I very much want to see Precious. I have heard nothing but good things. Push is an incredible book and it sounds like the film does it justice. And I absolutely love Gabby Sidibe, who plays the lead role.
What I don’t love is the media narrative about the film and about Sidibe. Luckily, she seems like she can handle it, and has been critical of attempts to cast her as the ugly duckling turned swan: “They try to paint the picture that I was this downtrodden, ugly girl who was unpopular in school and in life, and then I got this role and now I’m awesome,” says the actress. “But the truth is that I’ve been awesome, and then I got this role.”
Gabby Sidibe is also fat, and that’s something that the media, and even the director of Precious, can’t seem to get over. From the NYMag article:
[Precious director Lee] Daniels, who saw hundreds of audition tapes from across the country (350-pound actresses don’t grow on trees), was blown away by Sidibe. “She is unequivocally comfortable in her body, in a very bizarre way. Either she’s in a state of denial or she’s so elevated that she’s on another level,” he says. “I had no doubt in my mind that she had four or five boyfriends, easily.”
Ah, yes, her weight. When Sidibe was 11 years old, an aunt offered to pay for a cruise if she lost 50 pounds. Friends and family continue to pressure her about it. “I still hear it from people who don’t know that they’re pretty close to hurting my feelings,” she says, “people who care about me, like this one friend. I was eating a light potato chip, and she eyeballed me like I was the most disgusting thing she’d ever seen. She says, ‘Every time you want to put something disgusting in your mouth, think of the designers who won’t make a dress for you because you’re fat.’ ”
But at some point, says Sidibe, “I learned to love myself, because I sleep with myself every night and I wake up with myself every morning, and if I don’t like myself, there’s no reason to even live the life. I love the way I look. I’m fine with it. And if my body changes, I’ll be fine with that.
God bless this girl.
But perhaps the biggest offender I’ve seen so far is the New York Times Magazine. The Magazine article isn’t just incredulous at Gabby’s fatness, but also totally weirded out by the fact that this movie was made mostly by black people. Some of them are even fat black people, like Mo’nique, whose every bite seemed to be chronicled in the story. And some of them are even gay black people, like Lee Daniels, whose gayness is proven via a comment about Vivienne Westwood (but about gangsters, so, still black).
It’s sad, but I’m dreading the release of the film, just because I don’t want to read the reviews.
Love love love this quote!
This one however:
hate hate vomit
‘Every time you want to put something disgusting in your mouth, think of the designers who won’t make a dress for you because you’re fat.
Think of the designers! For God’s sake won’t somebody PLEASE think of the designers!
Sidibe = awesome.
Wow! Awesome! I had no idea this movie was even being made. I taught Push to at-risk inner city kids in NYC for years at the alternative high school I was teaching at. For many of them, it was the first book they read cover to cover. The story is just that powerful.
As far as the fat thing goes, some things never change and I believe our society’s relationship with fat is one of those things. Although, the new Dove ad campaign does offer some hope…
I am so excited about this movie and finally Mariah Carey looks like she’ll be good at something (that’s not even close to why I am excited about it though).
Pierre, I didn’t know you were this lovely lady’s doctor.
Oh Christ. We’re having tech issues which means I can’t get to the Feministe back end, which means I can’t delete Pierre’s comment. I humbly request that we all ignore it until I can hit the “delete” button.
Tech issues miraculously overcome! (For me, anyway.) Comment deleted!
Thank you Cara!
Thanks for bringing up fat prejudice here. The book confronts so much that it’s hard to remember that physicality, and not just forms of abuse, shape so much of how Precious navigates life.
*should read “physicality [...] shapes”
subject-verb agreement fail.
Tricksy IP numbers, changing without warning! Fixed it now, Jill.
First off, Gabby Sidibe is a beautiful, beautiful woman. Seriously.
Second, the Precious Jones character in Push is a fat Black woman, so I would think it makes sense to cast an actor who is—newsflash—a fat Black woman. Who the hell else is going to play a believable Precious?
I’m sorry, but the idea that women of color should apologize to the likes of the New York Times and all the other ciswhiteboy outfits for our sizes, ambitions, or anything else fills me with unspeakable rage. I for one have spent too much of my life trying to make myself smaller for other people, and I’m not about to go back to that hell. If the old boys who run this media can’t deal with sisters in all their gorgeous wonderful humanity, then bump them.
Second, the Precious Jones character in Push is a fat Black woman, so I would think it makes sense to cast an actor who is—newsflash—a fat Black woman. Who the hell else is going to play a believable Precious?
Miley Cyrus. Obvs. :p
I love how she must have something wrong with her to love herself.
I can’t wait to see this movie.
Speaking of critics, Roger Ebert spoke about this movie on his blog and praised it very highly: http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2009/09/tiff_11_and_the_winners_are.html
The trailer for it brought tears to my eyes.
[...] A COMPLIMENT. Jill at Feministe notes that some of the press coverage of the upcoming film Precious has been rather disturbing: What I don’t love is the media narrative about the film and about [star Gabby] Sidibe. Luckily, [...]
[...] – Gabby Sidibe, from here, via Feministe. [...]
“350 pound actresses don’t grow on trees?”
WTF WTF WTF WTF WTF WTF WTF
And skinny white ones do, I guess.
“350 pound actresses don’t grow on trees?”
WTF WTF WTF WTF WTF WTF WTF
And skinny white ones do, I guess.
Yes, of course they do, lt. They’re what the directors call “twigs”.
If I banged my head against the keyboard over every comment that deserved it, I’d be concussed. There’s no respect for ANYONE who isn’t ciswhiteboy. I guess it shouldn’t be a surprise that actresses are regarded as produce, because it’s certainly how they’re treated.
You know what? Any designer worth his/her salt can make clothes for Ms. Sidibe. Sure, there are some who aren’t capable, but it isn’t up to Ms. Sidibe to ensure that they know their craft. There are others who might simply refuse – but again, it isn’t up to Ms. Sidibe to make sure they’re not revealed as the @$$holes they are. There are plenty of talented people who don’t have the opportunity to show their designs to the public; if the mainstream designers don’t want to design for Ms. Sidibe, then it means one of the non-mainstream designers will get a chance. How is that bad?
*Just in case anyone wondered, that was NOT a slam at thin actresses in particular, or thin women in general. That was a slam at the way ALL actresses are treated by the industry – as produce.