The new film “Precious,” set for nationwide release this weekend, already has created something of a sensation. The New York Times discusses the controversy here.
Controversy has been engendered largely because of the lead character, who comes across in some respects as heroic, or perhaps angelic — but who in some respects may reinforce racial stereotypes, in large part because of her girth.
One reviewer described the film as shot through with “brazenly racist clichés…. a sociological horror show.” But, the author of the novel upon which the film is based objects. “With Michelle, Sasha and Malia and Obama in the White House and in the post-‘Cosby Show’ era, people can’t say these are the only images out there…. Black people are able to say ‘Precious’ represents some of our children, but some of our children go to Yale.”