Here's a review about the new film, Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire, which seems to think so. It's titled "The Black Matriarch as Villain," by Juell Stewart, in Color Lines:
There has already been considerable Oscar buzz surrounding both Mo’Nique and Sidibe, and the film has received numerous accolades, including the Grand Jury Prize for the Dramatic category at Sundance and the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. The actors and director Lee Daniels deserve the praise they’ve received for making such a powerful movie. But beneath the film was something that I found to be problematic: a reliance on the villainization of Black matriarch—rather than a mention of systemic race issues—to make the larger message of “pulling yourself up by your bootstraps” more palatable. This is a problematic image to see in white media, but it’s even more disheartening to see in examples of Black media. What’s so problematic about Mary is that the woman is made into a monster with no redeemable qualities—a decision that isn’t only lazy on behalf of the filmmakers, but also wholly irresponsible to the African-American community.But director Lee Daniels makes the critical mistake of ignoring the social and political reality that his characters inhabit. Besides a title card in the beginning of the film and some outdated hairstyles, we as the audience see little of the forces that compel Mary’s actions. To ignore 1987 Harlem as the foundation for the permanent Black underclass created by the Reagan Administration through its abhorrent social reform policies—including the War on Drugs and welfare reform—is to ignore a crucial aspect of his characters’ lives.
Read Review in Full.
Pictured: Mo'Nique as the villainous "Black Matriarch."
3 comments:
The movie is based on a book
You are asking for a lot from this movie, more than could be accurately displayed in this film I think ...
And it's a stretch to say the black matriach is villianized, when "she" is usually displayed as either beaten down (every female Tyler Perry protagonist), selfless (think Florida Evans or Big Mama in Soulfood) or cariacature (Madea, Miss Sophie to a degree, Hattie McDaniel). Give us some examples of black matriach as villian.
I believe the Reviewer that I linked to is referring to the vilification of the "Welfare Queen," an image that Reagan recycled during the '80s.
As for the book, I thought it was problematic precisely because it feeds into the image of the "dysfunctional black family" and also because the author, Sapphire, received lots of $$$ in advance from Random House to publish this novel. There was an investment in what one would call "ghetto porn" or "poverty porn."
I'm still willing to give this movie a look since I definitely want to support any movie starring a heavyset young black woman, who is already receiving critical acclaim.
But that doesn't mean we shouldn't look at this movie with a critical eye either.
I've been wanting to see this movie in part because, as you said, I wanted to support a film featuring a heavyset black woman--particularly the heavyset part. I want to see how much her weight is treated as a focal point. I'd like to see more films featuring heavy, or unconventionally attractive women in plots that do not revolve around their looks (men have had these kinds of roles for years).
However, after reading about the rape scene and the poverty-porn, I think I may not want to see it.
Also, I feel a little wierd seeing a these thin, light-skinned, conventionally "beautiful" black women acting in roles of support to Precious. It's a similar dynamic to the noble white person who goes to an inner-city school (or wherever) and "saves" the poor betrodden minority in a patronizing sort of way. ?? Of course, I haven't seen the movie, just the previews.
Christina
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