the following is a response to comments made about a scathing review of precious:
after reading many of the comments i am convinced that white supremacy is on the job. once again the powerless are so starved to see themselves on screen that will they accept and absorb anything that’s in focus, reasonably acted (and sometimes not), etc. from an approved brand (ok so that wasn’t the case with beloved but there are limits) and get defensive if someone has a perspective that isn’t supportive of the work.
precious is the type of film that should have people discussing it afterward, but to what end? i have much compassion for the people on here who were brave enough to discuss either being abused or knowing others who have had it happen in their own lives. but does this do anything but rip away healing scabs to reveal the raw pain? i can see the hurt and emotion in some of the comments (i guess that is why rather than argue salient points, some reverted to name calling or insulting the writer who btw got paid for his opinion). why would you want to spend two hours in a dark room being dragged down to that even though you do get a triumphant arc in the story? that cathartic journey is fun? is that how you choose to spend your discretionary money (and will you buy it on DVD and play it more than once)? me? not so much.
unlike many on here, i am not an avid movie goer. but when i do go, i like to laugh, i like to be entertained in a positive manner, i love a great story that has great dialogue. but what i see in black cinema in the early 21st century is a lack of diversity from the American film companies. i see a lot of put-downs between characters. yes the TP films have a moral tone and stereotypical characters and someone who has a fantasy kind of relationship with their mate. i do understand the need to provide the target audience with the hope of a fantasy relationship. yet there are hardly any LGBTs with non stereotypical strong character development tho. just sayin’…
the diverse experiences of people of African descent in the west and in the motherland hold a wide range of stories that will be developed over time. not just the horrendously unhappy ones with a glimmer of hope. white film makers are using our ancient history in their films and denigrating it, i.e. the mummy series, national treasure etc.. as the world’s original people (and storytellers) we have to be reminded of the longer time overview (there are records of our ancient ancestors recording the paths of stars over thousands of years). what i am saying is, the religious and historical stories of ancient Africa (before this current time of folks still singing Lord make me whiter than snow, lightening their beautiful brown skin and a film about “good hair”) could be fodder for much creative story telling without there being an issue about skin tones. there can be science fiction that develops without a fear of the end of a planetary cycle (2012) featuring brown skinned folks and not as the first ones to die from a calamity. someone needs to tell the story of Zumbi dos Palmares in Brazil. Or the slave revolts in Suriname where the Dutch eventually had to have signed treaties with the escaped Africans who fled to the hills so that they would co-exist without being murdered by the Africans. How is that for a story overcoming adversity and cheering for freedom?
But these are not things that a typical film company will green light readily. like TP saw an avenue to create a new path. others can and will forge those roads so that in the future, the next film about a beat down, teenage black mother, with a horrible mother/grandmother type wont be the only choice one has in theaters to see black people (or will the direct to home film be the next way to view niche projects?).
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