And So We Continue...

via The Beautiful Struggler - Me, Myself and Eye

I was very happy to see the overwhelmingly positive response to my "Open Letter to Tyler Perry" yesterday. Only a few souls were base enough to dismiss my issues with trite comments in the vein of "Why you hating?" and "Let that man make his money!" Amongst those of us with brains, an important conversation took place and continues today. I read every one's comments and Tweets and I thank all who participated, forwarded, re-posted, etc. You really never know who may have been listening! After reviewing every one's responses, I decided to go forward and discuss a little bit more with you guys.

First, regarding the Medea character- there has long since been this notion that mosy Black male comedians are expected to put on a dress at some point in their career and the criticism of this usually has to do with feminizing the Black man. However, despite having absurd looking breasts and makeup, these "women" are hardly feminine at all. I think the Black male comedian in woman's clothing is more so a very harsh commentary on the Black women and through these characters, much of the disturbing ideas Black men have about Black femaleness are revealed. I wouldn't call Martin as Shenehneh or Big Momma or Jamie Foxx as Wanda "drag" performances, but rather cruel imitations. Real drag performers imitate women in a loving way and while they tend to exaggerate certain aspects of femininity, it's like an exclamation point, not a red circle with a slash through it.

That said, Medea is almost more like a drag performance than a nasty stereotype, because Perry uses her to express a lot of love for both the grandmother herself and the people in her world. But at the end of the day, Medea is still a mannish woman played by a man. She is not a commentary on gender roles and not putting people in a box; she's a man's "humorous" take on a good-hearted, loudmouthed woman. Few Black mainstream male filmmakers and playwrights have been able to accurately develop female characters and their missteps often drip with either the sexism of the neo-Pentecostal belief system (shout out to Sister Doctor!) or the sexism resulting in the misguided effort to reclaim the Black man's "rightful" place at the head of proverbial table. With Perry, Medea is usually the strongest female character in his films and stands in stark contrast to the tragic female lead who is waiting on salvation via a new lover or the crass, cold "successful" woman who has a loveless life or the tragic young girl...

The impact that Tyler Perry has had on Black American theatre and cinema is tremendous. While the Medea plays were not hardly the first Chitlin Gospel shows to hit the stage, they have been the most successful and widely seen. A few months ago, I auditioned for a play that I suspected was a bit Chitlin-ish; I did it mostly for giggles but also because I had not auditioned in sometime and wanted to get back to one of my passions. After another young lady did a somewhat flat cold reading, the director got up and gave a lengthy speech about how when you perform for "our people", you have to be bigger than life and over the top. How when we spend our hard earned money to see a show, we don't settle for what "other" people find entertaining, we want a spectacle. Basically, she was telling us to coon! To bust out some shuck and jive!

The success of the Medea plays and Perry's subsequent projects would certainly lend credence to the director's assertions. As Broadway and regional theatres across the country marginalized Black folks and played to the whims of their older, affluent White subscribers (shout out to SFH), it was Perry and the other directors staging shows at Harlem's Apollo, Chicago's Regal, DC's Lincoln, Newark's Symphony Hall who were the primary ones making theatre that was both palatable and accessible to Black audiences. Suzan Lori Parks and the late August Wilson are both discussed as amongst the greatest playwrights of their generation, but their plays have debuted in spaces where your "average" Black person may not have access to nor interest in seeing them. Whereas Perry's plays were being advertised on the radio, run in the neighborhood and even bootlegged.

It's not that Black folks with less sophisticated tastes will never go see anything that isn't a Chitlin or gospel play. Black sororities, social clubs and church groups have packed performances of For Colored Girls, The Lion King and of course, Oprah's production of The Color Purple. And it certainly isn't the case that Perry and his one-time theatrical peers should be held accountable for the failings of mainstream theatre to serve Blacks interests. It's simply worth examining when we look at how we arrived to the conversation we are having right now.

A few readers suggested that it is not my, nor anyone else's, place to tell Mr. Perry how to spend his money. That could be true if we were talking about his home or his tastes in vacations or whatever he indulges himself in. However, one thing we must all understand: if you have decided to claim a role in the Black community, to assert yourself as a leader or even a participant of note, then you must be prepared for both expectations and criticism. If an artist wants to say "Hey, I am just an artist and I just want to entertain", that's one thing. However, if you have in interviews and through your actions declared that you want to inspire people, you want to uplift and create meaningful work, then you have to be prepared to be challenged when folks feel you are falling short. And since it is our people who have lined Perry's pockets very nicely, I feel no qualms in asking that he uses that money for the greater good of Black art. He's obviously interested in investing in Black ownership of our stories, let's just ask him to do it in the way we most need it done.

As I and many commenters said yesterday, we need to see more images of ourselves...period. Is it possible to capture every facet of Black life on the screen or stage? Hell no. But those with the ability to facilitate the production and distribution of new and different works should do so. As someone said on Twitter, people pressure Woody Allen about the images of American Jews he depicts in his work because there are so many other Jewish filmmakers. And while I don't doubt that his people have criticized him when they feel that he has overstepped some cultural boundaries or put forward something publicly that is best said in private, Jewish folks also have the comfort of knowing that there is diversity in the images of themselves that they see in the arts and that Allen isn't their only man in power in that realm.

I want to address one comment that really struck me. It's something I've heard a few times in discussions such as this one:

"...I wonder what the solutions are. I think it's important to offer constructive criticism, but something more has to be done. I'm sure there are many talented writers, filmmakers, editors, etc. who read this blog. And if they don't, I'm sure we all know at least one or two people who are. What can we do to promote and pool our talents? What can we do to promote more diverse representations of Blackness, so that Tyler Perry isn't the only option out there? That's my main concern. Constructive critique and then...what comes next?"- from Danielle

There is often an assumption that people who are offering criticism have no solutions or that they have done no work to refute/challenge that which makes them upset. Even were I not an artist, I am a consumer and a member of the Black community. Thus, I exert power when I choose to discuss these things in any venue, be it the bus, the bodega or the beauty shop. However, I chose to take it to the internet, not to publicly chastise the man but to make a plea to him and to engage others who may feel the same. And even if he disagrees or if this never reaches his ears, never should we ignore the fact that there ARE other filmmakers and artists doing the work! But because the Tyler Perry model is working so well, not only is Hollywood seeing these stereotypical depictions of Blackness as lucrative...other Black artists may feel that Perry's way is the best and only viable way to galvanize an audience.

Like it or lump it, Tyler Perry is one of the most powerful men in Black Hollywood and theatre today. And if there is to be a change, you must either take down the people in power or work with them. As this is a person who has expressed a deep interest in telling valid and meaningful stories, I think Tyler Perry is a better potential ally than foe. Having expectations of someone is a part of showing love. If we were hating on this man, we'd say "You aint nothing, you can't be nothing and you never will be nothing!" Instead, we criticize what we perceive to be his shortcomings with the same love that we mark his accomplishments.

Share this story on: