Spike Lee --Well Said My Brother

The following is an excerpt from AHH.com's editorial section. It's funny that Spike Lee feels this way about Tyler Perry's productions. Like most ignorant people, I'm sure that readers found Spike to be a 'hater' because Tyler Perry 'has more money than he does.' When will the idiocy end? Spike makes a very valid point, and as I've grown and watched more and more Tyler Perry films (most recently this nonsense on TBS) I have been saying the same thing. Read on...



2. Tyler Perry Shows = Coonery and Buffoonery for Spike Lee



Does Spike Lee have something against Tyler Perry? Judging by a recent interview Lee did with Ed Gordon on Our World with Black Enterprise, the answer may be ‘yes’.



The Do the Right Thing filmmaker didn’t hold much back as he noted what he considered to be “troubling” images found in Perry’s hit TV shows Meet the Browns and House of Payne. So much so that he compared the characters on those shows to the ones found in minstrel shows.



“We’ve had this discussion back and forth. When John Singleton [made Boyz in the Hood], people came out to see it. But when he did Rosewood, nobody showed up. So a lot of this is on us!” Lee said. “You vote with your pocketbook, your wallet. You vote with your time sitting in front of the idiot box, and [Tyler Perry] has a huge audience. We shouldn’t think that Tyler Perry is going to make the same film that I am going to make, or that John Singleton or my cousin Malcolm Lee [would make]. As African-Americans, we’re not one monolithic group, so there is room for all of that. But at the same time, for me, the imaging is troubling and it harkens back to ‘Amos n’ Andy.’”



Lee continued to make his point during the show while expressing that efforts can be made toward having better shows on the air despite the popularity of Meet the Browns and House of Payne.



“Each artist should be allowed to pursue their artistic endeavors, but I still think there is a lot of stuff out today that is coonery and buffoonery. I know it’s making a lot of money and breaking records, but we can do better. I am a huge basketball fan, and when I watch the games on TNT, I see these two ads for these two shows (Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns and House of Payne), and I am scratching my head. We got a Black President, and we going back to Mantan Moreland and Sleep ‘n’ Eat?”



As always, Spike never fails to tell it how he sees it. The question is do you agree or disagree?


As i aforementioned, I completely agree with Spike Lee, and this is something I have been saying for a while now. When Madea first emerged onto the big screen, I must admit that I did enjoy her antics; however, I was much younger and less wiser. As I have aged and matured, I find it hard to watch a Madea film, or any other Tyler Perry film for that matter. I find his story lines to be outlandish and somewhat demeaning and stereotypical. These films are supposed to be things that black people can relate too. However; I find that Perry's characters are the furthest thing from your average black person.

The characters fit one of two extremes: either they are extremely poor or extremely rich. I have also noticed that the black male in each film who plays the 'blue collar' or 'struggling' character never has a hair cut. As if nappy hair is a signature look for the sub-par male. Another thing brought to my attention is the fact that these story lines more often than not include some from of drug abuse, sexual abuse, or some other mental/psychological issue. These are issues that I am supposed to relate to as a black woman? None of these things have ever been an issue for me or anyone that I know.

I commend Perry for his efforts, and for the fact that HOPEFULLY his motives are to highlight SOME issues that affect African Americans while showing our strength and willingness to overcome even the worst odds. From my position I have yet to see positive motives, all I see is coonery. I find his characters to be an embarrassment, and far beyond anything stereotypical that our counterparts could every possibly imagine. Mr. Brown shucks and jives in miss-matched clothing, nothing more than a modern day Chicken George. While Madea is a gun-toting foul mouthed senior citizen in a house coat. And I won't mention the fact that Perry emasculates himself, and all other black men for that matter, every time he dresses himself as a woman.

I am happy that the brother has made it, he came a long way from being homeless. I just wish that when our brothers and sisters did finally get on they would portray a more positive image for all of us while remembering where they came from.


Article courtesy of AllHipHop.com. The opinions expressed in this blog are not necessarily the views and opinions of those at AHH.com or Spike Lee.