I’ve been reading a lot of varying views about the new Tyler Perry/Oprah Winfery backed film “Precious.” Everything from criticism of it being exploitive from Armond White to a recent Root article criticizing the young lead actress’ weight.
As some of you probably already know, “Precious” is based on the book “Push” by poet Sapphire and tells the story of a sexually, emotionally and physically abused overweight black teen, set in the late-1980s inner city. White probably had one of the more interesting (and in some parts, maddening) critique of the film. He labels it as the “con job of the year,” all but calling director Lee Daniels a sick pervert and Winfrey/Perry black poverty pimps.
Wait. He actually did kind of call them that. Saying that Daniels knows how to “turn a racial trick.”
Of course, White praises the Eddie Murphy films “Meet Dave” and “Norbit” by comparison, jettisoning his argument to a certain extent. I mean, how can you trust the opinion of someone who thought Norbit passed the sniff test? But even a proverbial broken clock is right twice a day.
From NY Press:
Not since The Birth of a Nation has a mainstream movie demeaned the idea of black American life as much as Precious. Full of brazenly racist clichés (Precious steals and eats an entire bucket of fried chicken), it is a sociological horror show. Offering racist hysteria masquerading as social sensitivity, it’s been acclaimed on the international festival circuit that usually disdains movies about black Americans as somehow inartistic and unworthy.
Sometimes White gets a little drunk on hyperbole in the review, but we get his point. He falls heavily on the exploitation end of the argument against “Precious.”
The Root article is a little more frustrating because the author uses the lead actress’ weight as a cudgel to beat people with over the obesity crisis. Because, how dare young actress Gabourey “Gabby” Sidibe be celebrated for being confident about her physical appearance! The only reason why I’m rolling my eyes at this argument is that NO ONE demonizes thin actors for either A) endorsing anorexia by being unhealthily thin, B) demonizes gorgeous actors for endorsing an impossible beauty standard on the public or C) demonizes actors who smoke for endorsing a killer habit that can actually hurt, not just themselves, but others, through second-hand smoke. So, unless author Alicia Villarosa is going to dump on the every other actor workin in Hollywood for their near-life long love of sparking up a cancer stick … um, no. Fat people have enough drama to deal with. You don’t need to point out the OBVIOUS here.
As I always say, FAT PEOPLE ALREADY KNOW THEY ARE FAT! Pointing it out and shaming them for being fat really doesn’t solve America’s weight problem.
But where do you fall on the “Precious” divide? I have to admit I was initially interested in the film, but have since cooled in wanting to see it. Mostly because I felt some of the more garish aspects, like incest and rape, were a bit too much for me emotionally. That, and I took some issue with the “We are all Precious” campaign/advertisement that encouraged people to change their Twitter and Facebook images to reflect support for the plight of the film’s title character. It’s one thing to identify with a fictitious character, it’s another thing altogether to present this one slice of abusive black life as authenticity. Yes, there is suffering and abuse in the black community, but we are a large and diverse community. I can’t say that I can personally relate to Precious’ story outside of simple observation. Not to mention that her story isn’t just a “black” story, as rape, incest, abuse and molestation know no race, gender or economic background exclusively. (“Bastard Out of Carolina” meets “Flowers In the Attic” anyone?)
Armond White makes the lengthy point that Perry and Winfery are presenting themselves as the good, kind folk bestowing some noble, “Negro” obligee onto the poors upon which they came, but that their view of what is authentic black life is heavily distorted. I can agree to some extent that Winfery and Perry may have a slanted view, obscured by their own tales of rape, poverty and physical abuse, but just because you’re personal story is horrific doesn’t mean it doesn’t deserve to be told. This is where I sometimes fall on the side of the filmmaker to make their story known and let the audience be the judge as to whether it is art or not. White seems more enraged and ashamed that the film and its content exists and that *clutches pearls* the dreaded “other” might watch this and assume this is how we all are. That we’re all morbidly obese, sad, abused, sick puppies needing to be finally put out of our misery or needing some beautiful white knight or, according to White in regards to “Precious” — light-skinned night, to save us from ourselves.
So have you seen “Precious” yet and did you read the book? Where do you fall in the debate?
Article by Danielle Belton
WHO IS “THE SNOB?" She is your very best, better than most since 1977 friend, self-described “nerd girl/hobohemian,” writer and journalist, Danielle C. Belton.Born and raised St. Louis, Mo. on a healthy diet of news programming, pop culture, black history and “snark,” Belton is best known as the woman behind THE BLACK SNOB. A pop culture-meets-politics blog, THE BLACK SNOB takes a look at irreverent side of life, finding the funny, freaky center of every issue. http://blacksnob.com.
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{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
I haven’t seen it yet and I don’t plan on seeing it for similar reasons to yours – it’s just too emotionally stressing in my opinion with the rape, incest, etc. I like happy movies dangit.
Did White really compare it to Birth of a Nation, though? That’s a pretty harsh comment.
When I first heard about the movie coming out last year, I didn’t know any of the story.. so when I happened upon the book, I picked it up.. I didn’t get past chapter one.. this is not because it was terrible, but because I tend to read a lot of books at once and Push was due back before I could read it again.. now with the movie coming out.. I want to read the book so I can have a heads up on the movie.. in an interview with Mo’Nique in either Essence or Ebony, she refers to her own abuse and the movie.. I believe she mentioned something about Precious’ mother abusing the daughter.. I determined then that I would NOT be seeing the movie.. however.. the previews don’t depict the mother as being much more that physically and verbally abusive (for obvious reasons).. I am not a fan of having my emotions messed with.. but I am intrigued by the story.. I have not yet decided whether I will see it or not.. I may have a walk out moment.. or I may not see it at all.. anywho.. you would think that by now people would be able to discern between a story of one and the true lives of all.. I didn’t see any signs of exploitation in watching the previews.. and wonder if he’s digging a little too deep?! I can’t really speak since I haven’t seen the movie.. but maybe after I do… I’ll drop back in
First off, great article. Let me just say that nothing in this opinion is directed towards what you wrote, as much as the Root article and the NY Press clip. I haven’t seen the movie yet…I’m on the fence about whether I’m going to see. I know without a doubt that I will not be reading the book. I don’t know if I want to inject my job into my personal time, and I hear the book is a terror. A good read, but a terror none the less.
I’ve read a few articles that seem to deal a lot with Black people not liking the way they are portrayed (a la Tyler Perry movies or Precious,) and there seems to be a serious disconnect here. Presumably most of the people who are upset/offended by these images are college-educated. If you are a college educated individual, and you surround yourself with like-minded/like-educated people, maybe it’s a little easier for you to forget that there ARE black people who act like Madea, or the Browns, or even Precious and her family. I’m perfectly aware of the fact that not ALL Black people act this way, but lets be honest with ourselves for a moment…there are A LOT of Black people who still do. Maybe my job as a caseworker makes me more aware of the distance between where my clients are and where my peers are. Maybe it’s the fact that in my direct familial line, I’m the first person in my family with a Bachelor’s Degree. Whatever it is, it’s getting a little tiresome.
This kills me : “Full of brazenly racist clichés (Precious steals and eats an entire bucket of fried chicken), it is a sociological horror show.” Ok, I know it’s a movie, but let’s put this in perspective: Precious and her mother are VERY low income, and in addition, there is already one small child in the home, and another on the way. Again, I haven’t seen the movie but I’m guessing it’s pretty safe to assume that they live in a low-income neighborhood…have you seen the hood lately? It’s not like it’s full of Whole Foods Markets and Specialty stores….The part of Cleveland Ave. (Columbus) that is near where I live has a Popeye’s, Church’s, McDo, BK, KFC, Captain D’s and like 4 other fast food restaurants in less than a 1 mile stretch of street. Yeah, they have a Kroger’s in that same stretch, but when you’re on EBT and it has to last you the whole month, Fresh fruits and Produce aren’t high on your priority list. And honestly, how many low-income people have proper nutrition on their minds anyway? They’re trying to get from check to check, just like most other people are sure, but budgeting and household management aren’t things most of them know or care about. And that no, that isn’t just in Black communities, I’ve had plenty of overweight, low-income families of other races on my caseload too, but I’m not talking about them.
I: think a lot of Black people are uncomfortable with portrayals that counter the ‘look how far we’ve come’ argument. Are we (as a people) better off than we were 30, 60, 200 years ago? The answer is simultaneously ‘yes,’ ‘marginally,’ and ‘no.’ We’ve made a lot of strides, but what are we really doing to bring those who have been as fortunate as our college-educated selves out of the gutter? Why are we trying to deny the existence of these people by getting up in arms about the way we are ‘portrayed?’ Yes, there is such a thing as exploitation…but some people also allow themselves to be exploited as such, and that is a choice. I don’t feel that ‘Precious’ is one of those movies. This movie isn’t meant to be an easy pill to swallow…it’s an opportunity to bring a very real problem into the mainstream where it belongs. It’s easy to turn a blind-eye to something when it isn’t in your face every day.
@Camielle, *Bravo* Took the words right of my mouth. I am a social work major and had to read this book for a class. Yes it is fiction but the fact of the matter is, this is real life. And like you said there is not a color barrier on rape and incest.
@FashionDiva, It’s funny you mention your major…I could equate some of the thoughts towards this with that. Every now and again (having been a Case Manager for years), I meet someone who has a degree in social work, but is uncomfortable and afraid when they step into certain arenas to use it. Kinda the same thing with some of the critiques of this movie. They knew what the movie was about…so did what DID they expect to see when they sat down in the theatre?
@Camielle,
You make me want to see this movie even more, because now I’m feeling a bit bourgeoisie, since both of my parents, as well as one of my grandparents have college educations.
@Camielle, You said a lot that needed to be said. My family is not American and when they came to the States their whole idea was to live what they saw on TV. So I ended up pretty sheltered from a lot of things. I wouldn’t say I’m bougie, but I was naive to what’s really going on with Black Americans really until recently. I will go see the movie/read the book, but if it depresses me can we start a FXP support group?
@JG*, Lol, yea Bermuda definitely doesn’t have poverty the way this woman experienced it… not even close.
@Camielle, That was a pretty awesome response Camielle.
@Camielle, Wow! Loved that response. I am definitely going to see the movie. I have never agreed with Not reading something or Not viewing something just because it isn’t happy- not everyone’s lives is full of rainbows and cupcakes. I think that if people can’t handle this perhaps they should invent some type of virtual reality for themselves and go live in it.
@Camielle, I’m so happy that somebody finally reconizes that what Precious represents, what Tyler Perry portrays in his movies, and what many of these middle-class, college educated African-Americans see as buffonery is actually an accurate portrayal of what I think as the majority of black life in America. The fact of the matter is, more than half of African-American children in this country live below poverty, so characters like Gabby portrayed in Precious and the rest of Tyler Perry movies are more accurate because they portry the majority. You won’t get 100percent of blacks living in Poverty or 100percent living middle class or above, but you can make accurate portrayals based on majority; and as I stated earlier over half of African-American children live in poverty. Far too many times the people who we put in charge to come up with viable solutions from our community don’t come from poverty level households so they don’t understand the mentality of a poverty leveled family or they come from poverty, graduate college and get so happy that they are not in poverty anymore that they forget where they come from and are ashamed to admit that they once thought like the very person that they are now turnung their nose up at. I was about to give up on these blog spots because all we have is the educated talking to the educated, the arrogant talking to the arrogant, the people who ignore the truth talking to other peoiple who ignore the truth; seldom do I see people who can relate to the true problems in black america. If we want progress we have to accept the truth and what Tyler Perry portrays is truth so that we can see it, talk about it, and provide solutions for it; but the “educated” spend so much time criticizing it that we continue to go nowhere.
I apologize for any grammatical/punctuation errors…I was editing as I wrote and I wasn’t as careful as I thought…
@Camielle, Very well put.
It is interesting to me that some people (like the people who wrote the Root article and NY) despise Tyler Perry movies or “Precious” for it’s “negative” portrayals of African-American’s, but what about movies that display “poor” blacks rescued by whites? From “Dangerous Minds” to “Freedom Writers” to “The Blindside,” isn’t it just as negative to display images of capable minorities who only really accomplish anything when a white hero(ine) saves them? Why aren’t the members of the anti-Tyler Perry Fan Club as equally upset about those portrayals?
@Newww Mama, OH I hate those portrayals too. They make me slide down walls. LOL
@Newww Mama, I hate the typical white person saving the po black man story.
@Newww Mama, Come on now, you’re asking the anti-Tyler Perry, white a** kissing, self-hating group to criticize their savior for saving other blacks lol…that’s too much to ask, yiu’re talking actual progress here, challenging the master, upsetting their boss…forget about, they’ll stick to Tyler Perry he’s easier, nobody has his back
Well put Camielle.
I think one thing that needs to be pointed out that is very important is that the story of ‘Precious’ takes place in 1987. Secondly, I have not seen the film yet, as the worldwide release isn’t until November 20th. However I have read the book twice. It is an incredibly moving story. The underlying theme throughout the novel is the idea that there is always HOPE. The tagline “We Are All Precious” was great because we all know someone who Precious represents. Precious doesn’t necessarily represent the negativity that surrounds the black community (I.E. HIV, Illiteracy, Obesity, Abuse – all of which Precious endures). Precious represents someone who could have easily just given up. Instead, Precious remained hopeful, which brought her from the lowest of points in life. Precious is someone we all know, whether it be ourselves or someone else.
I think it is such an important and moving story for people to see.
I have reserved “Push” from the library. I don’t think I will see the movie though. I MIGHT check it out when it becomes a DVD. Past experiences have taught me that book versions are better than Hollywood versions. The whole story seems real depressing though.
This is a great article. I just don’t get it, though. I mean, why is it that the Black aritsocracy gets all up in arms about anything besides something other than the Cosby Show?! Yes, I know that we are out here fighting the stereotypes everyday, and we’re constantly trying to tell the world that our community isn’t as one-dimensional as they seem to think we are, but seriously, how can we make that argument when we obviously don’t respect it? If we’re only happy with a movie when it doesn’t show black people eating chicken or watermelon, drinking beer, playing basketball, or showing attitude, then we’re being just as ignorant as those who think that’s all we do. We spend day after day saying that the Black community is multi-faceted. We’re not just drug dealers, rappers, and athletes. We’re scholars, parents, and leaders. Okay, I agree, but at the same time, we DO eat chicken. We DO eat watermelon. We DO play sports, and there’s nothing wrong with showing that. Instead of fighting to abolish movies that show these things, we should be fighting for more movies that examine black life, period. That way we have a better chance of showing all aspects of Black life. That’s when we will be able to have a true representation of who we are.
@Tiffany, I need to learn how to do the little Quote box on here…nonetheless “We’re not just drug dealers, rappers, and athletes. We’re scholars, parents, and leaders. Okay, I agree, but at the same time, we DO eat chicken. We DO eat watermelon. We DO play sports, and there’s nothing wrong with showing that. ” Thank you! I had all of that in my original post and then took it out…I don’t feel ‘stereotypical’ when I’m eating fried chicken and watermelon…I feel like i’m hungry and I wanted fried chicken and watermelon!
@Tiffany, I think your point is valid, but I believe you’re misinterpreting the oppositions point e.g. Spike Lee. They’re not denying the existence of these realities, they’re questioning the motives behind a monolithic media (specifically a white dominated media) that pushes and encourages the propagation of these images, films, and stereotypes. Thus the supposed inundation of the stereotypical black lower-class story. For example, I rarely see wide-spread praise of positive stories involving black people being told (I could very well be wrong; I don’t watch TV or movies often).
And if my supposition is correct (no idea if it is), then it could have a potentially adverse affect on how black America is viewed. I understand life is not fair, but in an ideal world, all stories should be told and praised – the bad, the good, and the ugly.
My thing is are young people (the adolescents) even going to go see it? Will parents take their kids to go see it? I mean I’m not knocking the production of the movie but I don’t know. Look at the Passion of the Christ; people were moved across the board (black, white, latino, hispanic, etc); I mean some people even died in the theater because of the impact it had. But at the end of the day look at where we are back to, square one and more like ground zero. I’m not knocking the movie, I haven’t seen it yet (more like, don’t plan on it) so how can I put it down; all I’m trying to say is that if its trying to put out a message, statistics & trends don’t lie. Even to the “young adults” or older individuals, will it just be for viewing pleasure or will eyes open up? Will those that have common sense move their feet to make a change? Hey who knows, but all I know is that a movie, sitcom, documentary, etc… is still TV at the end of the day and we should all help another human being besides viewing & criticizing them like a reality show.
I disagree that Precious exploits the Black community. The “others” are very aware of Black plight, heck, they’re primarily responsible for it. The struggles of Black Americans are known across the world. Enough with that argument.
What I do have a problem with is that most “uplifting” Black movies uplift involve so many themes of despair. Why can’t we have “cool” Black characters that inspire us? I’m getting tired of the same message of the downtrodden, dull-witted but strong-willed Black person persevering through immense pain. I don’t look up to Precious, nor do I derive any hope from her story.