This paper analyzes the social image portrayal of the main character in the movie “Precious” The discussions take place within the context of Social Role Valorization (SRV) defined perspectives for social imagery and social role enhancement of devalued individuals. As mentioned, the material reviewed in this paper is based on the movie “Precious” based on the novel “Push” by Sapphire. The bulk of the discussions focus on the main character's personal and social image as conveyed through: physical settings, groupings with other people, personal imagery portrayed, language and names associated and certain activities and time uses that have been demonstrated. The paper starts with formal definition of social imagery and its implications for the devalued party. Additional discussions would also be included, based on personal interpretation of the definition, to contextualize and focus the discussion in the material that is being reviewed. The section will be followed by brief description of the movie that depicts the plot, characters and the general settings. The main body of discussion focusing on the social imagery of the movie's main character and associated SRV themes are then presented in the analysis of social imagery section. There will be a brief remark in the conclusion section. It will summarize the key points discussed and the underlying issues that have been identified through the SRV analysis. Definition of social imagery and implications for the devalued party Wolfensberger argues that the social roles filled by a person are extremely powerful determinants of how a person will be perceived, valued and treated; in fact they can be ' life defining'. Wolfensberger states that in any society there will be a range of social roles from highly valued to highly devalued. Most individuals hold multiple roles, some valued, some not. Images or mental pictures are associated with a particular social role. Wolfensberger argues that holding valued social roles is so important because ‘the good things in life’ will then most likely be accorded to that person or group (Wolfensberger, Thomas and Caruso, 1996). For example, welfare dependency, as portrayed in the movie, is a devalued role, and as such a negative perception is associated with the social perception of individuals in such a situation. Such a perception in turn, perpetuates the process of exclusion and mistreatment of such individuals, further alienating them from filling valued roles in society. The Conservatism Corollary states that the more vulnerable a party is to devaluation, the higher the impact of preventing additional wounds, reducing existing devaluation and providing positive compensation. Taken together, the principles of SRV and the Conservative Corollary define a powerful feedback loop of mutual reinforcement between attributed social image and the value of a social role that is held. In other words, if a person is identified with positively valued social images, then they are more likely to fill socially valued roles. An ex-offender stands less of a chance to be hired for a job in comparison to a new graduate from an institution of higher education. This is true even if they both have comparable sets of skills. And as a result, the ex-offender would be excluded from competency enhancing experience by virtue employment. Brief description of the movie “Precious”: Plot
In 1987, obese, illiterate, 16-year-old Claireece "Precious" Jones (Gabourey Sidibe) lives in the ghetto of Harlem with her dysfunctional and abusive mother, Mary (Mo'Nique). She has been impregnated twice by her father, Carl, and suffers long term physical, sexual, and mental abuse from her unemployed mother. The family resides in a subsidized housing complex and subsists on welfare. Her first child, known only as "Lil Mongo", has Down syndrome and is being cared for by Precious' grandmother.
Following the discovery of Precious' second pregnancy, she is suspended from school. Her junior high school principal arranges to have her attend an alternative school, which she hopes can help Precious change her life's direction. Precious finds a way out of her traumatic daily existence through imagination and fantasy. While she is being raped by her father, she looks at the ceiling and imagines herself in a music video shoot in which she is the superstar and the focus of attention. While looking in photograph albums, she imagines the pictures talking to her. When she looks in the mirror, she sees a pretty, white, thin, blonde girl. In her mind, there is another world where she is loved and appreciated. Inspired by her new teacher, Blu Rain (Paula Patton), Precious begins learning to read. Precious meets sporadically with a social worker named Miss Weiss (Mariah Carey), who learns about incest in the household when Precious, unintentionally, conveys it to her. Precious gives birth to her second child and names him Abdul. While at the hospital, she meets John McFadden (Lenny Kravitz), a nursing assistant who shows kindness to her. After Mary (her mother) deliberately drops three-day-old Abdul and hits Precious, Precious fights back long enough to get her son and flees her home permanently. Shortly after leaving the house, Precious breaks into her school classroom to get out of the cold and is discovered the following morning by Miss Rain. The teacher finds assistance for Precious, who begins raising her son in a halfway house while she continues academically.
Precious' mother comes back into her life to inform Precious that her father has died of AIDS. Later, Precious learns that she is HIV positive, but Abdul is not. Feeling dejected, Precious meets Miss Weiss at her office and steals her case file. Mary and Precious see each other for the last time in Miss Weiss' office, where Weiss questions Mary about her abuse of Precious, and uncovers specific physical and sexual traumas Precious encountered, starting when she was three. The film ends with Precious still resolved to improve her life for herself and her children. She severs ties with her mother and plans to complete what is known in the United States a General Educational Development test. Analysis of portrayals of the main character: Claireece "Precious" Jones (Gabourey Sidibe) Physical Setting
The movie “Precious” portrays the main character, who is also known as Precious to her mother and those who knew her, with in a physical setting that reflected: a welfare dependent household, located in an impoverished ghetto with in the city of New York, attending a tough inner city school, and later segregated in an alternative education program, a hospital's maternity ward and a local welfare office. In general, expectancies conveyed through these settings were one of dependence, rejection, brutalization and hopelessness.
The high rise, government subsidized housing complex where she lived with her mother, was a run down building without elevators and typically has litter strewn all over. Their home itself was dark, only lit by dim light passing through drawn curtains and a small black and white television that was constantly turned on throughout the day. SRV theory is based on the premise that the most effective way to counteract social devaluation is for individuals or groups at risk of devaluation to achieve valued social roles. However, when people are driven out of communities, denied jobs and housing, rejected by valued citizens and so on, explanations that focus on personal ethical or values depravity may account for some of what transpired, but a great deal more responsibility will eventually have to point towards the community that witnessed such conduct, did not intervene, or even facilitated its spread and intensity (Harrison, Huntington, 2000). Groupings with other people In SRV the emphasis tends to be on lifelong bad experiences, with the need for active compensation being informed by the 'conservatism corollary' of SRV (Wolfensberger, 1998). Briefly, this states that it is not sufficient merely to remove devaluing conditions, but that in order to reverse the devaluation process we must provide positively valuing conditions. When Precious is expelled from her high school, she is went to attend a continuation school with a whole group of young women who, for some reason or another, could not finish high school. Throughout her life until that point, which marked a turning point, Precious was part of a tough inner city school, where her adversity in life was considered commonplace. Precious' mother set a negative expectation for her in that Precious herself was convinced that she would never be able to read or write. The alternative education program that Precious was placed in, not only provided a place where she was accepted, but also provided her with valuable motivation to work to improve her competency in reading and writing. She had become part of a group of similarly devalued individuals who have lent support to one another. The alternative education program provided for a positively valuing conditions that have allowed for Precious to confront some of her deeply held negative views about herself. From SRV competency enhancing perspective, the alternative program center seem physically comfortable setting that was neither over or under protective. It also allowed for individualization of learners. Personal Imagery Images are very powerful and can help create and affirm a certain reality in the minds of the observer. Wolfensberger, argues “People's image is also affected by the personal appearance they project, or are enabled to project” (1998). Precious, as portrayed in the movie, being an obese, illiterate, black, 16-year-old teenager carried many devaluing characteristics. When she was seen walking out on the streets however, she was reasonably well dressed and her hair was always neatly styled. Such personal image seemed contradictory, at times, with those feelings she projected that she was better off dead and life was not worth living. There was, however, a contrasting personal image of Precious, depicted throughout the movie, that whenever she was day dreamy she fantasized herself being a super star, a choir singer or a slim white blond woman. Such a personal imagery not only communicated what she would have liked to be but also gave her an inner sense of identity, albeit in the form of a false memory, that transcended her objective reality. Language
Throughout the movie, incest, abuse, poverty, obesity and AIDS were some of the languages associated in the personal description of Precious. These conveys some strong signals that trigger social devaluation. As such the devalued party's image is negatively reinforced which would serve to further exclude the devalued party from accessing competency enhancing experiences that would feedback to improve her image.
In the alternative educational setting, Precious develops a relationship with her teacher, who may be considered a member of the valued group in certain respects. Such a relationship among the valued and devalued party had brought new words into Precious' life. Such that of: love, self worth, determination and hard work to pass her exams. This clearly exemplifies the importance of interpersonal relationships between valued and devalued people. Activities and time use
The most pressing need for Precious, the devalued party in this case happened at her home where she shared with her mother. Precious' mother simply accepted the situation she was in and exerted more effort to stay on government assistance than using it to create a better life for her daughter. Precious, however, always saw beyond those circumstances, which is why she was able to view her enrollment into an alternative school as an opportunity instead of a punishment. Her mother, on the other hand, encouraged her to forget about school and go straight to the welfare office because her reality also had to be Precious' reality. The alternative educational program that Precious attended provided for efficient and intense use of her time for competency development. And eventually, her teacher, Blu Rain, by finding a half-way house for Precious to live in, while completing her studies, promoted a situation that would reinforce competence development. As a result, Precious was able to remove herself from her mother's home that was the scene of her life's worst ordeals. Conclusion It is important to note that a person, who is competency-impaired is highly at risk of suffering image-impairment; a person who is impaired in image is likely to be treated by others in ways that reduce the person's competency. SRV provides an approach that deals with personal image and competency as mutually reinforcing components of overcoming devaluation. Social imagery is a powerful attribute that determines the way an individual or a group is perceived in society. This in turn affects the perceived party's quality of experiences and the values of social roles that they fill. An individual's social image in constructed based on complex evaluations of the physical settings involved, the language and personal image associated with them and many other factors. On the other hand, the value of social role filled by the individual portrays certain attributes of positive or negative value that would exacerbate or reduce the risk of devaluation. This assignment has been a positive experience in giving this student a context through which it was possible to explore the inseparable bond between personal imagery and social role competency.
References
Daniels, L., Siegel, S., Magness, G. (Producers), & Daniels, L. (Director). (2009). Precious [Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry]. United States: Maple Pictures.
Harrison, Lawrence E., and Huntington, Samuel P. (editors), Culture Matters; How Values Shape Human Progress, Basic Books, 2000 Wolfensberger, W. (1998). A brief introduction to social role valorization: A high-order concept for addressing the plight of societally devalued people, and for structuring human services (3rd revised edition). Syracuse, NY: Training Institute for Human Service Planning, Leadership and Change Agentry (Syracuse University) Wolfensberger, W., Thomas, S. & Caruso, G. (1996). Some of the universal 'good things of life" which the implementation of social role valorization can be expected to make more accessible to devalued people', The International Social Role Valorization Journal/ La Revue Internationale de la Valorisation des Roles Sociaux, 2(2),12-14.
The paper starts with formal definition of social imagery and its implications for the devalued party. Additional discussions would also be included, based on personal interpretation of the definition, to contextualize and focus the discussion in the material that is being reviewed. The section will be followed by brief description of the movie that depicts the plot, characters and the general settings.
The main body of discussion focusing on the social imagery of the movie's main character and associated SRV themes are then presented in the analysis of social imagery section. There will be a brief remark in the conclusion section. It will summarize the key points discussed and the underlying issues that have been identified through the SRV analysis.
Definition of social imagery and implications for the devalued party
Wolfensberger argues that the social roles filled by a person are extremely powerful determinants of how a person will be perceived, valued and treated; in fact they can be ' life defining'. Wolfensberger states that in any society there will be a range of social roles from highly valued to highly devalued. Most individuals hold multiple roles, some valued, some not. Images or mental pictures are associated with a particular social role. Wolfensberger argues that holding valued social roles is so important because ‘the good things in life’ will then most likely be accorded to that person or group (Wolfensberger, Thomas and Caruso, 1996). For example, welfare dependency, as portrayed in the movie, is a devalued role, and as such a negative perception is associated with the social perception of individuals in such a situation. Such a perception in turn, perpetuates the process of exclusion and mistreatment of such individuals, further alienating them from filling valued roles in society.
The Conservatism Corollary states that the more vulnerable a party is to devaluation, the higher the impact of preventing additional wounds, reducing existing devaluation and providing positive compensation. Taken together, the principles of SRV and the Conservative Corollary define a powerful feedback loop of mutual reinforcement between attributed social image and the value of a social role that is held. In other words, if a person is identified with positively valued social images, then they are more likely to fill socially valued roles. An ex-offender stands less of a chance to be hired for a job in comparison to a new graduate from an institution of higher education. This is true even if they both have comparable sets of skills. And as a result, the ex-offender would be excluded from competency enhancing experience by virtue employment.
Brief description of the movie “Precious”: Plot
In 1987, obese, illiterate, 16-year-old Claireece "Precious" Jones (Gabourey Sidibe) lives in the ghetto of Harlem with her dysfunctional and abusive mother, Mary (Mo'Nique). She has been impregnated twice by her father, Carl, and suffers long term physical, sexual, and mental abuse from her unemployed mother. The family resides in a subsidized housing complex and subsists on welfare. Her first child, known only as "Lil Mongo", has Down syndrome and is being cared for by Precious' grandmother.
Following the discovery of Precious' second pregnancy, she is suspended from school. Her junior high school principal arranges to have her attend an alternative school, which she hopes can help Precious change her life's direction. Precious finds a way out of her traumatic daily existence through imagination and fantasy. While she is being raped by her father, she looks at the ceiling and imagines herself in a music video shoot in which she is the superstar and the focus of attention. While looking in photograph albums, she imagines the pictures talking to her. When she looks in the mirror, she sees a pretty, white, thin, blonde girl. In her mind, there is another world where she is loved and appreciated. Inspired by her new teacher, Blu Rain (Paula Patton), Precious begins learning to read. Precious meets sporadically with a social worker named Miss Weiss (Mariah Carey), who learns about incest in the household when Precious, unintentionally, conveys it to her. Precious gives birth to her second child and names him Abdul. While at the hospital, she meets John McFadden (Lenny Kravitz), a nursing assistant who shows kindness to her. After Mary (her mother) deliberately drops three-day-old Abdul and hits Precious, Precious fights back long enough to get her son and flees her home permanently. Shortly after leaving the house, Precious breaks into her school classroom to get out of the cold and is discovered the following morning by Miss Rain. The teacher finds assistance for Precious, who begins raising her son in a halfway house while she continues academically.
Precious' mother comes back into her life to inform Precious that her father has died of AIDS. Later, Precious learns that she is HIV positive, but Abdul is not. Feeling dejected, Precious meets Miss Weiss at her office and steals her case file. Mary and Precious see each other for the last time in Miss Weiss' office, where Weiss questions Mary about her abuse of Precious, and uncovers specific physical and sexual traumas Precious encountered, starting when she was three. The film ends with Precious still resolved to improve her life for herself and her children. She severs ties with her mother and plans to complete what is known in the United States a General Educational Development test.
Analysis of portrayals of the main character: Claireece "Precious" Jones (Gabourey Sidibe)
Physical Setting
The movie “Precious” portrays the main character, who is also known as Precious to her mother and those who knew her, with in a physical setting that reflected: a welfare dependent household, located in an impoverished ghetto with in the city of New York, attending a tough inner city school, and later segregated in an alternative education program, a hospital's maternity ward and a local welfare office. In general, expectancies conveyed through these settings were one of dependence, rejection, brutalization and hopelessness.
The high rise, government subsidized housing complex where she lived with her mother, was a run down building without elevators and typically has litter strewn all over. Their home itself was dark, only lit by dim light passing through drawn curtains and a small black and white television that was constantly turned on throughout the day.
SRV theory is based on the premise that the most effective way to counteract social devaluation is for individuals or groups at risk of devaluation to achieve valued social roles. However, when people are driven out of communities, denied jobs and housing, rejected by valued citizens and so on, explanations that focus on personal ethical or values depravity may account for some of what transpired, but a great deal more responsibility will eventually have to point towards the community that witnessed such conduct, did not intervene, or even facilitated its spread and intensity (Harrison, Huntington, 2000).
Groupings with other people
In SRV the emphasis tends to be on lifelong bad experiences, with the need for active compensation being informed by the 'conservatism corollary' of SRV (Wolfensberger, 1998). Briefly, this states that it is not sufficient merely to remove devaluing conditions, but that in order to reverse the devaluation process we must provide positively valuing conditions. When Precious is expelled from her high school, she is went to attend a continuation school with a whole group of young women who, for some reason or another, could not finish high school. Throughout her life until that point, which marked a turning point, Precious was part of a tough inner city school, where her adversity in life was considered commonplace. Precious' mother set a negative expectation for her in that Precious herself was convinced that she would never be able to read or write.
The alternative education program that Precious was placed in, not only provided a place where she was accepted, but also provided her with valuable motivation to work to improve her competency in reading and writing. She had become part of a group of similarly devalued individuals who have lent support to one another. The alternative education program provided for a positively valuing conditions that have allowed for Precious to confront some of her deeply held negative views about herself. From SRV competency enhancing perspective, the alternative program center seem physically comfortable setting that was neither over or under protective. It also allowed for individualization of learners.
Personal Imagery
Images are very powerful and can help create and affirm a certain reality in the minds of the observer. Wolfensberger, argues “People's image is also affected by the personal appearance they project, or are enabled to project” (1998). Precious, as portrayed in the movie, being an obese, illiterate, black, 16-year-old teenager carried many devaluing characteristics. When she was seen walking out on the streets however, she was reasonably well dressed and her hair was always neatly styled. Such personal image seemed contradictory, at times, with those feelings she projected that she was better off dead and life was not worth living.
There was, however, a contrasting personal image of Precious, depicted throughout the movie, that whenever she was day dreamy she fantasized herself being a super star, a choir singer or a slim white blond woman. Such a personal imagery not only communicated what she would have liked to be but also gave her an inner sense of identity, albeit in the form of a false memory, that transcended her objective reality.
Language
Throughout the movie, incest, abuse, poverty, obesity and AIDS were some of the languages associated in the personal description of Precious. These conveys some strong signals that trigger social devaluation. As such the devalued party's image is negatively reinforced which would serve to further exclude the devalued party from accessing competency enhancing experiences that would feedback to improve her image.
In the alternative educational setting, Precious develops a relationship with her teacher, who may be considered a member of the valued group in certain respects. Such a relationship among the valued and devalued party had brought new words into Precious' life. Such that of: love, self worth, determination and hard work to pass her exams. This clearly exemplifies the importance of interpersonal relationships between valued and devalued people.
Activities and time use
The most pressing need for Precious, the devalued party in this case happened at her home where she shared with her mother. Precious' mother simply accepted the situation she was in and exerted more effort to stay on government assistance than using it to create a better life for her daughter. Precious, however, always saw beyond those circumstances, which is why she was able to view her enrollment into an alternative school as an opportunity instead of a punishment. Her mother, on the other hand, encouraged her to forget about school and go straight to the welfare office because her reality also had to be Precious' reality.
The alternative educational program that Precious attended provided for efficient and intense use of her time for competency development. And eventually, her teacher, Blu Rain, by finding a half-way house for Precious to live in, while completing her studies, promoted a situation that would reinforce competence development. As a result, Precious was able to remove herself from her mother's home that was the scene of her life's worst ordeals.
Conclusion
It is important to note that a person, who is competency-impaired is highly at risk of suffering image-impairment; a person who is impaired in image is likely to be treated by others in ways that reduce the person's competency. SRV provides an approach that deals with personal image and competency as mutually reinforcing components of overcoming devaluation.
Social imagery is a powerful attribute that determines the way an individual or a group is perceived in society. This in turn affects the perceived party's quality of experiences and the values of social roles that they fill. An individual's social image in constructed based on complex evaluations of the physical settings involved, the language and personal image associated with them and many other factors. On the other hand, the value of social role filled by the individual portrays certain attributes of positive or negative value that would exacerbate or reduce the risk of devaluation. This assignment has been a positive experience in giving this student a context through which it was possible to explore the inseparable bond between personal imagery and social role competency.
References
Daniels, L., Siegel, S., Magness, G. (Producers), & Daniels, L. (Director). (2009). Precious [Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry]. United States: Maple Pictures.
Harrison, Lawrence E., and Huntington, Samuel P. (editors), Culture Matters; How
Values Shape Human Progress, Basic Books, 2000
Wolfensberger, W. (1998). A brief introduction to social role valorization: A high-order
concept for addressing the plight of societally devalued people, and for structuring human
services (3rd revised edition). Syracuse, NY: Training Institute for Human Service
Planning, Leadership and Change Agentry (Syracuse University)
Wolfensberger, W., Thomas, S. & Caruso, G. (1996). Some of the universal 'good things
of life" which the implementation of social role valorization can be expected to make more accessible to devalued people', The International Social Role Valorization Journal/ La Revue Internationale de la Valorisation des Roles Sociaux, 2(2),12-14.