Besides the obvious "must-see" and "Oscar-worthy" appellations that go with good flicks, this film is one to reflect on. A young Black girl, with all the problems of poverty, incest, illiteracy, and then some, takes the viewer on a gut-wrenching tour of her life. It would be easy to dismiss this movie as just fiction, but the only fiction is that it is not one true story. It is, rather, a composite of true stories in the poor Black experience.
Children are passed on to the next class in school without being able to read, write a cogent paragraph, or add a simple list. Teachers either do not want to deal with the same student again, or fear being thought racist. Poor children are, more often than others, subject to earlier 
sex, whether it be incest or with strangers. Food and other resources are often scarce and the whole family, or the whole culture, acts more like "hunter-gatherers" spending an inordinate amount of the day seeking the bare essentials of life. Changing homes as often as the middle-class changes its sheets, it is illustrative that Blacks often ask "Where do you stay?" instead of "Where do you live?"
sex, whether it be incest or with strangers. Food and other resources are often scarce and the whole family, or the whole culture, acts more like "hunter-gatherers" spending an inordinate amount of the day seeking the bare essentials of life. Changing homes as often as the middle-class changes its sheets, it is illustrative that Blacks often ask "Where do you stay?" instead of "Where do you live?"Precious is one film that should be seen not only by middle class white white folk so they can at least see the grinding existence of our poorest citizens, but also by those of the poorer classes so they can see the universality of their experience and learn, just maybe, how to get out from under that repressive way of life.
No one in America should live as Precious does, especially children who have no choice at all. Sometimes it is not enough for those of us who are in better straits to cluck our tongues and say, "You must take responsibility for your own actions." A true statement, for sure, but it does not always apply to those who are children or those who are not given the slightest help to even point them in the right direction. Children learn this existence and it becomes ingrained despite what they might see on TV. And then more children are born, and the dreary saga continues to the next generation.
There is no one answer, heck, there are no one hundred answers, but there are answers, both internal and external. Every one of us has to figure out our part of the solution to make the American Dream as least a reachable possibility. Think about it.
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