What I really find really surprising is the actual book itself "Push" in which its based on, is Author by Sapphire who is a black woman. I am so confused by the author's stance on her work in the 1st place. Why write something so racist and not even uplifting?

The movie itself quite the same. I watched this movie and it really messed with me, and I dare say that I was pretty disgusted with it. I'm glad I watched it though so I can actually form an opinion and tell you that I was not comfortable with any of the racist or sexual content. It actually made me depressed for like a day after I had seen it. The only person I want put my hands together for is Gadbourey Sidibe because she genuinely is an awesome person and she was awesome in showtimes The C Word. Other then that, i'm out. I couldn't sit thru this movie again nor could I sit and read that book either.

forsakeme4all--

Your take on this is certainly understandable; I read a review of this film in Newsweek when the film was first released; the review was written by a black woman.

She was likewise conflicted by the film. On the one hand, she thought it might feed into stereotypes about black Americans; on the other hand, she had to admit that things really are this miserable for some African American people, and there wasn't anything necessarily wrong with someone like Sapphire writing about it.

I'm reminded of something Denzel Washington once said, about being criticized as a black man for sometimes portraying really bad people in his films (such as his character in Training Day). He said, as an actor, he wanted to portray a range of black characters, from the good to the bad, and that he shouldn't be limited in his choices regarding one or the other.

For the record, every racial group has its very poor, struggling people; for example, there is a rich literature-- and some films --dealing with the white rural poor, and the very miserable lives some of them lead, sometimes (like the story in the film Precious) even involving incest.

I had the misfortune of watching this shortly after seeing a similar film (Tyrannosaur - white, British people) in that:

• it goes over the top in terms of the number of challenges facing one person
• many of the challenges are social and / or racial stereotypes (here junk food and absent fathers, in Tyrannosaur its drunken, violent Scottish people)
• it has an unrealistic redemption / self improvent arc given the sheer scale of the obstacles in the protagonists way

So I don't think this film is racist, just pretty ordinary and as tiresome as other films of this ilk. Tyrannosaur was saved by some good casting and acting. I don't think this one had either (Kravitz, Carey etc). Those seeking a 'rough kids have life changed by a good teacher' type tale should see To Sir With Love. Much more measured and rewarding.

4/10