Wow, and I thought I didn’t get on with “Precious.”
Jeffrey Wells has drawn attention to the concerted efforts of one Anthony Smith, a 29 year-old African-American working in film acquisition, to derail the “Precious” express. Smith has written an open letter decrying the film’s alleged use of racial and social stereotypes as both “dangerous” and “offensive,” which he is sending to assorted industry figures and op-ed pages.
I quote his letter after the cut not because I particularly agree with or endorse it — as much as I didn’t like the film, I think accusing it of racism is a wild stretch. And as a work of fiction, I don’t think the film has any particular responsibility towards any particular social group, so I find much of Smith’s argument naïve at best.