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Nope, I didn’t see the movie, and I’m not going to read the book. I’m tired of being played by over-hyped productions.
It is the focus of a heated media controversy—a wrenching tale of horrific abuse by a father figure, teenage sex and out-of-wedlock birth, the pathological breakdown of social norms in an oft-neglected corner of society.
And I’m going to take a pass on this one.
Gotcha, didn’t I?
You thought I was referring to Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire, the hot movie about an overweight Harlem girl who overcomes the horrible abuse inflicted on her by her parents to gain a new lease on life. But no, I actually was writing about Going Rogue: An American Life, the hot autobiography of a former Republican vice-presidential candidate who overcomes horrific abuse from the staff of a man old enough to be her daddy to gain a new lease on, well, I’m not sure exactly.
Though on the surface Precious and Going Rogue could not be more dissimilar, I suspect that when boiled down to their essence, they have a lot in common. Based on what I’ve heard about them, both shamelessly seek to shock the sensibilities of its audience by presenting raw, updated versions of the Cinderella story. Each tries to emotionally manipulate by presenting a highly selective version of the truth it pretends to represent.
But that’s just what I heard. I could be wrong because I’m not planning to waste any time on either one of these over-hyped productions. I’m tired of being played.
I don’t have to see Precious to know that it has little to tell us about how we can improve the circumstances of real-life victims of such tragedy. Many of those who are heaping praises on Precious for the unblinking eye it turns on ghetto misery were among the mob that dumped on the Washington Post for publishing Leon Dash’s down and dirty series about the underclass family of Rosa Lee in 1994. Such people would rather weep about fiction than study the facts.
So, for the most part, Precious will do what it’s designed to: move its viewers to schadenfreude—a sense of pleasure based on observing the misery of others—rather than a disciplined commitment to action on the colossal scale that uplifting the poor requires. As a moving op-ed piece by Malika Saada Saar in the Washington Post reminded us, poor, undereducated and sexually victimized girls like Precious are most likely to end up in the juvenile justice system than to be rescued from their plight.
As for Going Rogue, I don’t have to slog through its pages to know that it’s a pastiche of self-serving lies, half-lies, distortions and innuendo aimed at progressing Sarah Palin’s demented political ambitions. It would have been better as an episode on The Jerry Springer Show than as a book.
I might even have watched it.
It might have been a lot more honest than either Precious or Going Rogue.
Jack White is a regular contributor to The Root.
Comments
I totally agree with Crazy D!
Giving a book review on a book that you haven't even read or before its even released....give me a break. Sounds like some ones just repeating the DNC's talking points on what to say to destroy Palin.....Typical.
Why this hatred of Palin? Are you one of the 400 bloggers still on the Obama payroll???
I agree with Jack. Both the books are over hyped. they highlight the marketable part and do not talk about the facts, about the problem in consideration.
Palin hit the lotto when McCain selected her as a running mate and now she is cashing in. American capitalism at its finest. Good for her.
Favorability Rate : Sarah Palin 40 % ...... ( Obama 50% as of today gallup ) I would be a little more concerned with Him than Her. He is the President you know, she on the other hand has nothing to do with the economic mess we are in. Besides, I doubt she will run for pres., ...but she will be there to drive the left crazy.
One little wench from Wassilla.......wow !
Upon seeing "Precious", some will feel that it deals with issues of illiteracy, sexual abuse, obesity, and urban youth in general; yes, I agree with that. But there's also something else going on.
"Precious" is the story of a girl who is surrounded by all the trappings of living in racist America... extreme poverty, abuse, self-hate, and dysfunction. And because of her living circumstances, she doesn't have time to set goals for her life; her only priority in to just make it through the day! Her only coping skills consisted in the use profanity and her day dreaming which helped her to escape her realities.Yet despite the life that was thrust upon her, Precious instinctively knew that there was a better life out there for her; she knew that she had to make changes in her life for herself and for her children. In all, her life shows that the synergy of negativity is created by racial isolation. Now we come to the crux of the movie.
When Precious is sent to an "alternative school", she learns about the emancipatory narrative that is contained in the written word. Through the act of writting in her journal, Precious begins an undertaking and a quest, through dialogue, which becomes a heroic discourse of self-discovery and represents a bold step towards the construction of a role as an individual and as a social entity. This alternative literature provides Precious with experiences that are responsive, critical, reflective, and very personalized. It is this way that Precious transforms herself in to a manifesto, a claiming of the right to speak as a requisite part of her affirming herself in the dissertation of the American national narrative.
Now as to Sarah what's-her-name, no I haven't read her book, nor am I interested in doing so. As far as I'm concerned, that wench has nothing to say that can so much as even amuse me! However, as long as I'm on that subject, I will say this much:
According to a recent Gallup poll (Oct. 19th ), her "unfavorability" rate has gone up to 50% while her "favorability" rate has dropped to 40%. Yet, her desirability as a Republican candidate has never been higher among the conservative grass roots. Why? Because she has convinced them that they represent the real America and that she will fight against those who oppress them. What those idiots don't realize is that she will help tear the Republican Party in two... those who are far to the right, like herself, and those who feel Republicans should be more moderate.
It was just a few minutes ago Chris Matthews was bloviating about how ant-intellectual Conservatives are as a whole. But the only things I ever hear and read from the Liberals is proof of the exact same thing -- leftist idiocy -- on every level. Hilarious.
weak article
What happened to the White House Wire? I saw the first edition...was it killed because of too much controversy - news focusing on the African American community? Please stop letting folks post ads as comments on THE ROOT.
Giving a book review on a book that you haven't even read or before its even released....give me a break. Sounds like some ones just repeating the DNC's
talking points on what to say to destroy Palin.....Typical.