Jezebel 
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New York, 8:18 PM
Sat Nov 7
42 posts in the last 24 hours
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11/04/09
I have a lot to say, so I hope I can focus here.
To start, I appreciate those who can answer to criticism and make an effort to articulate their thoughts. Edelstein is out of the gate, however, in total defense mode.
They believe my language reflects deep and both conscious and unconscious prejudices toward African-Americans, obesity, and the so-called "underclass."
Something I think is often glossed over, even on this site, is that we all have ingrained prejudices, on varying levels, and this is not always a negative thing. What's negative is when you fall back on these prejudices and look to them as a benchmark. Talk about it, put it out there, admit that you're not fucking perfect.
Of note, Sidibe herself makes a very interesting comment on the Ellen show along these lines. When Ellen asks if she knows anyone who experienced the life of Precious, where she pulled this character from, she responds with:
"When I read this book I realized that knew this girl...she's a real person, and I knew her in my family, and I knew her in my friends and I knew her in people I didn't want to know."
There's color, there's class, there's sexuality, there's gender, and there's humanity.
Also, there is no "so-called" underclass. There's an underclass.
I am also struck by the characterization of Precious as a "victim." Having just read the book, I've come away feeling that she very much is NOT a victim. At least not in the way Edelstein has framed it.
In fact, I found her to be a strong, hopeful and determined character, despite the horrific violence she survived.
And, I would like to thank the commenter (I've forgotten who) who assured me that the book was a "love letter" to literacy and the arts. If I took anything away from this story, it's how empowering education can be. You earn it, and no one can take it away. Not to be totally cheesy, but that really is a beautiful thing.
To say that the actress's or character's weight is "front and center" entirely misses the point. It's simply a character trait, like any other. What makes it noteworthy is that we as a society, and especially, it seems, Edelstein, are uncomfortable with it.
11/04/09
11/04/09
I think you're absolutely right about playing it as it lays and just owning up to prejudices and thinking about how it can make everyone look at a portrait of a character in a completely different manner. Because I think that what was lost in the NY Mag. review and truthfully, that's what made me so upset. There is this hope, inherent in all of the tragedy, that still lives. And it lives because her mind was freed by the power of literacy.
Stopping now. Not going to cry in my office. But yes, the book (and movie) is a love letter to the power of literacy and a call to action. At least, it was to me. #caterwaulingagainsttheworld
11/03/09
Perhaps if Edelstein didn't start off his piece so confrontational, I would have been a little more receptive to his over-explaining the fact that everything the Jez posse called him out on was spot-on. If he really believed his own words, he wouldn't have to try to justify them to anyone, including people he angered.
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11/03/09
Ultimately, I enjoyed Edelstein's tap dance of justifications, but it just goes to show you-- in conversations about race, mainstream America would rather talk than listen. It's all about showing racist you are NOT, rather than actually learning from the (O)thers' comments. #caterwaulingagainsttheworld
11/03/09
Good on ya, commenters! #caterwaulingagainsttheworld
11/03/09
SO FUCKING RETIRE ALREADY. JUST GO AWAY AND TAKE YOUR SOFT RACISM, HARD CLASSISM, and HETERONORMATIVE BULLSHIT WITH YOU.
Thanks.
Love,
TRex #caterwaulingagainsttheworld
11/03/09
I've heard prejudices of the exact same type that Edelstein spouted come out of the mouths of twenty-one-year-olds. And recently.
However, hee hee -- you said "transgressive". #caterwaulingagainsttheworld
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Orly. #caterwaulingagainsttheworld
11/03/09
While I grant that some of what he said in his original article likely came across differently than he intended, I find his response to be more of a self-defense than an apology, and in that regard, it fails miserably.
As a final note, surely he realizes that the presence of black women in cinema extends beyond Halle Berry. #caterwaulingagainsttheworld
11/03/09
You're giving him far more Benny of the Doubt than I. He even mucked up his comma usage. #caterwaulingagainsttheworld
11/03/09
Edelstein attempts to gloss over his original physical critique of Precious (and, therefore, Gabby) by saying something along the lines of *oh no, Jezebel, you misunderstood - I was critiquing her 'expression' and the 'direction' - not Gabby's physical being.*
Ahem:
"Her head is a balloon on the body of a zeppelin, her cheeks so inflated they squash her eyes into slits."
Those are Gabby's real head, real body, real cheeks and real eyes. And yes, she uses them to portray a character - and successfully, it seems - but that sentence seems to fall deep in his explanation that Precious is "carnival"-esque (and aren't Waters' "carnival" characters shocking/revolting/bizarre/freaks in some way? So Gabby - herself - is likewise "carnival" in her "zeppelin" body? Ugh...).
I just don't think his re-frame works here. #caterwaulingagainsttheworld
11/03/09
I really think he was trying to describe Sidibe's character and not the woman, the way we could describe any other woman on any other part who "uglies" herself up to play it (ex. Charlize Theron in Monster) #caterwaulingagainsttheworld
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And basically, I'll address all of that in the post(s) I'll do on Precious, so I don't see the need to do a direct response. #caterwaulingagainsttheworld
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transgressive |transˈgresiv; tranz-|
adjective
• Geology (of a stratum) overlapping others unconformably, esp. as a result of marine transgression. #caterwaulingagainsttheworld
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11/03/09
Yeah. I think I get it now.
(seriously though, those arms! those shoulders! ) #caterwaulingagainsttheworld
11/03/09
11/03/09
No, David. It forces you to rethink your assumptions.
The central problem with your 'analysis' appears to be that you assume that your experience is tantamount to everyone's experience.
It's not.
Good thing you drafted your article in second person. Too bad you flail about in grammatical misuse and universalist assumptions yet again when you try to get the singular to stand in for the plural.
"and we can debate this I hope without throwing around charges of racism — "
Amazing how much more horrified some people are at being called out for doing a racist thing -- or writing a racist thing -- then they are by actually having done -- or written -- the racist thing.
[www.amptoons.com]
(Plus, guy, geez, maybe it's time for some Continuing Ed to tweak the usage issues? Use some commas next time. I'm becoming more and more surprised that instead of paying Latoya for this coverage, NYMag is paying you.)
11/03/09
When people read reviews, they're generally accepting that what they're getting is one person's opinion, which is subjective and singular. What's not expected is that a person's biases will turn out to be so explicitly hurtful. Now that I think about it, my happiness to see that he felt compelled to respond is turning into suspicion that it's largely because nobody wants to be called racist. It's just, you know, unseemly. You stop getting invited to things. #caterwaulingagainsttheworld
11/03/09
(And thank you.) #caterwaulingagainsttheworld
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11/03/09
I mean, if he's going to skip over JHud and Jill Scott all the way back to Nell Carter -- not to mention Aretha -- and say Oprah is the "only visible overweight African-American" woman -- well, honey, you know he doesn't see the middle class and prole types.
*massive, massive eyeroll* #caterwaulingagainsttheworld
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11/03/09
Look, I appreciate that he apologized, but there were also a lot of justifications, excuses and half-assed attempts at redemption through shoddy logic. What? He couldn't think of any black cover girls who aren't model skinny? Using Angela Bassett (What the fuck, seriously...) as an example of a non-Halle Berry-type? That last point was so laughable, I almost think that I imagined it. #caterwaulingagainsttheworld
11/03/09