precious2The heart-wrenching storyline of Precious definitely touched us. As for the critics, they contend that the film is an inaccurate, racist portrayal of Black American life.

Via NY Times: “Not since ‘The Birth of a Nation’ has a mainstream movie demeaned the idea of black American life as much as ‘Precious,’. Full of brazenly racist clichés (Precious steals and eats an entire bucket of fried chicken), it is a sociological horror show. Black pathology sells,” Mr. White said in an interview. “It’s an over-the-top political fantasy that works only because it demeans blacks, women and poor people.”

Newsflash, sir. Audiences around the nation lived this life for a mere two hours, but there are millions of people with worse stories that we’ve never heard. The problem is that there aren’t enough African American films to provide a diverse view of our everyday life. Critics, most of whom have no cultural basis to make these claims, only receive theatrical snapshops of what it means to be Black in America. ‘Precious’ is not demeaning. It it but ONE story that reflects a very sad, yet true reality for many poor, abused young women.