Precious

[pattimst3k]

Jeff & I watched Precious on On Demand last night.  That was an intense movie.  Even more intense when I stop and think how the movie was set in 1987 and Precious was 15; I was 15 in 1987, but my life was as different from hers as anyone's life could be.  I have two schools of thought on the movie though and I keep going back and forth in my head

Comments

[booniverse]

I think the movie was based on a book (Push) by a black woman so it's not entirely a "white made movie". On the other hand, I've neither seen the movie nor read the book so I don't know how much has changed in the cross over. It might be interesting to read Push and see if the stereotypes exist or exist as strongly in it (now Ima gonna hafta ask my book minion The Grad to roust me up Push).

BTW, how creepy is the mom being all "Don't think you're better than me because he gave you more babies than he did me." Yuck!

[pattimst3k]

Oh let me know if you get the book!! NPR just said that it was white produced and maybe screen written by white folks? There is an even ickier scene...not really sure what happened but the mom is clearly in her bed and masturbating. She calls to Precious and says, "Come and take care of Momma". And the scene ends. Neither Jeff nor I could figure out what the fuck...?

[shekkara]

This is one where I want to read the book before the movie, in part because I can take it slower with a book and I have this feeling that the movie would have a lot of scenes that would leave me covering my eyes and ears. The book author is black, and movie director Lee Daniels is black, and screenwriter Geoffery Fletcher is black, so where does "white people made the movie" reputation come from?

[pattimst3k]

Now that's a great question...NPR made it sound like it was A Color Purple thing, where Whitey came in and took over. I want to read the book, too!

precious

[anonymous]

Honest to god, white movies??? black movies???? okay we're moving backwords with labels like that..
Hard luck story, happens to be black is how I see. An oppressed group versus non oppressed perhaps, but it ain't about black per se.
Art reflects life and life reflects art. I am sure there are unhappy Precious' out there, white and black...

Re: precious

[pattimst3k]

I agree and I see it that way. I think the concern was that folks would make generalizations upon seeing the movie. Another viewpoint that I heard was that it is more of a "class" thing than a race thing....