During the field trip, an image of the 1989 Tiananmen Square student protest is visible.
This happened several years after the movie, which is set in 1987.
Metrocard advertisement is seen as Precious is walking past a bodega.
The movie is set in the 1980s but Metrocards only became available in 1993.
During the scene where Mariah Carey's character attempts to bring together Precious and her mom Mary, you see the front of Mariah's pocketbook.
A few minutes later, when the camera pans back and forth, you see the back of Mariah's pocketbook (the purse changes positions).
Early in the movie when Precious is shown in her original high school, the teacher has written the word "REQUIRMENTS" in large print on the blackboard.
The word is misspelled.
Precious puts her backpack down when she come home with the baby, Later she leaves her mom's apartment with Abdul and nothing else.
Later she has her backpack again.
Yellow New Jersey license plates that weren't used until the 90s.
Several times throughout the course of the movie, you can see 2 liter bottles of Sunkist on tables.
These carry the logo used between the years 2001 and 2008, while this film takes place in 1987.
After Ms.
Rain helps Precious read "A Day at the Shore", Precious' mother is seen drinking a can of Sunkist orange soda.
The movie is set in 1987, but the can's design is a 2005-2009 re-design.
When Mary is holding Mongo before the social worker comes in, Mongo is holding a sucker, however, when the social worker is asking Mary about how her job search is going, Mongo is holding a piece of red licorice which she throws on the floor.
When Prescious is meeting with Mrs.
Weiss for the first time, it appears that Mrs.
Weiss is wearing only one earing on her right ear.
When Precious is in the office with the principal talking about her pregnancy, her yellow sweat jacket's zipper keeps changes positions up and down.
The Reach One Teach One teacher's office displays a certificate with Bill Clinton's signature as President of the United States.
He was inaugurated in January 1993, and the scene occurred in 1987.
Precious is supposed to be living in Harlem, yet when she takes the '1' train to the alternative school, the train station clearly says "Dyckman" which is in Washington Heights, not Harlem.
In addition, she gets off at the "167th St.
" station on her way to the alternative school.
The school is on 125th St.
in Harlem in Manhattan, the 167th St.
station is in the Bronx.
Twenty minutes into the movie Precious encounters some rowdy boys hanging out on the street.
They are listening to Queen Latifah's "Come Into My House", but that song was not released until 1989.
The movie is set in 1987.
When Precious steals the fried chicken, she runs out of the restaurant leaving her Each One Teach One notebook behind.
The very next scene shows her finishing the chicken and going to class - where they all write in their Each One Teach One notebooks.
The movie is set in 1987, but in one scene they play 'Bobby Brown (I)' (qv)'s "Humpin Around" which was released much later in 1992.
There are several anachronisms related to the use of computers given the film's setting in 1987The computer screen on the desk of the secretary at Precious's original school is shown displaying graphical capabilities several years ahead of the film's established time period; the computer on Mariah Carey's desk has a model of CD-ROM installed it which wouldn't be available for another six or seven years; The overall ubiquity of computers on the desks of virtually every educator and social worker as shown in the film would not have been the case in 1987.
At the beginning of the film, when Mary attempts to hit Precious with the frying pan, she has no cigarette in her mouth.
However, in the next shot, she does.
Toward the end of the movie, in the scene with Mrs.
Weiss (the social worker), Mary and Precious, Mary is wearing a black head-scarf which is tied in the front.
At the start of the scene Mary is speaking and only one of the head-scarf tie-tails is visible (the other is tucked in).
As we cut away to one of the other women and then back to Mary, the one tie-tail is no longer tucked in.
it's now un-tucked and both are visibly flopping around in front of Mary's forehead.
Later in the scene the un-tucked tie-tail is again tucked back in and only one is visibly out.
When Ms Rain is trying to evaluate Precious' reading skills, and Precious doesn't respond, Ms Rain says, "I'm gonna call the nurse.
" We should see her in full motion, but Ms Rain gets up and immediately sits back down within two frames.
There's a split second, yet obvious changeover/cut.
Precious and her principal are talking back and forth through the apartment intercom system, but Precious is still able to hear the first several words of the principal's response even though she hasn't pressed the 'listen' button yet.
Though set in 1987, Precious is clearly riding a subway from 2005 or later with her son.
The yellow and orange bucket scenes have been in subway cars for a while, but the dark floor seen in the movie was a change made to some cars in the late 1990s.
Prior, it was a light to medium tan.
Also, a sign that warns "Riding or moving between cars is prohibited unless there is an emergency or as directed by police or train crew" is a relatively new sign.
Moving between cars has been illegal only since December, 2005.
Rhonda writes a "Do Now" on the board when she takes over the lesson for Ms.
This was NOT part of the Balanced Literacy, an educational movement for English Language Arts classes in 1987 (the year the movie is set).
A "Do Now" HAS been utilized in the modified version of the Balanced Literacy model, called the Workshop Model.
The Workshop Model is now the instructional model taught to teachers and encouraged in many New York City public schools.
When they are panning the students in the beginning of the film, there is one girl who looks directly at the camera as it goes by.
Ms Rain writes "you are a beautiful young women" in Precious' journal, instead of "woman".
While Precious is holding her baby standing outside a church in the snow, she peers threw the window as the choir sing Soul Holidays " A hit from Gospel group Sounds of Blackness".
Though the movie is based in 1987, this song wasn't recorded until October 16,1992.
The morning after Precious breaks into Each One Teach One, Ms.
Rain and Cornrows get off the elevator on the 4th floor and find the broken door.
The school was supposed to be on the 11th floor.
When Precious's teacher is ringing the buzzer, Mary is watching "227.
" (No footage is shown, but dialogue can be heard.
) The dialogue, mainly between Mary and Sandra, is from the episode "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Pageant" (originally aired 29 October 1988).
"Precious" tells the dramatic adaptation of Sapphire's heartbreaking novel, where a young overweight teen girl named Precious, who lives a torturous life, being abused by her mother, raped by her father, and has two kids. Then, when Precious gets sent to an alternative school, her life starts to change when she learns how to push herself in life to get to the happy part of her life.
I'll give credit where credit is due Mo'Nique deserves best actress of this decade for her performance and I didn't recognize Mariah Carey as the the social worker until her second scene (definite 'Glitter' redemption). But people yammering on and on about Gabby Sidibe (Precious') performance might need to re-watch the movie because I didn't really see her do much.
I regard myself as a pretty sensitive person. I was deeply moved by films such as Schindler's List, Click, I Am Sam and Kramer vs Kramer.
I couldn't help crying while I watched it. Precious is a main girl's name.
The movie Precious starring Mo'Nique as Mary Jones and Gabourey "Gabby" Sidibe as Precious Jones tells the story of a girl and her struggle in life. Being a 16 year old girl pregnant again by an abusive, but absent father and having to endure both physical and mental abuse from her mother, the young girl's life seems absolutely hopeless.
I can't believe it took me so long to see Precious. If I had to think of a reason as to why it did, I actually cannot think of a satisfactory enough one.
Precious is a very emotional and powerful film. The film is primarily about a teen-aged girl (Claurece Precious Jones played by Gabourey Sidibe) growing up with many hardships in Harlem.
There were many places in the movie that I could not imagine and feel desperate, but it was more than just a spiritual shock. Now, even though we have seen these films, they inspire some compassion and inspiration, but they are often fleeting.
Why do filmmakers who know they can't change anything in society continue to make sappy sap garbage who gives a crap films? Like this one?
