In Precious (2009), Precious suffers verbal, physical, and sexual abuse at the hands of her mother and father. Detaching herself from the violence, Precious builds a fantasy world rampant with fame, romance, and normalcy. Being abused at such a young age renders Precious powerless, therefore illustarting that she has limited control over the effects abuse has on her. Precious is constantly let down by adults and systems meant to protect her. Precious’s mother, Mary, constantly diminishes her worth by berating her with insults. She also allows Precious to fall victim to her equally abusive father, who rapes her numerous of time. At one point in a fit of rage she blames precious for “sleeping [with her] man,” as if the abuse was Precious’s
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In Michelle Jarman’s “Cultural Consumption and Rejection of Precious Jones: Pushing Disability into the Discussion of Sapphire’s Push and Lee Daniels’s Precious” she points out “Many critics condemned the film for its profoundly negative racial portrayals, and indeed, the abusive figures of Precious’s parents summon many of the worst racialized stereotypes of the U.S. urban poor” (164). Like the critics of The Milk of Sorrow they are focused on the racial and cultural ramifications of the film. Jarmans also discusses “concerns about potential racist and sexist images must be taken seriously, of course, especially considering the accolades the film received from predominantly white viewing audiences” (164). Respectively, there are undertones of race, especially when Precious goes into her fantasy world where she states “I wish I had a light-skinned boyfriend.” There is also a sense of white privilege throughout the film as Precious often views the upper class as being ‘light’ or ‘white’. In Darryl Wellington’s “Sex, Race, and Precious,” he urges viewers to pay attention to “the imagery [because it] is repeated to the point that Precious challenges its viewers to ask if on a visual and psychological level whiteness permeates their social reality, if this is a mere illusion and exaggeration or if such a vision of reality is reasonable–or possibly inevitable–within …show more content…
After Precious learns that her father has died of AIDS, it seems as if Precious can’t catch a break. She later learns that she was also infected, just as she attempts to get her life back on track. This is just another factor placed on Precious to further oppress her. Even though Precious has all these factors made to keep her oppressed, she finds light at the end of the tunnel. Even though she is HIV positive Precious still seeks her redemption. Precious is aware of her reality and she still does whatever she can to overcome her situation. She still sets her sights on obtaining her GED, even though it seems as if everyone is rooting for her to fail. She uses her loss of innocence’s as a driving force. Undoubtedly, “while Precious is unquestionably a victim of rape and incest, Sapphire goes to pains to move beyond a cultural narrative of HIV that divides those who engage in risky behaviors and those who, like Precious, can be cast as innocents and therefore more tragic, or blameless, victims” (Jarman 183). Even though some critics focus of the racial ramification of the film, there are other factors that make the subjects in the film
In Michelle Jarman’s “Cultural Consumption and Rejection of Precious Jones: Pushing Disability into the Discussion of Sapphire’s Push and Lee Daniels’s Precious” she points out “Many critics condemned the film for its profoundly negative racial portrayals, and indeed, the abusive figures of Precious’s parents summon many of the worst racialized stereotypes of the U.S. urban poor” (164). Like the critics of The Milk of Sorrow they are focused on the racial and cultural ramifications of the film. Jarmans also discusses “concerns about potential racist and sexist images must be taken seriously, of course, especially considering the accolades the film received from predominantly white viewing audiences” (164). Respectively, there are undertones of race, especially when Precious goes into her fantasy world where she states “I wish I had a light-skinned boyfriend.” There is also a sense of white privilege throughout the film as Precious often views the upper class as being ‘light’ or ‘white’. In Darryl Wellington’s “Sex, Race, and Precious,” he urges viewers to pay attention to “the imagery [because it] is repeated to the point that Precious challenges its viewers to ask if on a visual and psychological level whiteness permeates their social reality, if this is a mere illusion and exaggeration or if such a vision of reality is reasonable–or possibly inevitable–within …show more content…
After Precious learns that her father has died of AIDS, it seems as if Precious can’t catch a break. She later learns that she was also infected, just as she attempts to get her life back on track. This is just another factor placed on Precious to further oppress her. Even though Precious has all these factors made to keep her oppressed, she finds light at the end of the tunnel. Even though she is HIV positive Precious still seeks her redemption. Precious is aware of her reality and she still does whatever she can to overcome her situation. She still sets her sights on obtaining her GED, even though it seems as if everyone is rooting for her to fail. She uses her loss of innocence’s as a driving force. Undoubtedly, “while Precious is unquestionably a victim of rape and incest, Sapphire goes to pains to move beyond a cultural narrative of HIV that divides those who engage in risky behaviors and those who, like Precious, can be cast as innocents and therefore more tragic, or blameless, victims” (Jarman 183). Even though some critics focus of the racial ramification of the film, there are other factors that make the subjects in the film