Life is beautiful and yet life is not a bed full of roses. Empathy is the understanding what others are feeling because you have experienced it yourself or can put yourself in their shoes. Sympathy is acknowledging another person’s emotional hardships and providing comfort and assurance. Sympathy and empathy are both similar in a way because they both have to deal with feelings. The movie Precious is about an innocent girl who is physically, emotionally, and verbally abused. She learns that life is not picture perfect, and she never gives up no matter what she is faced with.
While watching the movie Precious, I can only sympathize with when Precious is being is physically abused and when she is homeless, but I can empathic with her when she faces verbal abuses and looks up to her teacher. I can sympathize when Precious is getting raped and when her mother beats her, because I do not know what that is like. I can only imagine how desperate she must have felt, when her dad was on top of her and feeling his breath on her body. I can picture, in my head, how hurt and confused she must feel from her mother beating on her every day, for no reason at all.
My parent’s are not perfect, by any meaner, but I know how much they love me, and I know they could never do something like that to me. In the movie, Precious, she becomes homeless with her newborn baby, after getting into a physical fight with her mother. I can sympathize with that, because I have never been homeless before. In my family, I would always have a place to stay, food in my stomach, and clothes on my back. I would never go without anything, because my family is so caring and unbelievably giving. I can imagine how scared and how worried she must have felt for her child and for herself.
In the movie, Precious, she faced a lot of verbal abuse by her mother. Every day when Precious would get home from school, Precocious mother would degrade her and talk down to her. Unfortunately, that is something that I can empathic with. I can empathic because I wanted to date this guy, who was black, and my dad said I couldn’t. My father did everything in his power to keep him away from me and for me to not be able to talk him; all because of the color of his skin. I knew that what my dad was doing was completely wrong and ignorant, so I was very defiant and I did everything I could to still talk to him and be with him.
At that time in my life, my dad verbally abused me a lot. He would talk down to me every day and say, mirror disgusting, how could you ever be with someone like that. You are a disgrace”, and that was really hard to hear that coming from my dad. But I knew how wrong my dad was for saying the things he said to me, and I loved that boy, I am still with him today, and I was not going to let my father’s ignorance keep me away from someone so good for me. So I understand how Precious felt, when her mother would talk down to her and verbally abuse her, because my dad did the same thing to me.
I can empathic with the relationship that develops between Ms. Rain and Precious. Two years ago, after Christmas day, my mother left my dad. That was a very big shock for my dad, my sisters, and myself. After that happened, I felt very alone and very distant trot all tot my trends. I confided in my counselor, through this very tough time. Ms. Jill, my counselor, and I were so close it’s like we were sisters; we became very close my freshman year of high school. I felt like I had no one that I could really Just talk to except for her. I felt like I couldn’t talk to my mom because I let like she left me; I was so hurt.
And I couldn’t talk to my dad because I didn’t want to stress or make him anymore sad than he already was. Ms. Jill helped me through everything in high school, and she understood how I felt because her parent’s were divorced too. I am so thankful for her, and we are still so close like sisters today. If I wouldn’t have had her through high school, I wouldn’t have been able to make it. So I can relate to Precious, because I know how it feels to have someone that you feel like actually cares for you, helps you, listens to you, loves you, and is there for you no eater what.
Precious was a movie that brought out many emotions in me, and opened my eyes to a lot. I admire someone like her, and I wish there were more people like that in the world today. Precious was an innocent girl who went through every possible trial that was meant to break her and tear her down, but no matter what she went through she persevered and never gave up. That is someone that everyone should aspire to be. I predict that when people watch the movie, Precious, that they will be able to sympathize with her, and also empathic with her in many ways Just as I did.
