PUSH - soon to be a feature film

Sapphire's PUSH

This book is a first-hand account of a young girl living in an urban area dealing with a mother who uses her and neglects her, and a father, hardly there, who uses for his sexual pleasure. An intense story detailing her experiences stuck in the demoralizing and abusive home life, she also manages to find an escape. Though she is illiterate and unnoticed, a teacher discovers her talent for writing and opens up doors and opportunities for Precious, who would be a high school junior if it were not for the challenges caused by her non-nurturing living situation, that is her disgusting and hateful mother, as well as her revolting and abusive father. She becomes pregnant with her second child at the age of 12, both children of incest, and the baby was born with Downs Syndrome. Ignorance almost becomes a character itself in the story, as is the reason for much of Precious' suffering. Her mother accuses her of being a "fat whore" and tells her how useless and stupid she is.
Precious' story is a brash portrayal of the life of one unfortunate inner city girl, growing up in the vicious cycle of ignorance and domestic violence. It becomes hopeless for Precious to survive the cards she was dealt. Until she joins a special school with other students in difficult positions. Precious discovers she is not as stupid as her mother accuses her, and even though she lacks the formal education, she displays a knack for poetry and an intelligence that shines. The unresolved narrative told in Precious' dialect is a unconventional, albeit dark and unresolved, story of redemption. She manages to find an escape from the nightmare that is her life through a journal, as well as support groups she finds through her school, and the like-minded friends she finds along the way.
The film adaptation of the novel was already released at the Sundance Film Festival and features famous individuals such as Monique, Mariah Carey, and Lenny Kravitz.

Comments

Michael said…
I saw the movie and wanted to comment on them both. The movie stayed close to the book in many ways. However, the movie expanded on why the mother allowed the abuse. In the book, we are told the story of how Precious was first molested by her father during a breast feeding moment. In the movie, both Precious and her mom are in a counseling session with a social worker (Mariah Carey). Unlike in the book, I felt sorry for the mother. I don’t know if it’s because you can see her pain as she depicts the events of Precious’ first molestation or not. But, soon after, that sorrow goes away as she blames Precious, again, for stealing her man.

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