Precious has just opened in the UK, and I would urge everybody to go and see it. Rarely does a North American film provide such a stark and uncompromising vision of poverty. Based on the book
Push by Sapphire, the film introduces us to Precious, a 16 year-old grossly obese black woman who is subject to abuse at the hands of her aggressive and dominating mother (played excellently by Mo'nique), her boyfriend, and (more broadly) by a system which seems unable or unwilling to engage with her.
While directors such as Ken Loach have been painting stark portraits of poverty in the UK for many years, no such director or film springs to mind which addresses the plight of the black American poor. Too often black American cinema begins and ends in gangster (gangsta?) clich̩ Рsee Boyz In the Hood, Belly, etc.. This is not just a film for black and/or American audiences. The themes are universal, and the impact that this film delivers should, and I believe will, be felt widely.
Some commentators have suggested this film presents a derogatory vision of black Americans. I beg to differ, and believe that while the film does at times present images which reflect entrenched racial stereotypes, this doesn’t in itself make the film inherently racist. So yes, there is a scene in which Precious steals a box of fried chicken, but to suggest this puts it on par with Birth of a Nation is simply grotesque. The bottom line here is that some black people like fried chicken (and plenty of whites, including this blogger too), plenty of Jews are lawyers, and many Chinese have PHD’s. Just because something has become a stereotype doesn’t mean it isn’t ever true, or that commenting on it then instantly reinforces a stereotype. What does Armond White think that poor Americans, be they black or white, eat? Caviar? Quiche?
If anything, the film provides a window into the lives of an underclass which many viewers either don’t believe exists, or choose to ignore. It humanises the very bottom rung of society, and provides a sympathetic portrait of Precious’ plight. To call this an uplifting film is perhaps a step too far, but by the end of the narrative we see Precious having been empowered – through finally finding support and a way to express her feelings and desires – rather than abused and demeaned.
In the US, where welfare recipients are often viewed as barely human and even the poor themselves will demonstrate against such socially beneficial policies as universal health care, this film is a brutal antidote to right-wing propaganda. It’s not easy viewing, but is guaranteed to stimulate much debate and thought. I watched it over five days ago and still it lingers in my mind. Can there be a higher accolade?
Precious is out now on general release in the UK.
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Conservative America led the backlash against Jesus today, after comments attributed to him suggested that he thinks he is ‘bigger than The Beatles’. Across America, Beatles fundamentalists burned copies of the Bible and smashed crosses in protest.
