why r oprah & tyler perry biggin up this film- precious

[Boopie2]

Re: Is 'Precious' racist?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: jah_yout</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Boopie2</div><div class="ubbcode-body">

Like I've said if the cast were all light skinned or all dark skinned you would be pouting about that. We all come in different shades and hues so what? Your agenda in this topic doesn't have legs to stand on.



</div></div>

yes you keep repeating that, but you are not making any sense-- since i pointed out that i have an issue with the way the movie uses skin-shade associations...
the light-skinned/bi-racial angelic characters save the degraded dark-skinned ones...who by the way, the main character aspires to be light-skinned &amp; have a light-skinned boyfriend...never in the movie do they ever hint that precious overcame this self-hate symptom...&amp; how would she if all the people who helped her were light-skinned &amp; all the horrible people who hurt her were dark-skinned?...what kind of message is that sending?
why only our worst stories &amp; images suitable for accolades &amp; mega-push by hollywood?... are you willing to ask yourself uncomfortable questions?....
why don't you deal with that reality instead of asking me about hypothetical ones? well, they are not all shades- in THIS movie it just so happens dark skin is the color of degradation &amp; light skin the color of hope &amp; rescue...
this skin-tone imagery is the reality of 'precious'...
if you wish to discuss another movie we can do that;

any in mind?

</div></div>

When You're a Victim of Sex Abuse
The Long-term Consequences of Childhood Sexual Abuse
© Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen



After being sexually molested as children, adults may experience emotional &amp; psychological effects, such as intimate relationship problems, insomnia, or eating disorders.

If you’re a survivor of child abuse, you may not experience all of the following emotional and psychological effects. However, experts say that most people who were sexually molested as children will experience at least one of these long-term consequences of childhood sexual abuse.

Emotional Effects of Sexual Abuse
Feelings of emotional distress are common when you’re a victim of child sex abuse. “The burden of feeling at fault combined with minimal support over many years almost always leads to emotional problems for the victim,” writes Roger Hock in Human Sexuality.

Anger toward yourself, the abuser, or another adult who should have noticed and stopped the abuse, but did not. Survivors of sex abuse may be angry for years or decades.

Self-hatred due to feelings of blame, shame, and low self-worth. Victims of child sex abuse may feel that they’re less worthy or less valuable.

Guilt for participating but not telling anyone.

Self-blame for “tempting” the abuser, especially if he/she is a respected or loved family member or friend of the family.

Isolation from “normal” people. Victims of child sex abuse may feel unworthy of love or intimacy when they’re adults, which can lead to intimate relationship problems.

If you were sexually molested as a child – or if the abuse is ongoing – an important first step is to tell as many people as you feel comfortable telling. If one doesn’t believe you, keep telling until someone does. Talking to a counselor or psychologist will help you deal with the emotional effects of sexual abuse.

Psychological Effects of Sexual Abuse
“The trauma of childhood sexual abuse leaves long-lasting psychological scars years and decades after the abuse has ended. Childhood sexual abuse, like rape, robs victims of their personal power and sense of control over their lives and their bodies,” writes Roger Hock in Human Sexuality.

Dissociation involves blocking out awareness and memory, such as daydreams, loss of awareness for blocks of time, or even the development of multiple personalities.

Anxiety, panic, or phobic disorders may stem from the sexual abuse itself or from the fear that the sexual molestation will be discovered. Some survivors of child sexual abuse prefer to keep the activities secret (especially if the abuser pressured the victim to keep it quiet).

Abuse of drugs or alcohol may occur, because they help deaden the feelings of guilt, self-hatred, shame, or self-blame.

Post-traumatic stress disorder resulting in flashbacks or the avoidance of certain places or things related to the childhood sexual molestation. Difficulty concentrating, insomnia, or hyper-vigilance are symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Suicidal behavior may be a psychological consequence of childhood sexual abuse.

“When we feel powerless and unable to control our own destinies, we invariably suffer from a wide range of psychological disorders – most notably, depression,” writes Hock in Human Sexuality. “Adding to the depression stemming from the powerlessness is the sadness victims often experience over the loss of innocence and the loss of trust once held for the adult responsible for the violation.”

If you’re a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, you don’t have to deal with these long-term consequences of childhood sexual abuse indefinitely. Getting help – even if it’s from a wise friend, pastor at your church, or informal support group – is the best way to overcome the emotional distress.

Childhood sexual abuse doesn’t have to haunt you forever.


&quot; Dissociation involves blocking out awareness and memory, such as daydreams, loss of awareness for blocks of time, or even the development of multiple personalities.&quot;

If you had watched the video interview of the author Sapphire you'd already know the answer to these questions.

[Boopie2]

Re: Is 'Precious' racist?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Mutty</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: jah_yout</div><div class="ubbcode-body">

yes you keep repeating that, but you are not making any sense-- since i pointed out that i have an issue with the way the movie uses skin-shade associations...
the light-skinned/bi-racial angelic characters save the degraded dark-skinned ones...who by the way, the main character aspires to be light-skinned &amp; have a light-skinned boyfriend...never in the movie do they ever hint that precious overcame this self-hate symptom...&amp; how would she if all the people who helped her were light-skinned &amp; all the horrible people who hurt her were dark-skinned?...what kind of message is that sending?
why only our worst stories &amp; images suitable for accolades &amp; mega-push by hollywood?... are you willing to ask yourself uncomfortable questions?....
why don't you deal with that reality instead of asking me about hypothetical ones? well, they are not all shades- in THIS movie it just so happens dark skin is the color of degradation &amp; light skin the color of hope &amp; rescue...
this skin-tone imagery is the reality of 'precious'...
if you wish to discuss another movie we can do that;

any in mind?
</div></div>

You know, I really did not pay attention to this, but you make a good observation here. What you might want to also mention, however, is that two of these 'light skinned saviors' were homosexual lovers in the movie which, in some corners of the black community, is just a step above being an atheist.

Your observation is duly noted, however. </div></div>


Actually that's why I keep repeating &quot;READ THE BOOK&quot; The teacher in the book is not light skinned she's dark and has dreads. How do you not know that Lenny Kravitz,( the actor that played the nurse in the movie&quot; and Paula Patton ( her teacher in the alternative school) are not Daniel&quot;s friends? He's already admitted that Mariah is his close friend.

* There is no such nurse that is Precious&quot;s friend in the actual book&quot;




Excuse me but wasn't Sherri Shephard &quot;Known as Ms. Cornrows&quot; not in the movie as well? Didn't she help Precious? So there is another so dark skinned good person in the movie.


You keep spewing this quote&quot; the light-skinned/bi-racial angelic characters save the degraded dark-skinned ones..

Precious' character is the only as you call it &quot;Dark skinned one who seeks help. I don't know why you keep going on and on about &quot;ONES&quot;


Actress Gabby Sidibe's New York City Tour

www.Oprah.com media player. Here you will see her mother, father and room mates ( the Hispanic young man who played in her dream sequel, is one of her friends)

[Emperah]

Re: Is 'Precious' racist?

Aye Sah

[Boopie2]

Re: Is 'Precious' racist?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: dahJahPawtTwo</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Aye Sah </div></div>

[Emperah]

Re: Is 'Precious' racist?

yuhhead fayvah

[tsophra]

Re: Is 'Precious' racist?

well..there are those lovely shots of precious' dark skinned father savagely attacking her..


i made it appoint not to read anything about the movie before seeing it..other than friends telling me it was not a complete tear jerker I did not discuss it with anyone..and half way through I was thinking..what's up with the casting

[Boopie2]

Re: Is 'Precious' racist?

The novel Push is humanity stripped down to its worst moments flashing you behind locked doors its misused genitalia. It is also humanity lifted to its best moments of perseverance, hope, and faith. Some stories must be written and should be read.

But reading Push made me wish I could un-remember what I'd read. Reading Push made me scream at no one in particular while alone in my room. I cried watching a clip of the movie and Mo'Nique on Oprah, not because Oprah or Mo'Nique said anything I hadn't heard before but because I was in the middle of reading the book. Monique plays the mother in Precious, Mary Jones. When I say &quot;cried,&quot; I mean shoulder-shaking sobbing prompted by memories of scenes in the novel.


How does a Precious Jones overcome them?

Precious is both a fictional character and non-fictional because we have real children in this world, victims of incest, who face this kind of abuse daily. To live a better life, they must overcome what actually happened to them, not what they read in a book, and we should hope they grow as Precious did to one day, after years of sexual abuse, to heal enough to want to know what it feels like to make love in ways that are loving.

But there's so much more going on in this book than incest. The author weaves a psychological web that sticks to the spirit.

Sapphire's Writing in Push

Sapphire writes the way writers are told to write in creative writing classes everywhere. They are told &quot;write what you know,&quot; and &quot;tell the truth,&quot; but &quot;show, don't tell.&quot; The novel Push reflects parts of the author's life, rises with brutal honesty, and is one long showing of the kind of life that goes unseen. As the main character says often, she's invisible. But Sapphire makes Precious Jones visible to us in simple language charged with brute strength, with images so tight women incest survivors in a support group are described as having faces that look like bombs that wake Precious up to see herself: &quot;I am a bomb&quot; and perhaps us to see how we're all endangered when we fail to diffuse with help the bombs built in a basement called child abuse.

... What prevents all this from sounding as cloying as the characters' names is Precious's street-smart, angry voice, a voice that may shock readers with its liberal use of four-letter words and graphic descriptions of sex, but a voice that also conjures up Precious's gritty, unforgiving world. Sapphire somehow finds lyricism in Precious's life, and in endowing Precious with her own generous gifts for language, she allows us entree into her heroine's state of mind.


From an interview with Sapphire:

There are many people who wish Sapphire would be silent. Those who witnessed her sexual abuse as a child. Those who are affronted by portrayals of black pathology. Those who are uncomfortable with homosexuality, bisexuality, genocide and rape. There are moments when Sapphire herself wishes Sapphire would be quiet.


The story is true despite being a work of fiction. She deals with ignorance, colorism, black self-hate, the complexities of embracing pride in blackness as presented by Louis Farrakhan which gives rise to beliefs like &quot;crack is not the problem but crackers,&quot; the bigotry we nurture to feel superior to others like gays, the isolation of illiteracy and poverty, tricks of the welfare trade and trade in welfare system trickery, mirrors of sexual orientation, and definitions of manhood. You read about this girl fighting to learn to read, her insane mother, depraved father, the caring teacher Ms. Rain, illiterate students, and incest survivors, and if you've been some of the places I've been, you admit these people are real.

Sapphire has an ear for how people from Precious's environment speak. I won't deny for the sake of protecting ethnic egos that I've heard people pronounce &quot;mother and father&quot; as &quot;muhver and fahver,&quot; but the author doesn't write such a dialect to shame anyone. In fact, through the teacher Ms. Rain it's suggested that among her many other challenges, Precious may have an undiagnosed hearing problem, which is but another sign that she has been neglected all her life, never cherished.

And there's Precious's wishing she were white and thin, her fear that she may be like her mother--stuck, dumb, and ugly--her questions to the universe asking why couldn't she have had &quot;normal&quot; parents, a father that didn't rape her and make her HIV positive, and her heartbreaking talk that reveals to us no one has ever loved this child to a place where she can believe she is her name until she meets a teacher who cares, and this doesn't happen until age 16, almost grown.

Sapphire sugar coats nothing, protects no institution, coddles no belief system that's contributed to harming Precious Jones. She doesn't cloak black people and say we're all doing well or redeem us at the end in a singing church service. She doesn't declare all mothers sanctified by virtue of a womb nor lock the crippled and crazies in the attic until they're healed in the final scene, and perhaps that's one of the reasons some black people despise her work.

While some readers only see the ugliness in Push, there's humor and beauty in the midst of the novel. Some of the ways Precious Jones strings together adjectives to describe people she dislikes will make you laugh. Her journey toward self-revelation and acceptance will make you smile and grab a tissue. Her determination to teach her second child, a healthy boy despite how he was conceived, to read will give you hope.

The author splashes more literary colors on her word canvas with irony, allusions, clear metaphors, and crafty juxtapositions such as the name &quot;Precious&quot; versus how this child is treated; a mother accusing a child of taking &quot;her man&quot; from her who is the girl's father who is raping her and who is in fact not married to the mother at all but to someone else; descriptions of &quot;crackheads&quot; being a discredit to &quot;the race&quot; as though being a crackhead is a conscious decision--as though blackness is easily explained in Harlem where Marcus Garvey's room is rented without heat; a teen groping for freedom from her parents' sins against her while learning of Harriett Tubman and the Underground Railroad and seeing her first real glimpse of freedom in the house of the dream keeper, Langston Hughes; and the puzzle that illiterate black people exist, growing up in the cradle of the Harlem Renaissance, 60 years after the height of that black literary and artistic triumph; and finally that the book to which the author must have guessed her novel would be compared is frequently mentioned.

Sapphire makes no apologies for the strong correlation her story has to Alice Walker's The Color Purple. In fact, it's Precious's favorite book, one she discusses with her teacher Ms. Rain, who tells Precious that some people don't like Walker's novel because the ending is not realistic. It's too neat and happy.

No one will accuse Push of having a neat and happy ending, and yet its ending is not tragic. It holds readers to a sense of light amidst darkness and perhaps will leave with those struggling to overcome horrific childhoods or other wounds the will to &quot;push&quot; beyond their obstacles. I'm glad I read the book even though its images haunt me and force me to recall that somebody, somewhere, really lives like Precious Jones.

But what I love about the book is that Precious is not a defenseless subject. She is a survivor who resists against her exclusion by striving for her own inclusion. She does this by learning how to read. She then uses her literacy to read about the lives of Black women through writers such as Alice Walker, Ann Petry, Ann McGovern and others. The story ends with her literally penning her own story fully epitomizing the agency she had all along despite sexual trauma and despair.

[Boopie2]

Re: Is 'Precious' racist?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: dahJahPawtTwo</div><div class="ubbcode-body">yuhhead fayvah


</div></div>
You enjoy the rear so why are you so worried about my head?

[Boopie2]

Re: Is 'Precious' racist?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Jaded</div><div class="ubbcode-body">well..there are those lovely shots of precious' dark skinned father savagely attacking her..



</div></div>

They don't even show it in the movie, only a picture of him taking off his belt, then they pan to the bed springs.

[tsophra]

Re: Is 'Precious' racist?

que? there are shots of the man hovering over her..humping her..the very epitome of bestiality

yu feget the scene you seem raping her and the mother is in the doorway watching?

[Boopie2]

Re: Is 'Precious' racist?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Jaded</div><div class="ubbcode-body">que? there are shots of the man hovering over her..humping her..the very epitome of bestiality </div></div>

Hmmmm, I must have looked away for a second. Would it have made a difference if he was so called light skinned? If her father was an angel he wouldn't be sexing her up in the first place, he's worst than a beast.

[Boopie2]

Re: Is 'Precious' racist?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Jaded</div><div class="ubbcode-body">well..there are those lovely shots of precious' dark skinned father savagely attacking her..


i made it appoint not to read anything about the movie before seeing it..other than friends telling me it was not a complete tear jerker I did not discuss it with anyone..and half way through I was thinking..what's up with the casting


</div></div>


Well I read the books a while ago, I didn't go on and on about the casting I was lost in the movie itself. After seeing the movie I did compare with myself what was in the original book and was in the movie.

[tsophra]

Re: Is 'Precious' racist?

there was more than one scene like that boops

i don't have any issues with the dialogue regarding white people/lightskin/good hair in the movie..because to me that is a part of our reality and a young girl in precious' shoes would very likely feel that way..

but the casting is whacky..

i keep hoping it was an allegory(he) for some point they were trying to make :shrug:

[tsophra]

Re: Is 'Precious' racist?

yep..i was lost in the movie too..even teared up a bit and not at the sad bits..but when i walked out one of the first things I commented on was the casting..


and oh yeah..what was up with that horrible jamaican accent..lawd dem coulda do betta man lol

[jah_yout]

Re: Is 'Precious' racist?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Jaded</div><div class="ubbcode-body">there was more than one scene like that boops

<span style="font-weight: bold">i don't have any issues with the dialogue regarding white people/lightskin/good hair in the movie..because to me that is a part of our reality and a young girl in precious' shoes would very likely feel that way</span>..

but the casting is whacky..

</div></div>

but that's the whole irony to me...precious sees light skin as better- more valuable (and it never gets alluded to as to why so many blacks feel this way);
so by making the best characters light-skinned- in my opinion- the director seems to validate the concept that the lighter people of the black race are indeed better/more valuable...

the problem i have with movies like precious &amp; good hair is that they repeat the negative tendencies, but do not challenge them or offer an alternative ending to that old vicious cycle of self-hate;

i respect their right to make movies as they see fit but i reserve the right to criticize it from my perspective;
lee daniels the director is also the director of &quot;monster's ball&quot;- a movie i found atrocious...

to me it's all very ironic...this film is being lauded by the mainstream as a great inspiring film...
inspiring to who?
definitely not me...i definitely hope the next generation of black filmmakers will at least attempt some bigger stories;

how about an updated &quot;ten commandments&quot;...
if charlton heston and yul brunner could run around playing africans (ancient egyptians) then why can't actual africans do it?
i'm hoping they will see past this eternal ghetto sob story or vulgar romantic comedies or buffonery or hip-hop thuggery the only stories we are limited to telling in hollyweird motion pictures...

time to step up the game