Great point about this being R-Rated. I was surprised, too, considering this movie was explicitly dedicated to “all the precious girls,” and yet anyone Precious’s would (technically) not be allowed in the theater.

I think it’s great that you want to discuss the implications of this film with your students, and that you’re not afraid to take on some hard subjects! One possible way to get around the R-Rating issue of Precious is to advertise an open discussion during free time at your school (or after school). You can post a list of discussion topics on flyers around your halls, and invite both those who have seen it, and those who are interested in discussing those topics. That way, you are not forcing or encouraging students to see it, but you are offering all students to have a good discussion about the issues raised in the film.

PS Spot on analysis, Ross. Pretty astute pick-up of the light skin v. dark skin savior/villain aspect of the film. The buzz about “Precious” reminds me of the same discussions that arose after , “The Color Purple” debuted. Great movie also wrought with negative images of black men. These stories have to be told because there are young women and men out there who suffer through abuse in silence. Oprah and Perry have discussed their own abuse at the hands of family members, so it was no surprise when both enthusiastically supported this film.

On the other hand, Hollywood kills me when it constantly green-lights these types of films, the “in the hood” genre or the “hip-hop con man” comedies in the absence of stories about black love. After all these years, we are still largely depicted as lazy, misogynistic and dangerous buffoons.