Precious, a movie based on the book Push written by Sapphire, is an interesting movie directed by Lee Daniels. Precious can be easily analyzed using basic motivation and emotion theories in psychology. The movie is about Claireece "Precious" Jones and how she becomes a strong, independent woman after breaking through her curse of physical and sexual abuse which she has endured since she was three months old. At the beginning, Precious is physically and verbally abused by her mother. In addition, Precious was raped by her father multiple times and impregnated twice. After being kicked out of her school because she was pregnant, Precious willingly joins the Each One Teach One alternative school so she can improve her reading and writing skills while, eventually, taking care of her two children. After some guidance from her teacher, Ms. Blu Rain, Precious starts feeling safe and starts to love herself and others around her. A lot of the behaviors in the movie can be easily explained by biological needs, psycho-social needs, and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
There are many biological needs a person has. These are usually things that drive species to do things in order to survive. Especially, since Precious is pregnant, she must have food, water, oxygen, sleep, and avoidance of pain. At one point in the movie, when Precious’ mother would not give her money to buy food, Precious goes into a restaurant, orders some chicken wings, and runs out without paying. Precious was very hunger and her biological need to have food and water drove her to do this. Precious was always psychically abused by her mother, Mary. However, after giving birth to her second child, she started to defend herself against her mother to avoid pain. These are just s...
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.... Precious was finally proud of herself for doing well in school. In addition, her friends, her teacher, and her social worker were recognizing her efforts–these were some of her external esteem needs. Finally, at the very end of the movie, it is arguable that that she was self-actualized, even though this stage is never able to be satisfied because as one grows psychologically there are always new opportunities to continue to grow. However, for the time being, she was happy and free from her mother.
Precious is really an inspirational movie. It makes the viewer sympathize and empathize with Precious, the main character. Even though Precious’ story is not common, she is still like every other human being, in regards to her psychology. In my opinion, Precious was a great movie to analysis and connect to psychology, especially, emotional and motivational psychology.
Precious and her family members are invisible to the larger world because they don’t posses any skill that enables them to make even the slightest difference in the world. The tests that Precious take show her lack of intelligence and only amplify her inferiority to the people around her. When you’re invisible, nobody treats you with respect; in the beginning of the book, everyone treats Precious like worthless trash. Though, later, she becomes visible again through the people she meets at the alternative school, and the birth of her second baby, Abdul.
A psychodynamic theorist meeting with Precious would begin by assessing the strengths and challenges that she experiences through a series of interviews and discussions. Generally, this would include the client 's family, but in this case that would be inappropriate. The clinician would be sure to create a positive bond with the client, in a manner similar to that of person centered therapy. In fact, much of the intervention will be similar to, but more directive than, person centered theory. One method to assist Precious could be using Exploration/Description/Ventilation. The therapist will direct the client to an area of concern, and then help the client explore their thoughts and feelings around this area. This can help Precious to develop
I also spoke with her about the importance of medical care for her children and how seeing a doctor regularly is important for them, and for her. Precious reports that she never went to a doctor growing up, and her first time inside a hospital was when she was giving birth to her second child. I explained to Precious how she and her children will qualify for Medicaid services, and what all this will cover for them. Precious was very receptive to this information and liked the idea of being able to see a doctor. Another important intervention for Precious is treating her mental health. Precious has been through some very traumatic events throughout her life, and counseling is something that can help her work through the past to develop a healthier outlook on life for herself and her children. I also spoke with Precious about attending support groups which can help her work through these issues, as well as giving her opportunities to be involved in her community. Precious said she would like that, and was very open to this information. I have referred her to a Teenage mother’s support group, along with Survivors of Incest anonymous support
In the movie “ Precious “ by Lee Daniels, Gabourey Sidibe plays a sixteen years old, illiterate and overweight girl name Precious, who lives in Harlem, New York. She lives with her mother Mary Jones, who was entropic and abusive to her. The abuse and oppression was so traumatic for Precious, she would often dissociate herself from the situation and pretend to be someone else. Losing track of time, her situation and herself was her coping mechanism; throughout the movie it appeared that she would have these dreaming episodes where she would be another person in a much better situation. Precious become pregnant twice from her biological father, who had abandoned the family and infected both she and her mother with the HIV virus. She suffered long-term physical, emotional, sexual, and verbal abuse from her from her parents; symptoms from her personal oppression were depressive and withdrawn attitude. Often she was very quiet and appeared unengaged and inattentive in class.
Lee Daniel’s Precious is a movie centered around Precious Jones, a 16-year-old overweight black girl living in Harlem, New York. The movie begins when she is in public school pregnant with her second child by her father. Because Precious is pregnant, the principle recommends an alternative school for her. At home, Precious is a servant to her mother, Mary, who is physically, emotionally, verbally, and sexually abusing her. Mary constantly tells Precious that she is not good enough and that no one will ever want her. At times of distress, Precious tends to dissociate and fantasize about another life where she is a blonde white girl. She wants to be famous and loved by all. Precious arrives at the alternative school hardly knowing how to read or write. She gets placed in a class of girls with a dedicated teacher, Ms. Rain. Ms. Rain asks each student to write in a journal every day, and she will write back to their letters. This is the first time in the movie when Precious feels very
This film challenged my previous thoughts of bipolar disorder and took me into personal accounts of people suffering from this horrible disorder. I learned that individuals that are diagnosed with bipolar disorder are not the same and have different experiences of how the disease affected their life. I was honestly shocked at the fact that a disease in the brain can make you go into a manic state of mind and then fall into a deep depression. One of the most eye opening parts in the film was when Cheri was going to a client’s house and had to look into the mirror before she went in and told herself to put on her game face and transform into a chipper, perky version of herself because she was feeling down. This made me realize that people around you can be suffering from depression or other mental diseases around you and you can be completely unaware because the symptoms can be
First and foremost, Pearl is a poor victim of circumstance. It’s not Pearls fault that her she was created under one of her mother’s bad choices. It is obvious that
...amily she finds the true meaning of being brave and saves her family (“Brave”). I like this kind of movie instead of a man being the brave and independent one now the woman is. These are the kind of fairy tales that need to be told so that women do not feel the need to be weak and dependent on other people. If fairy tales slowly become more realistic then I think they are a good thing but teaching women to not be strong or if their not a size 0 and gorgeous, well that in my eyes is not okay.
Precious is a 16-year-old African American who is morbidly obese. She suffered sexual abuse from her father, and physical and emotional abuse from her mother. As a result of the sexual abuse she incurred from her father, she contracted human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). She has two children, a daughter and son, both conceived from her father. Likely a result of incest, her daughter has Down
In "Precious Knowledge" the students gained a lot of experience in leadership and protecting something they help built. The students learned how to come out of their comfort zone. They were exposed to working hard for something that you love. The only negative thing about the movie was how
The story of “Precious” provides an excellent example of how a person can become lost in the system, and also how one can begin to turn things around by utilizing available resources. Precious’s mother, Mary, has been taking advantage of Precious to help her manipulate the system so Mary can continue to receive welfare benefits. Precious ultimately meets with the social worker, Mrs. Weiss, who begins to help her move forward in life. It is my understanding that Precious initially met with Mrs. Weiss for welfare benefits, but this relationship seemed to change as the movie progressed. I was admittedly taken aback by the conditions of the office in which Mrs. Weiss worked, how she interacted with Precious initially,
This film really focuses on the characters. Their thoughts, anger, distress, and mistakes become part of your mistakes. This deals with a father’s s priority and how he will achieve that priority by using unethical ways like torturing an innocent man. Bringing up child abduction and torture are
Horney’s theory focuses on neurosis and the ideal self of the individual. Her theory plays an important role in the development of an individuals personality and can be applied to the film Precious directed by Lee Daniels. The film is based on an African-American teenager girl who lives in Harlem with her abusive and ruthless mother as well as the mothers revolting boyfriend. The role of the mother plays a significant role in Precious’ personality development and will be discussed further in the essay with regard to Horney and the following aspects of; social and cultural conditions, basic anxiety and basic evil, neurotic needs, coping strategies and the ideal self vs the despised self.
Most people have experienced some form of violence in their family. Many of these dramatic events involve children becoming victims of abuse. In the movie “Precious” an African American sixteen year old female is tormented by her parents. Precious is the victim of several different form of abuse including: sexual, neglect, psychological, and physical. She is pregnant with her second child, both her children biological parent is her own father, who constantly rapes her. Precious’s mother is envious of her daughter because of the sexual relationship he has with his daughter. This creates conflict among them resulting in physical and psychological abuse. Precious escapes from realty by imaging herself as a glamourous star. With the help of her
The movie Courageous discusses important issues we face in society today. This movie shows the importance of family, the danger of drugs, and the major importance of Christian values. Courageous causes me to consider how I treat others around me and how I can become a better Christian. I learned that living a life looking out only for myself and pursuing worldly pleasures not only consists of superficial and temporary happiness, but also consists of pain, suffering, emptiness and a longing for something more than what we have.