I saw
Precious in two different theaters in two very different areas around Philly (I know, but both of my dates wanted to see it separately and they were cute enough not to say 'no' to). The first was in a 'white' off the main line. The theater was really silent and the film had a very somber feeling to it. Not a good date movie in the end. The second time was in a 'black' area closer to the city. It was a much better date movie. The audience, mostly black, interacted with the film loudly and actively. The scene where the TV is dropped on Precious' head from a few stories up was not a terrible event of violence, at least not as much, in the 'black' theater. The audience was yelling at Precious to get out, to move, to not just sit there. In the 'black' theater, Precious was not a passive victim, she was responsible for herself and a real person with real action, not a vessel to represent the grinding poverty, obesity, racism, and raping of inner-city America. It was a much better movie with audience interaction, she was real, not a thing. You just have to be comfortable with that kind of theater and you have to try to participate with it too. Life is created by us all together, not 'for' us to consume.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0929632/