PUSH: BASED ON THE NOVEL BY SAPPHIRE

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by Senusret I

I have not seen the movie yet and it is sold out most places in DC tonight, but I wanted to share a link to a blog entry that a buddy of mine wrote regarding her Precious experience.

I do not expect to have the same reaction that she did, but I think it's good to share dissenting opinions.

I can tell without reading the book or seeing the movie that there's probably way too much pathology jam packed in this story. I don't consider it unrealistic, but I consider it something I will most likely not pay full price to see. Redbox on mineS, homie.

Your buddy is a great writer. I had to stop here, though.

But Precious is the kind of movie that will always resonate with white folks, especially white film critics like Roger Ebert and the film festival crowd who have raved about it. Because, in the end, they want to believe we're "strong" enough to transcend the most horrific of circumstances like Precious, and that on some level they played some part in the triumph. Just look at the casting. Daniels has been lauded as a genius for his quirky casting choices in Precious, and yet the overt colorism only adds to what makes this movie ultimately unwatchable for me. The only people who showed Precious any kindness, any cover, any hope -- Paula Patton, Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz -- are all light-skinned. The din of depravity she suffers her entire life, of course, comes at the hands of dark-skinned Blacks. Hmmm....

I hear what she's saying but it's way too easy to pick the most obvious things and scream "Eureka!" I'm so tired of hearing about what white folks might think and colorisms (or, more accurately, biracialisms). I was more interested by your buddy's assessment of the pathology and so forth.

It wouldn't be a complete shock to the system if Monique gets an Oscar nod for this role. She certainly wouldn't have received one for Phat Girlz. You can't win for losing.

[Senusret I]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

I can tell without reading the book or seeing the movie that there's probably way too much pathology jam packed in this story.

Since I couldn't find my copy of Push last night (I looked EVERYWHERE!) I went to Borders today and got a new copy -- they had some in hardcover, which I was very happy about.

Sidenote: I have now nicknamed the Borders in Silver Spring, MD "Birth Control" because of all the bad ass kids that were running around.

So I started rereading it and remembered that it wasn't as amazing novel as I remembered it fir the reasons I quoted above, plus what the New York Times had to say about it:

No doubt this rapid-fire sequence of horrifying stories is supposed to mean that Precious has finally found a community of friends with shared experiences. Instead, they leave the reader with the feeling that one has abruptly exited the world of the novel and entered the world of a support group. In trying to open out her heroine's story and turn it into a more general comment on society, Sapphire has made the tale of Precious decidedly less moving than it might have been.

I'm still going to go support the movie, though. If what people are saying is true about how they injected more witty/humorous moments into the movie than appeared in the book, it's probably because they were trying to be less depressing and slightly more realistic. (I work in social services where people have shitty lives but witty moments, so I get it)

Final side note: I really don't need to see Mo'nique's tittays jiggling as she runs up the stairs in that full-slip in the promos.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by Senusret I

Since I couldn't find my copy of Push last night (I looked EVERYWHERE!) I went to Borders today and got a new copy -- they had some in hardcover, which I was very happy about.

Sidenote: I have now nicknamed the Borders in Silver Spring, MD "Birth Control" because of all the bad ass kids that were running around.

So I started rereading it and remembered that it wasn't as amazing novel as I remembered it fir the reasons I quoted above, plus what the New York Times had to say about it:

No doubt this rapid-fire sequence of horrifying stories is supposed to mean that Precious has finally found a community of friends with shared experiences. Instead, they leave the reader with the feeling that one has abruptly exited the world of the novel and entered the world of a support group. In trying to open out her heroine's story and turn it into a more general comment on society, Sapphire has made the tale of Precious decidedly less moving than it might have been.

I'm still going to go support the movie, though. If what people are saying is true about how they injected more witty/humorous moments into the movie than appeared in the book, it's probably because they were trying to be less depressing and slightly more realistic. (I work in social services where people have shitty lives but witty moments, so I get it)

*old Black folk voice*

Laughter has conquered many a mountain.

Originally Posted by Senusret I

Final side note: I really don't need to see Mo'nique's tittays jiggling as she runs up the stairs in that full-slip in the promos.

Shame on us for noticing.

[ladygreek]

I am debating whether to see the movie. I haven't read the book and don't intend to. But I have see a lot of Preciouses in my lifetime.

[CrimsonTide4]

Great blog post.

I won't go see the movie or read the book. Some things I cannot and will not handle. I won't even see this on BET in 2012.

[Munchkin03]

Originally Posted by CrimsonTide4

Great blog post.

I won't go see the movie or read the book. Some things I cannot and will not handle. I won't even see this on BET in 2012.

About two years ago, I was sitting next to someone on the subway who was reading it. From what I gleaned just looking over, I was disgusted and saddened.

This may be going on right now but I don't want to read about it during my free time. I suspect/hope that the movie won't be as graphic as the section of book I saw, but still.

[redblackdelta]

My chapter, Metropolitan Dallas Alumnae, sponsored a special viewing of Precious this past Sunday. We had a brief Q&A with two mental health clinicians, one from our chapter. We sold the entire theater out and folks are still writing, stopping by, just wanting to process the film and book. The best thing was having our psychiatrist and psychologist there to field questions and just let people debrief. Our participant evals came back with phenomenal ratings.

I've been in the urban classroom 15 years and have taught many a Precious. There are so many things both in the book and film that brought me to tears, but the most poignant, was seeing a BLACK teacher (though Paula sho' is light, lol) save a Black student. Not since the Marva Collins Story nor Lean on Me, has Hollywood taken upon itself to show that we can save our own kids. Lee Daniels clearly is an independent film maker, but I just had my chest out watching it all. I'm tired of students asking me, "Miss, when will they do a movie about you and the work you do?" Precious is my movie.

[minDyG]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

But Precious is the kind of movie that will always resonate with white folks, especially white film critics like Roger Ebert and the film festival crowd who have raved about it. Because, in the end, they want to believe we're "strong" enough to transcend the most horrific of circumstances like Precious, and that on some level they played some part in the triumph. Just look at the casting. Daniels has been lauded as a genius for his quirky casting choices in Precious, and yet the overt colorism only adds to what makes this movie ultimately unwatchable for me. The only people who showed Precious any kindness, any cover, any hope -- Paula Patton, Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz -- are all light-skinned. The din of depravity she suffers her entire life, of course, comes at the hands of dark-skinned Blacks. Hmmm....

I hear what she's saying but it's way too easy to pick the most obvious things and scream "Eureka!" I'm so tired of hearing about what white folks might think and colorisms (or, more accurately, biracialisms). I was more interested by your buddy's assessment of the pathology and so forth.

The light-skinned vs. dark-skinned motif is something the casting directors carried over from the novel. It's a reflection of Precious's own feelings about beauty and how she views the world around her. So there's no one to blame but Sapphire for creating the character to feel that way.

I loved the book. I read it in my women's studies class my freshman year of college and cried my eyes out. I've been hearing about this movie, Precious, on Twitter and whatnot, but I haven't seen any trailers--up until I read this thread tonight I had no idea they were the same story. I'd like to see how they translate the story to film.