Thursday, December 17, 2009

A Brief African centered cirtique of the hit film "Precious" and its psychological implications.


Precious was an intensely emotional film.


The events that occured in her life seem unrealistic, but I guess anything is possible.


I do believe that this was a much needed film to make because it highlights just how hard it is for some of our people to be successful in life (a point I make all the time).


However, I also believe that the reason why so many people like this movie is because of hidden agendas we all have about issues of race and class in this country.


First, lets talk about the plot real quick.



Precious is a movie about a young black 16 year old girl trapped in a destructive lifestyle seemingly caused by her mother and father.


She lives in a dark, drab apartment and the setting is 1987 Harlem.


Precious lives with her mother who chronically abuses her; throwing random foreign objects at her head when she's angry, calling her the most reprehensible names in the english language and sometimes making her perform sexual favors for her (intrigued yet).


Her father doesnt live wit her but he has raped and molested her since she was 3 and Precious already had a child by him and is now pregnant again with another child belonging to him.


As the movie progresses Precious is transferred from a regular public junior high school to a charter school where she is in a class with other troubled young teens.


To make a long story short, she has her baby, gets in an unbelievably violent altercation with her mother and leaves the household.


Her teacher finds her a place to stay and the movie ends on a highly emotionally note when the mother (played by foul mouth Monique) after a year of not seeing her, tells Precious why she treated her the way she did.


Oh and did I mention Precious also contacted HIV from her father.


Sad isnt it?


Oh the HORROR of inner city existence!



This movie makes it seem as if these grotesque indiscretions only go on in the inner city amongst lower class black people.


Nothing can be further from the truth.


There is no study on child abuse and incest that suggests the poor people in this country have a monopoly on this kind of behavior.


Incest and child abuse occur equally amongst all class levels.


In fact, white people of all classes commit way more rape, incest and child abuse then black people could ever even think about doing


Its not even close.


You see it on the news all the time.


Did you hear about the white guy from Austria that kept his daughter in the basement while he raped her for 24 years.


By the way did I mention he also had 6 CHILDREN BY HIS OWN DAUGHTER (real life).


Why didnt they make a movie about that?


Oh yeah did you hear about the white boy from Victoria, Australia who raped his daughter for over 30 years and had 4 children by her.


We can bring it back to the states.


The cases of white fathers and mothers molesting children are too numerous to name here.


Lets go to a more bizarre story.


How about the white girl from Texas who EATS HER BABIES BRAIN WHILE SHE WAS STILL ALIVE!!


UNBELIEVABLE!


I guess Oprah and Tyler Perry missed that story.

So don’t believe the hype that there is something wrong with “those” people(talking about poor blacks now) as if they are somehow different from yours.


Just like there are molesters running around the hood there are plenty running around the suburbs as well.


I’ve talked to sisters and have heard stories from other black women about how they were raped in their first year of college or molested repeatedly by a family member or friend of the family.


These women have a seemingly normal life.


They pay their taxes, go to work and seem to live a relatively normal existence but you do notice little patterns in their behavior that suggest they may have abused before (especially the ones who have a hard time maintaining intimate relationships with the opposite sex).


This is an underlying occurance that happened and continues to happen in some of our households regardless of race and class and you know it!



So in conclusion be thankful that you didnt have an experience that was as traumatic and damaging as Precious's but realize that the media try’s to make it seem as if black people are more evil, more criminal and more savage than whites (when they are the most evil, savage and criminal "people" the world has ever seen according to their own record)!


Be careful not to believe that garbage yourself.

5 comments:

Chari said...

Long time homie!!!

Nice take on the movie. I don't believe they are trying to say this only happens to poor black people. Nor was it implied in the film to me. However, this is who was used for this particular film.

I doubt it if other races are going to step out and show that this does happen in their communities.

I commend them for their efforts to step out and make it known that this does happen. Because some people are in denial that it happens at all.

James Tubman said...

hey mys tery... it happens all the time in everyones community

as a matter of fact incest rape and child molestation are very normal occurances in the lives of young children in this society (this is sickening but true)

since the entertainment media was established way back in the 1800's whites have always portrayed blacks as one or more of three things

either as being ugly

uncivilied savages

or happy servants

and when you look at the collective images of blacks in the media from early 20th century images until now, you will see that to a great extent this is true

one documentary that will really explain it is "ethnic notions" by marlon riggs

if you can find that documentary somewhere that will explain a lot

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lulu said...

woah,,,,i think i dont want to watch that movie...i bleieve we all have some evil in us and we need to realise that...black or white... thats what i belive..its terrible the media does portray the evil in only one part of humanity.... but in time it will change

James Tubman said...

it was hard to watch

i shed tears a few times throughout the film

we do have it hard as people but the media which is the propaganda tool of the government, wants to portray us in this savage way in order to justify dominating us the way they do

when we were in afrika you might have heard of something called the white mans burden

they characterized african people as savages in order to treat them in the savage way they did

in other words before you hurt and exploit someone you have to convince yourself they deserve it

so by portraying blacks as ugly savages incapable of running their own lives without the white mans supervision domination becomes a self fulfilling prophecy