“Stereotyped images of African Americans appear in some of the earliest films ever made” (78). “Film historian Donald Bogle has identified five stereotypes of African Americans that repeatedly appear in classical Hollywood cinema” (79). One example of stereotypes and internalized racism is Precious. This film follows the life of Claireece Precious Jones, a young woman living in Harlem in 1897. She lives a very tough life, filled with sexual and mental abuse from both her mother and father, as well as hatred from those around her. The film demonstrates how stereotypes and racism are currently present in modern cinema.
The film begins with Precious in a dream with a nicely dressed woman that is embracing her. Then it cuts to a scene where Precious …show more content…
For instance, Precious’ mother is introduced when she throws a pan at Precious for not getting her cigarettes. When Precious falls to the ground, she recalls the memory of her own father raping her multiple times. These two characters also represent stereotypes. Her mother represents the lazy, unemployed woman who is on welfare, as well as the angry black woman. Her mother, Mary, lives her life, mostly inside of her home watching television. She tries to duplicate exercise videos of white women that she watches on tv and she demonstrates the ignorance depicted on African Americans. She uses Precious and her daughter that has down syndrome to get money from welfare and to make her life easier. Meanwhile, she never shows affection or care towards Precious and only shows abuse. She gets to the point of even being jealous of Precious for sleeping with her husband instead of trying to protect Precious from being molested. Moreover, Precious’ father is seen with the stereotype of the “Black Bull, a brutal, animalistic, and the hypermasculine African American man who threatened the white establishment because of his alleged sexual prowess” (79). The audience later learns that Precious’ father gives her HIV, which at the time means that Precious will likely die early. Men are rarely seen in the film, also giving way to the stereotype that African American …show more content…
Their purpose of introducing such negative stereotypes is to introduce a contrast from Precious and those around her. Throughout the film, Precious learns to love herself and hopes to better herself. She overeats not only to receive instant gratification; she also wants to look more threatening to men that want to take advantage of her, such as her father or the men who catcall her in the street. Precious also wants to further her education, and she does this by receiving her GED. She does this from the help of her teacher, Ms. Blu Rain, who is successful and is also African American. By the end of the film, Precious learns that she is not different from others on the inside, and learns to love herself and her appearance. She separates herself from her mother and gains custody of her
The film begins with Precious in a dream with a nicely dressed woman that is embracing her. Then it cuts to a scene where Precious …show more content…
For instance, Precious’ mother is introduced when she throws a pan at Precious for not getting her cigarettes. When Precious falls to the ground, she recalls the memory of her own father raping her multiple times. These two characters also represent stereotypes. Her mother represents the lazy, unemployed woman who is on welfare, as well as the angry black woman. Her mother, Mary, lives her life, mostly inside of her home watching television. She tries to duplicate exercise videos of white women that she watches on tv and she demonstrates the ignorance depicted on African Americans. She uses Precious and her daughter that has down syndrome to get money from welfare and to make her life easier. Meanwhile, she never shows affection or care towards Precious and only shows abuse. She gets to the point of even being jealous of Precious for sleeping with her husband instead of trying to protect Precious from being molested. Moreover, Precious’ father is seen with the stereotype of the “Black Bull, a brutal, animalistic, and the hypermasculine African American man who threatened the white establishment because of his alleged sexual prowess” (79). The audience later learns that Precious’ father gives her HIV, which at the time means that Precious will likely die early. Men are rarely seen in the film, also giving way to the stereotype that African American …show more content…
Their purpose of introducing such negative stereotypes is to introduce a contrast from Precious and those around her. Throughout the film, Precious learns to love herself and hopes to better herself. She overeats not only to receive instant gratification; she also wants to look more threatening to men that want to take advantage of her, such as her father or the men who catcall her in the street. Precious also wants to further her education, and she does this by receiving her GED. She does this from the help of her teacher, Ms. Blu Rain, who is successful and is also African American. By the end of the film, Precious learns that she is not different from others on the inside, and learns to love herself and her appearance. She separates herself from her mother and gains custody of her