THE TYLER PERRY EFFECT

Brilliant….funny….controversial…slapstick comedy….embarrassing….success.
The runaway popularity of Tyler Perry’s television shows and films fascinate some and baffle others. I mean, do we really need more stereotypical images of African Americans in entertainment? Amos and Andy, Steppin’ Fetchit, that was the kind of comedy best left behind in the 20th century. So why would any self respecting Black person deliberately promote the kind of negative, stereotypical images often seen in Mr. Perry’s work? In a phrase…it’s complicated.

Tyler Perry’s House of Payne has a lot of issues (the writing and storylines aside). Seriously, crack addicts, baby mamas and baby daddies, smart mouthed grown acting kids-The Cosby Show this is not. Perhaps though that is exactly Mr. Perry’s point, all stories, our stories can’t exist inside an ideal and be called an honest representation of black life. People hurt, his stories seem to suggest, and if you’re hurting too then maybe there’s something about this you can relate too and find entertaining.

But for many black folks who feel that we’ve come way too far, from slavery to freedom, from Martin to Obama, to find any humor in the poorly written, poorly produced work of Perry’s it is an abomination. There is a fine line with African American comedy that is difficult particularly with physical comedy, to walk that line between funny and buffoonery (see: The Wayans Bros. sitcom circa 1995 for buffoonery examples).

Some critics are quick to dismiss Perry’s work for its technical failures, but there is one major problem—people, black people flocking to see his movies. His films often open number one at the box office, and have earned hundreds of millions of dollars, putting him into the upper echelons of success with critically acclaimed directors such as Spike Lee.

For a variety of reasons the keen eye critics are applying to his work is lost on the larger population of African American moviegoers. Not the least of which is the religious aspect of his work. Jesus will get just about anybody a lot of leeway. The church folk that make up Perry’s target audience are less likely to view the characters as promoting shallow, racial stereotypes than as addressing aspects of their own lives that Hollywood had previously ignored. Sure the script may be deep as a kiddie pool, despite dealing with such heavy topics as rape, incest, drug abuse and adoption. But couched in a heavy dose of religion mixed with comedy, its shortcomings are easily masked to his audience.

Whatever it is one thing is for sure, it is difficult to imagine where black cinema would be right now without Mr. Perry’s contribution. There are very few black films that have ever opened number one. The past five movies of Mr. Perry’s did. The tremendous success of his movies has defined black movies this decade, much in the way blaxploitation films did in the 70s and gangster films did in the 90s.

Many of Perry’s fans, fed up with the criticism, believe that they can just enjoy the movies for what they are—comedy. But others counter that it is no different from those who claim to enjoy misogynistic rap music for the beat. Just ignore the disturbing lyrics and get your groove on. Many of Perry’s critics see the connotation clearly. Degrading lyrics or degrading images, either way you’re hurting the progress of the African American community by perpetuating foolishness and negativity and you should know better. If we are not the protectors of our image, then who will be?

Tyler Perry has been able to overcome deep obstacles to achieve what he has. But with great opportunity comes great responsibility. His willingness to take a risk with the character of Madea has paid off in box office success. So as with every worn out reasoning for simply getting paid…you can’t knock the hustle.