i thought... you know the famous novel by ralph ellison, the invisible man. and i remember contemplating precious and bringing her to life, and thinking she would be invisible even to the invisible man. so for... you know, the invisible man was about a man who is not seen by the dominant culture. and i was thinking precious is not even seen by her own. even by the underclass she is invisible. people have done everything... she says it-- "they want to wipe me away, forget that i exist." so i began to see it almost as a responsibility, you know, as a task, you know, like a warrior, you know, that this was... i was going to slay these dragons that kept her invisible. and the dragons were denial, embarrassment, and ignorance, you know? we... many of us in the african american community were ashamed of precious, you know? she wasn't our... >> hinojosa: she was a loser. >> she wasn't our halle berry, type, you know what i mean? she wasn't a winner. she was what we had been taught to think of, also, as ugly. she was... you know, in all nonwhite cultures we've been t