Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire
The movie Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire, follows a sixteen-year-old girl named Precious, who is apparently pregnant with her second child and is kicked out of school because of it. Over the course of the movie, Precious finds an alternative school, where she finally learns to read and write, but more importantly, meets a teacher who gives her the encouragement and love never offered to her by her parents. The movie gave a raw, uncensored view of life within an abusive family, while still leaving the viewer with a glimmer of hope for girls like Precious.
What struck me most about this movie was how almost all of the characters we meet are women and girls. Even though the abuse of a man, who never actually shows up in the film, started the chain of events, women are the one who continue them and bring them to a place of renewal and second chances. Precious is able to bond with her class of girls at Each One Teach One, who in turn support her when she is in the hospital giving birth to her son. Her welfare officer is a woman, who seems to be so removed from the experiences through which Precious is going, but possesses a kindness that shows us that she truly wishes to help her. Most important is Ms. Rain, Precious’s teacher, who sees that Precious is more than an illiterate drop-out and that she has true potential to succeed. She is also the first person to get Precious to truly open up about the abuse she has suffered at the hands of both her mother and father. This focus on women and girls helping each other to reach a goal, rather than being pulled out of trouble by some malevolent male figure, really gave girls the power and highlighted their strength.
Another thing the film did remarkably well was presenting real characters. Gabourey Sidibe may not fit into our society’s conventional image of beauty, but we see so much beauty in Precious when she is finally able to see beauty in herself. Monique and Mariah Carey, who are both gorgeous actresses, were dressed down and made up in such a way that they just looked like people you would meet on the street. This was so much easier to relate to than a bunch of white, rail-thin, impeccably made-up actresses cast as the outcasts and drop-outs. In “Queer Girls and Popular Culture”, Driver discusses how difficult it is as a queer girl, especially one of color, to find people in films who look like them. In watching Precious, I realized how few people in films look like anybody. Precious showed me a group of girls who were beautiful because they were rich, likable characters, not because they lived up an impossible Hollywood standard. These are the sort of girls I want my future daughters to see in movies on a regular basis.
All in all, Precious was an intense movie experience for me. Coming from a family that has had to deal with, thankfully, only a few of the circumstances in this film, it hit me hard. However, the raw emotion portrayed in this film would likely touch anybody who watches it. This film confirmed my desire to be a teacher, in hopes of touching just one life the way the way that Ms. Rain is able to touch Precious’s. I would recommend this film for anyone who is prepared to gain some perspective on the world around them and a whole new appreciation for their lives.
WC: 595
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