Stuff White (and some Black) People Like: "Precious" and the Myth of Ghetto Hyper-Pathology

So I just chatted it up with about 40 young Brooklynites (8th graders) visiting Harvard University's W.E.B. Du Bois Institute. I talked about growing up in the 'hood, encouraged them to find and pursue their passions, implored them to not let anyone kill their dreams. I explained anthropology and global black/African culture, I encouraged them to travel... 


They asked LOTS of questions including: 

if I had been harassed by gangs? (yes)

if I had a role model? (my momma and Malcolm X)

was I ever late to class? (i played hookie for a good chunk of 10th grade)

do I speak other languages? (we did a greeting in Twi)

did my mother's encouragement motivate me to go to college? (hmmm)

They were all smart, ambitious, inquisitive students with big dreams. In other words, you won't see them represented in that Precious  ghetto hyper-pathology nonsense...


Sigh. 


Anywho, for those of you who are so inclined, the New York Times is fishing for comments on Precious. You can read the hook below and contribute to the debate here.

But before you run off here is my Pimp Score Card:

tyler perry-coonery (√+)

oprah winfrey-mostly plays to white folks and advocates Obama-like boots-strapism (√)

lee daniels-pathology pimp (√+) (NB: I boycotted his halle berry, Monster's Ball, mess too)

Fail!

November 20, 2009, 4:55 PM

The Debate Over ‘Precious’

By THE NEW YORK TIMES

Anne Marie Fox/Lionsgate“Precious,” about a disadvantaged young woman played by Gabourey Sidibe, left, has sparked controversy over its meaning.

“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire,” the new film about an obese, poor, illiterate, young black woman who is sexually and emotionally abused, has sparked a heartfelt and at times heated debate about its meaning in the two weeks since its limited release.

“Now, as it opens nationwide in 100 markets this weekend, the conversation about which black stories are told, and how, is bound to intensify,” Felicia Lee writes, “thanks to post-screening discussion groups; the cultural influence of two of the movie’s executive producers, Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry; and the Oscar buzz the critically acclaimed film has already begun generating.”

And in Arts & Leisure, A.O. Scott notes that “African-American writers have been on both sides of this argument, and also in the middle. Armond White, the great contrarian of American film criticism (and the chairman of the New York Film Critics Circle) accused ‘Precious’ of trafficking in ‘racist hysteria disguised as social sensitivity,’ and compared what he saw as its misrepresentations of African-American life to those in D. W. Griffith’s ‘Birth of a Nation.’”

Have you seen the film? What do you think about its depiction of black family life? Share your thoughts in the comment are below.

Tags: ghetto, pathology, stereotypes, race, obesity, media