Push And Precious Movie Analysis

Throughout Push and Precious, disadvantage is a theme that is painted very comprehensively as both the film and novel progress. While the book itself delves further into detail about Precious’s situation, it is clear to understand the disadvantage that comes into play in more ways than one. There are pivotal moments of both outlets that show disadvantage as not only Precious’s problem, but also a problem for her mother, grandmother, and even for the minor characters as well. In both the novel and the film, disadvantage can be seen as almost an “umbrella” term, in the sense that it encompasses a wide array of issues. Poverty, race, location, isolation—while some of these terms can also be an advantage, in this situation they are Precious’s drawbacks. …show more content…
Black people do not get treated the same as white people do, a concept that is touched upon in the film. In the beginning, Precious talks a lot about living in Westchester, a predominately affluent neighborhood, with a white or light skinned man. The way Precious sees herself is contradictory to what she really is—in one scene, the reflection of her mirror is a societally beautiful white woman with long, blonde hair. Both of these are examples of the negative light women of color, and also women who do not fit a certain body ideal (such as Precious herself) are placed in. If this one particular mold is not met or acquired, feelings of inadequacy may form. The dichotomy of who Precious is and who she believes she has to be to be beautiful, or accepted, or okay, has a major role in the development of her psyche and self esteem. Precious also speaks of the rift between herself and the administration, which are all white people who truly do not seem to care about her. Her pregnancy situation does not bother anyone; instead of helping her, they simply kick her out. It is implied that they might have had situations like this before, or at the very least, expect it to happen. This perpetuates stereotypes, and in Precious’s case, left her without many options for bettering herself and fixing her …show more content…
Everyday, there are girls who are unsupported by the people who are supposed to be pillars of strength for them, and they are left fending for themselves in anyway possible. These girls exist in unconstitutional ways: sometimes, the only choice they have is to put up with the negative. Precious herself has nowhere else to go, for a while—she’s forced to live with her mother. As a young teenaged female, she has no source of income and no place to live except for that home. Of course, her situation changes after time, and her support and empowerment is found, but in the beginning, Precious’s life is a ball of repetition. Wake up, say nothing at school, get emotionally/physically/sexually abused by her mother, daydream, go to sleep, repeat. While it may be easy to think that she should just leave, that girls in her situation should simply go, without any support this task becomes nearly