work with rape/incest suvivors (and sadly often ongoing victims), and so often when I tell my non-counseling peers about the girls' circumstances, I'm met with disbelief.
America can barely conceive of rape survivors existing when the survivors are white, middle-class, and college-educated. I try to hammer it home that a story like Precious' isn't a gruesome hypothetical, it's a real life story for a number of women. Law enforcement personnel have told me they'd rather work homicide than sexual crimes, because a homicide conviction brings closure but there is little to offer the survivor of sexual abuse once the trial is over.
If nothing else, maybe Precious will make some incest/sexual abuse survivors feel less alone and make some social services more aware of incest survivors.
11/18/09
11/18/09
I'm not sure I'd have a 6th-or-7th grade class reading Precious, necessarily. It could be pretty upsetting for a young survivor to have the story plopped on her desk in class. A decent amount of the survivors I've worked with seem to oscillate between feeling desperately isolated and feeling almost paranoid that everyone around them knows about their experiences.
For the library and upperclass high school (like 16+) students, definitely, the book is appropriate. All colleges should mandate that freshmen read and reflect on a book about sexual assault/abuse.
#tips
11/19/09