• more about #society more comments →
    ceejeemcbeegee is not here: The more Black folks complain about the airing of our dirty laundry, the less likely the laundry will ever get clean. more »
    xay: I agree that it isn't the author's responsibility to create positive art. I'm sure that there are writers who are writing books and screenplays about ... more »
    BestEuphemismEver: It seems to me that, with Precious, people are regularly combining criticism of the movie as art with criticism of the movie as a social document, and... more »
    whynotshesaid: It is so unfortunate that so few movies are made about black people that the ones that ARE made have all this pressure on them to get everything exact... more »
    Bunsen Honeydew: I don't understand why this is even a subject to discuss - these are the issues Sapphire saw in the world. From the little I've read about her, while... more »
    JilliefromChile: You know, I haven't seen the movie yet (in Canada limited release is really limited release), but the more I hear about it the more parallels my mind ... more »
    individa: Thankfully, Lee Daniels accepted Sapphire's critiques of his 'new scenes' in the script. He wanted to include "a redemptive reunion with her father be... more »
    Aesop's Foibles. YES.: She's 100% right. Yes, what goes on in the story is heartbreaking, but it does happen, and that fact should not be shoved under the rug for supposedly... more »
    gracie1117: it would be interesting to see movies like this made about white people or asians etc. because there are people in all communities who are like Precio... more »
    thesciencegirl wields the truth like a mighty axe.: While I understand her reaction tot he criticism, I think the comparison to the Cosby family is false. Are there dysfunctional black families dealing... more »
    ronniedobbs: I haven't seen the movie yet, so I can only talk about this on a meta level, but I'm not comfortable with these Straw Blacks. The article doesn't poin... more »
    Lana Leigh loves Meryl Streep: I read Push and I liked it. I can't criticize her for writing about a heavy subject matter but I would like to see more books, shows, and movies about... more »
    Penny: She's right. Also, on an unrelated note, she's 59?? She looks amazing if that's a current photo. more »
    Her Grace: SNOWED IN: This just in: tautology is tautological! No surprise for me, having been a loner for most of ever. more »
    jfwlucy: This reminds me so much of George Sodini who shot up the exercise club, and his eventual extreme isolation from any sort of human contact at all -- ho... more »
  • #stillpushing

    Author Sapphire Responds To Precious Criticism

    On the reception to Precious: "Some blacks have criticized Sapphire for focusing on black family dysfunction. She replies, "If you're upset, then ask, 'Why does this happen? What can I do?' Not say, 'Bring back the Cosby family.'" [USA Today]
  • #socialstudies

    Infectious Diseases

    Loneliness is contagious, say researchers. Apparently, it quickly becomes a vicious cycle, leading to the complete isolation of those already on the fringes of society. Experts believe this is a function of our natural tendency to drop the loners. [Reuters]
  • #mobilehomes

    Life On the Streets Is Tough. Being Homeless At 97 Is Tougher.

    How do you envision your life at 97? For one woman, life is lived in the front seat of 1973 Chevrolet Suburban with her two sons, spending the days panhandling and scrounging for social services. Bessie Mae Berger is homeless. More »
  • #socialorder

    R.I.P. Fleur Cowles

    Fleur Cowles, famed for helming the short-lived, innovative Flair magazine, her acumen as a hostess on both sides of the pond, and as author of the memoir She Made Friends and Kept Them, has died at 101. [NYT]
  • #missmanners

    Spinach In Teeth? Skirt In Pantyhose? If You See Something, Say Something!

    Yesterday, Hortense Twittered, "I'd just like to give a shout out to everyone I work with for not telling me that I've had bagel crumbs on my face for the past 45 minutes." Fair enough! More »
  • #tmi

    Tell Me More! Why Do We Overshare?

    In an interesting essay in the Sydney Morning Herald, Emily Maguire argues that not only have we lost our capacity for discretion, we resent it. Is oversharing the new etiquette? More »