Gabourey Sidibe plays the title role in Precious. Photo © Lionsgate
The elevation of Black dysfunction and the invisibility of positive Black images are sending destructive messages about the reality of Black life, both to our young people and to those outside the Black community.
I just read two reviews of Precious, the Tyler Perry/Oprah Winfrey-produced movie that came out in limited release last weekend and opens nationwide later this month. This Sundance Award-winning film, which is based on a novel by the poet Sapphire, has been critically acclaimed, and it set a record by selling $1.8 million worth of tickets in just 18 theaters during its opening weekend.
Both of the reviews I read were in The Wall Street Journal. One by film critic Joe Morgenstern, the other by political analyst and author Juan Williams. Morgenstern calls the film “an inspirational fable about the power of kindness and caring” and praises it for its shocking beauty. Williams calls it a “depraved story” that “gives prominence to the subculture of gangster-lit novels,” which he goes on to rightly denounce. I resonated with Juan more than Joe.
The issue presented by films and books like Precious boils down to the continued visibility of pathological urban underclass archetypes in mainstream media and the invisibility of “normal” Black people. The discussions then ensue around issues of “fair and accurate representations” of who we are as a people, “glorification” of ghetto culture, “being real” and not burying “the truth,” and in the case of Tyler and Oprah, promoting the tell-all culture of “it happened to me, therefore we need to talk about it openly.”
Many years ago, a similar debate rose up around a play by the African American writers Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes. Mule Bone, which was the only collaboration between the two Harlem Renaissance legends, explored the class differences in post-slavery Blacks and addressed the divisive issue of color consciousness (“dark brown” vs. “high yellow”) in the Black community. The play was not produced during Hurston’s and Hughes’ lifetimes because of a disagreement over business matters, but some scholars also believe that part of the conflict had to do with an argument between Hurston and Hughes over how far to go in airing our “dirty laundry.” Written in 1930, the play was not officially staged until 1991. When I saw it on Broadway a few years back, I marveled at how little we’ve changed in the Black community. I also appreciated how time diminishes some of our drama.
In the case of Precious, Juan Williams points out that we now have the largest Black middle class in the nation’s history, as well as an African American president. What he implies but does not say forcefully enough is that there is a deceptive (and potentially destructive) invisibility in media of Blacks with “achiever values” (I borrow that term from Dr. Carl Ellis). This lack of positive Black figures in the media fails to provide a context for Precious and the many other media images we have to consume. The danger, then, becomes distortion both within the group (young Blacks, to their detriment, think this is pervasive “reality”) and without (Whites think these portrayals are reality too and establish within themselves opinions that range from racist superiority complexes to liberal pity and guilt).
Context is important. No one watches Saw or Kill Bill or Brokeback Mountain and makes judgments about all of American culture (no one except maybe the Mullahs in Iran). The truth is, African Americans are so scarce in major motion pictures that every widely released feature about us becomes a lesson and comment on the culture. Asians must confront this dilemma whenever the latest American-made kung fu or ninja movie hits the Cineplex. And I’m sure many Indians feel the same way about Slumdog Millionaire and its “realistic” depiction of their country.
Precious may be a great movie — I hope it is. But our world needs to see The Cosby Show and stories with those kind of values made into great movies a few times before we can properly move from Precious to a complete discussion of who we are as a people.
I’m not sure the problem is with films and literature as much as it is with small-minded people who take everything they see as the standard versus seeing it merely a slice of life in a particular community. For instance, if all that was ever portrayed was the Cosbys and similar shows, one would think that all African-American’s are affluent. We are a diverse community like any other and for people to hone in on one representation as though that one speaks for the whole is short-sighted.
I agree with your assessment of Black pathology being used in entertainment to represent us.
Even though oscar buzz is on the horizon, has anyone though about the fact that it seems like Oscars go to African Americans when we protray mostly dysfunctional characters?
Halle Berry and Denzel got theirs based on their seedy characters.
I agree that we should be careful to have a more balanced portrayal of African Americans in Media. I remember how powerful the Cosby images were for me in my teens and I want more of that for my young family.
On the flip side, once we encounter the young lady in real life who is Precious … what is our response? Doing away with the public portrayal does not do away with the problem. There are some very troubling sub-cultures that we as African Americans and Christians should not allow to fester indefinitely.
In my humble opinion, your assessment of the movie is right on point! Especially when you mention that the majority of Black films seem to spend too much time on the negative aspects of our culture. There are other cultures that are just as dysfunctional, and in some cases, worse! But somehow they always seem to get ‘glossed-over.’ One responder put it in even more perspective when they commented that both Halle Barry and Denzel Washington got their awards based on the seediest characters, and situations ever. We need more films portraying us in a more positive aspect but, I fear that that may not make the funds, to fund the movie!
Thank for this commentary.
I often get weird looks when I mention the term “normal black people”.
The saddest part of this situation is the fact that prominent “normal” black people, Oprah and Tyler chose to produce this and bring it to life.
We have seen so many of these types of stories told and yes they do well at the box office but I have no interest in continuing to show aspects of our culture that most of us know or have seen already.
I would love to see more images of our abounding middle class… surely there are interesting stories to tell.
Thanks again for the validation.
Honestly, as a writer, producer, director, this film on so many cinematic levels just put a foot in all films made by black directors in the last 50 years. Our issue with the content is just that, our issue in this country with African-American Images is
1. Editorials like this discourage a wide variety of African-American writers (1st is The Word) from writing all types of materials for the screen, which therefore puts studios (if you choose this way to make films) in a terrible position of what to choose to not have the NAACP, Jesse Jackson, CNN, and a host of other black entities that are behind the times jump down there throat
2. We are afraid to talk about our history, past, present, and future.
3. Films in the past did this boldly and no one said anything
4. When Color Purple came out we heard the same type of commentary, and I get it. But then, the film was nominated for 12 Oscars…it won none! The NAACP which protested the movie for the depiction of black males then protested because it didn’t receive any Oscars, are you serious, really, come on!
There are negative/positive films from the 60′
s and 70’s when we were much braver, here’s a few.
a. Raisin in The Sun-A black man living in a 1 room flat with his mother, sister, son, and his pregnant wife almost ruins the entire family by spending all the insurance money from his parents death on a bar! Not positive, but a postive outcome
b. Buck & The Preacher-A snake oil preacher and a western pioneer try and make a go of it in the North only to almost be run back to pick cotton by the very slave owners/catchers that they left
c. For the Love of Ivy-A white family sets up their black maid with a sharp dressed businessman for a date, she eventually accepts only to find out he’s running a gambling parlor in the back of a truck.
D. Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner-a black man and white woman marry before telling their parents! Nuff Said.
This is what drama is, conflict and not so positive images and some positive images told in a story that has the following, or the good scripts have the following.
1. heaven
2. hell
3. life
4. death
If you can get that into a good story, or even half of it, cause conflict in the context of an amazing story like Precious, you are Precious, Lee Daniels is a Precious commodity who will have to tune out the nay sayers.
We respect your opinion in love, but you are wrong and it shall keep us from not having a full range of work, that’s why we can’t move on, we can’t even tell our stories without everyone jumping down our throat.
Are there interesting stories to tell about middle class families that are amazing, there are, I am writing several, but I still want my four elements in those stories because that’s life! Life is not a cherry pie, and considering that most blacks experience the following
1. high unemployment-if the nation is 10% were 20%-that’s positive
2. We are 50% of all new HIV cases, boy there’s a positive outlook
3. We are more likely to have diabetes, etc. Another positive aspect.
We can only attack the three things above by exposure, exposure, exposure. Without it, Nelson Mandela would still be in jail. Stories must be told, all stories, don’t try and change our stories no matter what they are. We all in cinema have cakes to make, let us make them and get better, don’t take out all the elements of the recipe before we make one cake! We do write what we know, that’s a general rule. We do create from experiences, that’s a general rule as well, we do write what impacts our being the most, ask Ms. Mya Angelu !
Last but not least, I actually do understand your frustration, and maybe you have stories to tell that are, “positive”. In true love I invite you to tell your story, please, seriously, it’s needed…but so is mine, there all Precious.