I loved the film Precious. I think. My feelings about this very important film are passionate and ambivalent because of the manner in which it reinforces all the too-familiar colorist stereotypes. There’s a low-level ground war raging in me about the film. I’m still trying to determine if the raw beauty of the radiant performance by Gabourey Sidibe in the title role playing a young female victim of incest, illiteracy and physical abuse is neutralized by the just as disturbing direct and indirect equation throughout the film of beauty, compassion, and courage with light skin.
Not since the film adaptation of Alice Walker’s Pulitzer-Prize winning novel The Color Purple, has a movie sparked so much controversy and inspired such absolutely love the film or absolutely hate the film and just the idea of the film emotions. I found much in Precious absolutely breath-taking-the way that Sibide owns and lights up the screen from the very first frame. Even as we watch her victimization at the hands of a monstrous mother and evil father, we feel her vulnerability and her intelligence, and we know that somehow this child will make it. I found the recurring fantasies that filled Precious’ thoughts and imagination (looking in the mirror and seeing a blonde White girl rather than her own image, being loved and pursued by a light skinned “pretty boy”), painfully authentic and the expected survivalist daydreams of a very dark-skinned Black girl surrounded daily by a relentless stream of White supremacist images, and crippled by self loathing, poverty and unspeakable abuse. I applauded the affirming sisterhood that blossomed among Precious and the girls in her literacy class where they learned to read and write and simultaneously grew in their ability to feel and express compassion, concern and tenderness for one another.
Yet for all the enormously satisfying complexity of many elements of the film, it nonetheless hues to the age-old racist color codes that are epidemic in the Black community and are significant aspects of many cultures globally. Every person who works to save Precious is light skinned. The literacy teacher who opens up Precious’ world and enlarges her aspirations, the male nurse who cares for her when she has her second child and who becomes Precious’ friend, the social worker who engineers a climactic confrontation between Precious and her mother that emotionally liberates the young girl, are all light skinned. Yes, the performances by Paula Patton, Lenny Kravitz and Mariah Carey in these roles are superb. But in terms of both narrative and image, this is color politics as usual. Confidence, meaningful jobs, control over one’s life belong to attractive, light skinned members of the Black community. That seems to be the message of the film. In a story overloaded with horrors, I nearly expected the see Precious begin using skin lightner before the movie reached it’s conclusion.
Yes, light skin and “White” features make a difference. Colorism in all its expressions is now a topic under serious scholarly study at universities throughout the country and around the world, from Harvard to the University of North Carolina. And all the studies confirm what we know, or suspect-lighter skin is more highly prized and results in greater life and career opportunities, higher salaries, longer life expectancy, and can even save Black men from death row. There is now a kind of global triangular trade supporting the virus of colorism as for example Africans import hair from China for weaves and extensions and Chinese women go under the knives of plastic surgeons to get European looking eyes and noses and men and women in the Caribbean and Africa use skin lightners to such a degree that skin cancer has been for the last decade on the rise in these regions of the world where it was once largely unknown.
Yes, this is the ugly truth, light skin is a physical attribute that can improve one’s life. But the reliance on such stock casting belies the reputation Lee Daniels has earned as a producer and director hailed for the courage of his cinematic vision and his willingness to take risks in his choice of stories and actors. He had an opportunity in Precious to interrogate and reject the dominate color-code imagery that in and of itself derails the lives of so many young girls like Precious. And because so many of her fantasies focus on wanting to be white or to be loved by a boy who looks white, by casting actors who looked like Precious as positive agents for change in her life would have bolstered her self esteem and sense of possibilities as much as her new found literacy. The implicit message of the film seemed to be that the nightmare of Precious’ life was as much about color as poverty and abuse. Who would criticize Precious by this reasoning for wanting in her heart and soul to be White or at least light, when the only people who cared give credence to the rhyme she heard a thousand times, “If you’re Black step back if you’re light you’re alright.” This isn’t a minor quibble but questions much of the aesthetic foundation of this film.
In the Black community we remain in the grip of negative colorist attitudes, passed from mothers to daughters and fathers and sons. If we can’t turn to a serious, groundbreaking film like Precious to offer much needed relief from this madness, where can we turn? While Riannah, Beyonce and Alicia Keys reign as a triumvirate of global superstars as much for their light skin as their talent, Maxine Waters walks the halls of Congress, Michele Obama is First Lady, and look, really look and you will find scores of high profile brown to black men and women who are success stories, and who are role models for real and imagined girls like Precious. I loved Precious but she still broke my heart.
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I watched the movie and thought it was pretty good. I really never heard the “light skinned” angle for the movie though. I may have to watch it again and see for myself. For me though, Precious is one of those movies that you can only watch once. The abuse was a little too much to handle for me at times.
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i love this film. i hope a lot of people will love it too as much as i like it.
its one of the very nice film i’ve ever watch,i hope many people will like this film too.
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I cannot say it was a classic or a masterpiece but one of the movies which will touch your heart..a soulful movie.
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I have really enjoyed your synopsis of this story, I would really like to watch this movie now it sounds pretty good. I think it is a shame that you felt you had to pick out that the people who helped Precious to get her life together were “light skinned”. Does it really matter what colour skin they were. A lovely review though non the less.
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I enjoyed reading your post. I never heard of a movie precious until I read your post.
Unfortunately, its so truthful that ‘light skin is a physical attribute that can improve one’s life’ but it is a racist fact that haunts a huge percentage of the human race.
Precious is a wonderful film, it really is a must see so I highly reccomend it.
I didn’t like the movie nor do I find Sidibi “charming”. I think she is as color struck as the character she played. As expected Hollywood loves a good Black pathology story and colored folks love getting “naked” on screen.
I’m not sure precious is a title i have come across but it sounds like a movie worth seeing if it took your emotions to new levels and has moved so many others who have also commented here.
I’ll have to see if i can pick it up on dvd at some point as i think i’ve missed the viewing at the cinema’s if it was ever on.
Thanks for sharing this review.
I don’t know if the film Precious was ever shown from where i am.(or was i under a rock somewhere when this film was featured) I was browsing for film reviews when i chanced upon this website, the title struck me, which is the reason why i started reading and lo and behold…i was grasped by the words used to describe the film, i started imagining how powerful the movie is and how effective the artists are if it has made this much impression on one person, now im going to the nearest place where i can rent this movie.
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i enjoyed this film a lot. it kinda move me a little bit and i like how to the movie progresses.
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And I am so happy to see a young woman with her type of beauty get so much attention; a friend told me that she has been featured on the cover of at least one magazine; Gabby is a lovely lovely person and on the View she said that she does not begin and end with thinking only about her body, when she thinks about herself, which of course is all that most of us see.
Yes, these types of movies I think always ensue a lot of controversy, but wow, what an electric movie. The character of precious was so well played by the young actress, I was extremely moved.