[milliondollarbbw]

I think this is one of the best movies (if not The best---I haven't seen Hurtlocker or avatar, etc.) of the year and I am soooo happy that Monique is being nominated for an academy award.

However, I do find it a bit troubling that she was nominated for her portrayal of a character that is what so many of us within the community would say is a very negative stereotype.

I think that the character of Precious, herself, should have been nominated for the award---especially considering that it was her first actual acting role.

Anyone agree? Anyone seen this movie? Have you found many people who shake their heads and say they positively do not want to see the film, and where does that com from?

[mytime2Bsuccessful]

Gabbie who played Precious is nominated for best actress.

I saw the movie I thought it was very good.

I love Monique.

[milliondollarbbw]

I love Monique as well, and I hope she wins the award!

[kaplods]

Originally Posted by milliondollarbbw

Have you found many people who shake their heads and say they positively do not want to see the film, and where does that com from?

I'm one who doesn't want to see the film, so I can tell you where that comes from for me.

I'm sure it's as awesome a movie as everyone says, and when it comes out on video I might rent it, but I prefer not to watch intense emotional dramas in the theater. I'm too empathetic, and I can't handle the sensory and emotional "overload." Something about the big screen making me feel like I'm "in" the middle of the trauma, and often the characters' pain is too much for me to bear, especially in a room of strangers. At least with a video, I can pause the movie and watch it in segments if a scene gets too intense.

There've been several movies that I could tell just from the previews that I needed to wait for video - The Passion of Christ, The Green Mile, A Beautiful Mind, What Dreams May Come, Driving Miss Daisy, Philadelphia, Bridges of Madison County. Precious is on that list, I can already tell. A large part of it is spending years working in law enforcement (juvenile detention and adult probation) and social work - and working with families with similar situations and even 12 years later, I still have nightmares about some of those cases.

Movies that I wish I had seen on video instead of the theater - Terms of Endearment, Fried Green Tomatoes, Steel Magnolias, Out of Africa.

[JulieJ08]

Originally Posted by milliondollarbbw

Have you found many people who shake their heads and say they positively do not want to see the film, and where does that com from?

Many people don't realize how widespread childhood sexual abuse, in a wide variety of forms, is. It's probably guaranteed you have friends and acquaintances who have not shared this with you. I suspect not wanting to relive or be reminded of it on the big screen is a more common reason, even subconsciously, than many would suspect.

[Shopaholic1204]

I've been wanting to see this movie!! But, I'm going to wait for a day where my hubby has a night watch so he wont be home. I just know the storyline will bother him a lot.

[JustSharing83]

I watched it last night and thought it was good.

I did not think it was the best Oscar movie of the year though, Up in the Air was my favorite, but it was well acted and very effective. MoNique deserved her Oscar and I think that Gabourey Sidibe gave a better performance than Sandra Bullock did in The Blind Side, but really, her nomination was quite an accomplishment and I'm happy for her.

[bremro]

I wanted to read the book first but with how crazy my schedule is I will probably rent it when it comes out on dvd

[milliondollarbbw]

The blind side is a movie I don't have much interest in seeing, even though it is based on a true story. Something about the plot seems like I have seen it before, like in Dangerous Minds, The Principal, etc. I do like Sandra Bullock as an actress in general, and think she is hilarious. I just think the storyline is a bit usual for hollywood.

I do agree that Precious is a very emotional film, and I do know people who have experienced those things. I just think that it is a very real and accurate portrayal of not only that time period (the late 80s really destroyed a lot of African-American familes---I saw it first hand), and of the things that were affecting communities all over our country. I just would prefer to watch something more realistic, than something that is leaning towards the routine in the Blind Side. I am sure she did a great job, it is just the plot that doesn't interest me. I do hope the man that the story is based on is doing well.

[sarahyu]

I'm one that won't see it, even when it comes out on video. I watch movies for entertainment and escapism. I don't want to be reminded of all the bad things in the world. And I'm definately not going to pay $12 dollars a ticket to be sad and depressed.

I saw Amy Tan's "Joyluck Club" at the movies (back when they had $1 movies- for movies about ready to go to video) and cried just about all through it, not nice weepy tears but big sobbing tears. My dh just about got up and moved to another seat. I only watched that because it had a semi happy ending.

Sarah in MD -who's favorite movie is Princess Bride.

[milliondollarbbw]

Well, even though the topic is intense, most people don't walk away from it depressed....it really is a show of how a person can be strong and get through really difficult life struggles.

One person told me they weren't interested in seeing it, but didn't give a reason. Sometimes I wonder...is it because it was too deep, or because they placed it in a particular genre?

I definitely think it is a film that a lot of people should see. But I do see that if someone experienced similar things in their family, then it could be difficult.

The Oscars are about the acting ability, and I think that most of the characters in the film (with the exception of the teacher, who I adore), gave really outstanding performances.

Yeah, life is deep and difficult, but, ignoring certain aspects of it doesn't make it go away or shield a person from those realities. If anything, I think films like Precious may help people to think outside of their experiences and really get an idea of how other people live.

True, it is a tear jerker, but so emotionally moving that it is a film not to be missed.

[saef]

I read the novel "Push" years ago, when it first came out, as I was a grad student in a creative writing program (though not for fiction) & a lot of my fellow students were very excited about the first-person narration in this book. The writing changes & develops through the novel as Precious becomes more literate & self-aware. It's a tour-de-force of the first-person voice. A lot of young writers begin by writing coming-of-age books, so this book was very interesting to them on that count.

I do not recall anyone objecting to the book's content. There are a lot of well-respected coming-of-age novels & memoirs about women enduring sexual abuse or being forced to prematurely navigate the minefields of adult sexuality. It's just part of the literary landscape. A graduate writing program is the last place where people only look for escapism in their novels & movies.

After that, I kept hearing "Push" was "in development" & worried what would become of it. You know what movie people can do to books sometimes.

I went to see the finished film "Precious" in November, I think right around Thanksgiving. I brought my mother, who was interested because of Oprah's advocacy of the movie. We both loved it. Mo'nique was just brilliant. So was Gabby, who played Precious. They deserved their nominations. This was one of my favorite movies of 2009. A very "actorly" movie. And a New York movie from a period that just slightly predates my moving down here. How could I not love it?

Why would anyone not want to see it? It all depends on what you think the role of art & entertainment is in your life, and what functions you think they serve when they are at their best.

Me, I like being wrecked & shattered by something utterly brilliant. It's a safe way of being wrecked & shattered, as opposed to this happening in my actual life, with someone dying or being devastated by a true diaster. Movies are one of the safer places in the world to cry. You can walk out of a movie with a tear-stained face & it's okay, people understand, the way they do when you walk out of a wedding or a funeral with wet eyes. It's allowed.

Mo'nique was just brilliant. You can be a villain, in my eyes, but if you play it brilliantly & show us around the whole character, her motivation, her place in a chain of unmet need & abusiveness, then you deserve it. You don't always have to be an inspirational heroine to be a great artist.

[milliondollarbbw]

Originally Posted by saef

I read the novel "Push" years ago, when it first came out, as I was a grad student in a creative writing program (though not for fiction) & a lot of my fellow students were very excited about the first-person narration in this book. The writing changes & develops through the novel as Precious becomes more literate & self-aware. It's a tour-de-force of the first-person voice. A lot of young writers begin by writing coming-of-age books, so this book was very interesting to them on that count.

I do not recall anyone objecting to the book's content. There are a lot of well-respected coming-of-age novels & memoirs about women enduring sexual abuse or being forced to prematurely navigate the minefields of adult sexuality. It's just part of the literary landscape. A graduate writing program is the last place where people only look for escapism in their novels & movies.

After that, I kept hearing "Push" was "in development" & worried what would become of it. You know what movie people can do to books sometimes.

I went to see the finished film "Precious" in November, I think right around Thanksgiving. I brought my mother, who was interested because of Oprah's advocacy of the movie. We both loved it. Mo'nique was just brilliant. So was Gabby, who played Precious. They deserved their nominations. This was one of my favorite movies of 2009. A very "actorly" movie. And a New York movie from a period that just slightly predates my moving down here. How could I not love it?

Why would anyone not want to see it? It all depends on what you think the role of art & entertainment is in your life, and what functions you think they serve when they are at their best.

Me, I like being wrecked & shattered by something utterly brilliant. It's a safe way of being wrecked & shattered, as opposed to this happening in my actual life, with someone dying or being devastated by a true diaster. Movies are one of the safer places in the world to cry. You can walk out of a movie with a tear-stained face & it's okay, people understand, the way they do when you walk out of a wedding or a funeral with wet eyes. It's allowed.

Mo'nique was just brilliant. You can be a villain, in my eyes, but if you play it brilliantly & show us around the whole character, her motivation, her place in a chain of unmet need & abusiveness, then you deserve it. You don't always have to be an inspirational heroine to be a great artist.

Omg! you are so right!

When I think of Monique's role, yes, in some ways she was the villain, but also, she shows how women can be abused themselves and how they transfer that abuse to others. It seemed like something happened to monique's character to make her the way she is---remember when she was crying about being loved? Wow.....what happened to her to make her treat her child like that?

[mandalinn82]

If you watched the Barbra Walters special afterward, the interview with Mo'nique was just fascinating. She delved deeply into her own childhood traumas to play that role.

[weebleswobble]

I haven't seen the movie yet but I've read a synopsis of the full plot (something I generally do in preparation for a movie like this, because I tend to have a pretty emotional response) and some blog responses. I appreciated this one on colorism:

http://www.blackyouthproject.com/blo...e-to-precious/

I should be watching the movie this weekend on DVD or on Demand...