Entertainment Weekly is on to our ‘secret black culture war’
18 Mar
"Cicely, I want you to go up to her, SLAP her and say 'I ain't never been yo MAMA,' got it?"
Entertainment Weekly features an article about Tyler Perry entitled, “Tyler Perry: The Controversy over his Hit Movies,” and then the tagline says, “Inside Black America’s secret culture war.”
Really? While the article makes some valid points, EW’s portrayal is a bit irksome; as if they’re shedding light on the issues of our community. Pffffft. Ok.
Props to Viola Davis who is one of the ONLY actors willing to be interviewed for this piece. She keeps it so real. I guess after being nominated for an Oscar, you feel you don’t have to sugar coat shit.
Scariest line of the article:
Right now, there are still so few consistent, high-profile representations of African-Americans in film — and are pretty much it — that Perry has a near monopoly on the depiction of American black life on screen. That gives him power beyond the images he puts in his movies; it makes him the top employer of black actors in Hollywood (not to mention Atlanta, where he owns a 200,000-square-foot production house, which also produces his TV sitcom, ). In other words, if you’re an African-American actor, he’s the biggest boss in town, which may explain the reluctance of so many black actors, even those who’ve appeared in his films, to talk about Perry on the record. Nine of them declined to be interviewed for this story.
He has so. Much. Power.
Make it stop. Or please hurry up and hire OTHER writers. Please!
LOL @ the picture caption. Did Cicely really slap a character and say that? Yeah this article did make good points (that we been saying) but are we really a secret ass community like that??? I think this goes to show that mainstream really assumes all Black people like Perry’s films and word of the contrary is a shock.
AND I disagree with his portrayal of women. They’re either a struggling down and out Black mama/women (Angela, Jill Scott), a grandma (Cicely, Maya), a gossipy loud mess-maker (Taraji and Jennifer Lewis), or an unreasonable bitch (my fav, Sanaa in Preys).
But I am glad they did this article.
The tone of the article is tricky. How are black actors to see Tyler Perry after this article? Are they supposed to run to the whites, shun him, or create another such empire to break his monopoly? And if any of those are attempted, what are the consequences? Do you play chess or should we look more to American football to see what is happening here?
That is a tricky question. I don’t think black actors should shun him completely. His intentions are good, but enough need to band together and speak out to help shape the image and quality of films he’s putting forth.
…and finally. If I have to make a choice I would rather go with Mr. Perry and see if I can use my presence in the ‘house’ to redecorate a few rooms. I would rather be in the house of stereotypes than in one that is fill with the aura of hate and discrimination.
I like this site and I shall be visiting frequently.
Bev.