This is not meant to disrespect Mo’Nique for her Academy-Award winning performance in the movie, or for even the book for which the movie was based (also winning an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay). No, my reasons for not watching the movie have to do with the subject matter.
As a society we should be able to tackle issues of abuse in a manner which is cathartic and healing. Hollywood ran into this trouble with trying to depict the horrors of the Holocaust soon after the end of World War II. As human beings we generally have trouble recreating the horror experienced by someone else. We have trouble because the pain and suffering they went through seems so unreal. As if no one could possibly be that evil.
But people are that evil. And I do believe in evil.
In the African American community, where I live, Precious was the movie to go and see. It was the book to read. It was the heavy favorite for this year’s Academy Awards. But did anyone stop to think what it might do for people who have suffered such abuse?
A classmate of mine said that the book went into much more detail then they could ever show in a movie. I believe that. I remember when I was younger and read “The Color Purple” by Alice Walker. I was horrified by what I read and I was in middle school. Perhaps I had no business reading the book at that age, but it was also in our middle school health class, when the discussion of abuse came up, that we were shown the movie. I really can’t watch The Color Purple anymore.
When we try and deal with such horrors and atrocities in movies such as Precious, we need to mindful of those around us, in our daily lives, that live through this everyday. We need to mindful of those who are suffering and cannot get help. We need to be mindful of those who are no longer suffering physically, but mentally, emotionally, and spiritually as they struggle to accept and love themselves again and trust other people.
For those who want to watch the movie and marvel at the performances, more power to them. I cannot do that. It is hard enough for me to imagine such suffering without coming to tears, let alone see it on a big screen.
No, I won’t see the movie, I’ll leave that for the rest of my family. However, I will pray for those who are affected by abuse and pray that an abuser doesn’t come within 10 feet of me on a bad day.
Congratulations to Mo’Nique and the cast and crew of Precious for all of their hard work and dedication to such a sensitive topic.
