Why Tyler Perry is bad for black people

Posted by SihleMthembu on November 7, 2011 · 1 Comment 

A few months ago I was very much surprised to the local critical acclaim that Tyler Perry’s film For Colored girls got. The film is an adaptation of Ntozake Shange’s original play and a shallow one at that. For many years now there has been sparring back and forth between Perry and the legendary Spike Lee, about the role that each is playing in articulating the black experience through the medium of cinema. Now I am a man who likes to regard myself as a simple folk, but categorically in this debate I have to take Spike Lee’s side. Tyler Perry is simply bad for black people. There is something deeply unsettling about the way that Perry scripts many of his characters. They have almost become skewed caricatures of the Black experience in general and the African Americans in particular.

Part of the reason why I feel that Perry as a director has failed to add any significant value to the black cultural experience is that he is an entertainer. And there is nothing wrong with that, but in an industry where reputable black directors are few and far between he is one of the most visible faces in the industry.  Surely he could put this to much better use instead of transcribing narratives that are nauseatingly shallow and lacking in any kind of originality. I am yet to find any film critic that can point out anything new that Perry has done. The whole Madea series for example is a mediocre rendition of subject matter that we have seen in the past. The whole cross dressing, human inflatable costume thing might have been funny when Eddie Murphy did it as the Nuttly professor but after that it is safe to say that we have had enough.

The reason why I think Spike Lee is the most important black filmmaker is because he has a body of work that could easily stand shoulder to shoulder with all his peers in Hollywood. His dedication to he directors craft and meticulous attention to detail and his tenderness towards his actors is something any creative would envy. But perhaps most importantly people like Perry would not even be taken seriously in the film industry had it not been for the irreverent narratives that Lee has presented on the screen. The racist rants of Do the right thing, or that ending sequence in Malcom X. surely cinema as a whole worse off without them.

So increasingly I am disgusted at Perry’s dismissal of Lee’s criticisms of his work. Its only amongst black creatives that criticism can be mistaken for jealousy. But the real question is what does Lee have to be jealous of? Although Terry might have a lot of money he is yet to garner the kind of respect that Lee has in the industry. Lee is credited with two Oscar nominations as well as having given many Black actors and musicians that platform to hone their craft. Most notably Denzel Washington. As for Perry? Nothing. I for one think he should sit down, evaluate his position and act his age.

Filed under Art, Cinema