Closing out the 2009, the movie 'Precious' is all the buzz. The buzz has lead to more meaningful conversations other than the simple question of if you'll go see it. My answer is no. For two reasons: 1. the trailers broke my heart therefore I know I'm bound to leave the theater feeling like I'm rather ungrateful for my family but more importantly is reason number 2: I'm more than sick of seeing the movies about down and out, underprivileged black kids in ghettos and the white great white hope (or in this case, the light bright and two shades from white kind) stepping in and saving them from destruction.
Now don't get me wrong, I know this movie was based on the book 'Push' which was based upon the authors encounter with young women from the Bronx and Harlem back in day when she was as a literacy teacher but damn. There are truths to the things that happen to Precious in the movie, CNN is a great reminder of that. If it's not a sweet little girl being traded, raped and then murdered it's a father taking his own son's life. I don't know about you, but where I'm from when someone talks about these type of crimes, one of the first questions asked is where and what color where they. If you follow the news, you know that my examples both have black parents involved. What does that say about us, my people? Not too long ago we were rejoicing and blasting 'My President is Black' (the remix of course) but nevertheless, we have yet to get to where we truly need to be.
Back to the topic at hand though, I'm well aware by us not talking about rape, HIV, uneducated blacks in America, teen pregnancy and everything wrong with our community, that it won't make it disappear. But this movie has just added another stereotypical role to add to the list for us African American women. Had the race roles been different for this movie, 'The Blind Side', 'Radio', 'Monster's Ball', 'Training Day', do you think they would have been so 'touching'?
I for one, do not.
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