Show Your Support Precious: Based on the Movie Push

Calling all patrons of the blogosphere.

THIS IS AN "INVITATION TO AN IDEA"

On Friday, November 6th, 2009, Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry, in conjunction with Lionsgate films, will be releasing Sundance Film Festival award winner Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire.

Precious has received critical accolades since it's initial January debut at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. In a review of the movie for Variety Magazine, John Anderson writes:

An urban nightmare with a surfeit of soul, “Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire” is like a diamond -- clear, bright, but oh so hard. To simply call it harrowing or unsparing doesn’t quite cut it; “Precious” is also courageous and uncompromising, a shaken cocktail of debasement and elation, despair and hope. Everyone involved deserves credit for creating a movie so dangerous, problematic and ultimately elevating. Marketing will be a problem because the shorthand description is so unpalatable. But this is, for all its scorched-earth emotion, a film to be loved. (Read more here)

The subject matter of the movie is heavy. The novel Push (from which the Precious screenplay was adapted) is the true story of Precious, an obese, illiterate victim of physical and sexual abuse, who is struggling to make something better of her life. It is a tale of hopelessness, self-hatred, and ultimately the redemptive qualities of (neighborly) love. An all star cast including Mo'Nique, Paula Patton, Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz and Gabourey Sidibe as Precious, give voice to an important story - one that is too often silenced and ignored.

This opening weekend we have an opportunity to be heard.

Through our collective dollars we can prove there is an interest in serious Black dramas. Let's prove that our interests reach further than comedies featuring cross-dressing matriarchs. This weekend we can get together with our best friends, moms and mentees to support the inspiring story of Precious by hosting Precious themed Girls Nights Out all across the country. Celebrate sisterhood with drinks and a movie! (We did it for Carrie, now let's do it for our own!)

Visit the www.weareallprecious.com to find a theater near you and purchase advanced tickets.

Remember: Participation IS Activism.