Alexander Russo: Movies: "Precious" Features Alternative HS Literacy Program

Movies: "Precious" Features Alternative HS Literacy Program

You've probably already heard a lot of buzz about Precious, the new movie about an extremely overweight and illiterate teenager who is expelled from school when the news of her second pregnancy comes out. It opened this weekend.

What you may not know is that the film, set in 1980s Harlem, features an alternative school called Each One Teach One which may or not be based on a real program (am checking).

Most reviewers seem to be loving the story, despite (or because of) its relentless brutality. But not everyone is joining the chorus. Slate's Dana Stevens finds the movie heavy handed and without any real value beyond giving us an all too brief sense of what poverty is really like (ie, poverty porn). Clickherefor a roundup of reviews from Jezebel.

Seen it yet? Concerned about the poverty porn possibilities? Ever heard of this particular school?

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