As you know, I am doing research for a presentation on how much Tyler Perry sucks. In a freak example of synchronicity, Pajiba just posted
the review for Meet The Browns, and it covers a good chunk of what I was going to talk about. Instead of putting a long winded post there, I decided to put it here, thereby getting more traffic. *evil cackle*
Second, I must applaud your excellent point. In a local independent paper here,
they had an article where the author (a man of Middle Eastern descent) was trying to figure out what he was missing in TP's films, because he didn't find even remotely entertaining, but others did. He went as far as to see "Married" with three co-workers, all of whom happened to be single African-American women who professed a love for his work. His conclusion was similar to yours: it is the farthest thing from quality and severely lacking artistic merit, and it is about as subtle as a bat to the head, but it is a very visible showcase of a segment of American life that has rarely been touched.
What pisses me and a lot of his detractors off is that because he (and others like him, like David Talbert) is the only game in town, that sudden;y we have to accept it unquestioningly. The second you say something against him, you get a hundred other voices screaming back about racism and such. Fuck, Amos and Andy was a groundbreaking show (in that it had an African American as a main character), but that doesn't mean I have to laud its horrible depiction of my people.
At this point, Perry is so full of himself, he doesn't even see why anyone would consider his work offensive pandering. If he would just come out and say "Hey, I know my stuff sucks. I am barely even trying. I am just making me a quick buck and putting the actors on the screen because nobody else will," I wouldn't have nearly as much of a problem with him. But he acts like his movies are pieces of art, and seems honestly surprised that folks outside of his deliniated demographic (single or divorced lower-to-middle class African-American women 18-60 with a Protestant, most likely Southern Baptist religious background) don't appreciate his "hard work".
And the really horrible thing is that because he has a monopoly on black media, he is giving others an excuse to demean us as well.
I found this link during my research. Trust me, you need to read it for yourself. I wonder if he knows of this crap.
This only shows that now, more than ever, I need to make it. I need to finish the stuff I have been working on. I don't claim to speak for all black people. I can only speak for myself. But I will be damned if I am going to let some dumbass in drag be the pinnacle of black cinema.
I swear, the day I see Sidney Portier in a TP film is the true end of the world.
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