When I taught high school English years ago, the most depressing times for me were the nights of the parent-teacher conferences. For it was then that I truly knew what my kids were up against. I would send home letters, emails, make phone calls urging parents to come and talk to me about their children and how we can work together to get their child engaged.
The evening would come, and nothing. No parent, no child, no response. It was then that I truly realized what these kids were up against. How was anything that I would say going to matter when their own parents cared so little about what their child was doing for seven hours out of the day?
The mother of Precious, the heroine of the awkwardly titled film Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire, would have most certainly ignored my calls. For she is too busy exploiting the girl for welfare, stripping away every shred of self worth, and turning a blind eye to the repeated sexual abuse the girl receives at the hands of her own father.
There's nothing funny about comedienne Mo'Nique's depiction of this wretched, lazy shrew of woman, and all that you have heard about her performance is spot on. It's the kind of gritty role (much like Charlize Theron's portrait of a serial killer in Monster or Halle Berry in director Lee Daniels' Monster's Ball) over which Oscar voters salivate. And it is deserved, but so, too, is 23-year-old Gabourey “Gabby” Sidibe as the film's star. As the teenage Precious, Sidibe imbues her with stoic passivity, only allowing a smile during dreams of a better life.
Despite her large frame, Precious is a cipher to most, drifting through her days hoping that no attention will be paid to her for fear of anyone finding more faults than her mother persistently points out. She is also burdened with caring for her two young children born out of incestuous rape, one of whom suffers retardation as a result.
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