I Be LMAO @ Madea

Tyler Perry has made a fortune off the “Madea” films (and theatrical productions). 

Of course, Tyler Perry is quite a bit more than an actor. He is a Director, a Writer and a Producer.

As an actor -- as Madea -- I think Tyler Perry has done an exceptional job of creating and executing this character. I think the character is hysterical and I think he plays her brilliantly. The character is very entertaining. Madea is very real to me because I’ve known her in several people.  Sometimes she reminds me, in many ways, of my Aunt Pauline.

Are the Madea movies funny and generally well-done? Yes; I think so. In terms of pure entertainment value, his films are good. Are his actors good? Yes. Are his vocalists talented? Yes; without a doubt. 

I appreciate that he is adept at bringing us humorous entertainment. I give him credit in this regard. He doesn’t just throw crap together and serve it to us, expecting us to like it because it is family-oriented or safe or funny. I think the theatrical and cinematic aspects of the productions are well-thought out. I appreciate this.

Tyler Perry does one kind of thing. I’d rather him do one thing good than ten things sloppily. His is “family” entertainment with a Christian or religious undertone. His films are safe. He is what he is.

Of course, there can be no real discussion about him without acknowledging that his work is based on his portrayal of a woman. He performs in drag. He does the whole black-man-in-a-dress-thing. Indeed, he is not the only one. But he’s probably earned the most dough doing it. :) And he should. He does it better than the rest.

I’ll definitely be talking more about Tyler Perry in the future, including that certain persistent pattern in much of his work. 

Tee hee hee.

You may also want to read:

Show Me Your Tits, Black Man; I'll Make You A Star

Comments

[Mes Deux Cents]

Hi TBA,

I have never seen a Tyler Perry film. I really don't have any interest.

I find it interesting that Black women are the only women who are mocked this way so many times. Whether it's Norbit or Big Mama in Big Mama's House, it just keeps coming.

I think these mocking performances just add to stereotypes about Black women.

I must say that it is obvious that I am in the minority since I think most of Tyler Perry's fans are woman.

Oh well.

[iris]

tyler perry kind of has me on the fence. lots of his movie are based on stereotypes of african americans especially women. but for the most part

[iris]

tyler perry kind of has me on the fence. lots of his movie are based on stereotypes of african americans especially women. but for the most part they are entertaining. but some of the acting isn't always the best. especially, the actresses in madea's family reunion.

[the obenson report]

I'm not a Tyler Perry fan, and never really have been. I've seen 2 of his films ("Diary" and "Why Did I get Married"). Didn't care for either... just not my thing. Although I appreciated his attempts in "Married" moreso than in "Madea." Mostly because he wasn't in drag!!

But I can't knock the guy's hustle... from a business stance, he's made the right moves. He knows his audience - an audience he cultivated during his years on the proverbial "chitlin circuit." And that audience has followed him from stage to screen, as he continues to cater to them.

I do wonder if his usual shtick will eventually get tiresome, even with his loyal fan base, who might want him to mature as a filmmaker, and employ a much more varied and robust approach to his projects. This is a business in which reinvention of self is important to longevity, so I hope he's always thinking ahead as well as thinking bigger!

[Sergio]

As I've said before Perry's core base are middle aged black women with man problems. But, I'm sorry I can't stand this castration and femination of black men on the screen. From Medea, Big Momma's House, Norbit you can even go back to Flip Wilson's Geraldine back in the day. There's nothing safer (for white people and evidently a lot of black women as well) than a black man dressed in drag with his balls symbolically cut off.

I long for the old days when you had real black men like Jim Brown on the screen. You can't deny that Brown was the definition of masculinity while now we have Perry whose sexuality is at best very suspect making him the safest black man on the planet

[regina]

I love what Tyler Perry has done and give him props for coming from being homeless to where he is today.
I appreciate how he takes family issues and puts them out there in a way that we can all feel the characters pain and learn something from it. I prefer the plays to the movies but I think his talent is valid in either venue.
I don't feel that the outcome from watching Madea is the same outcome you get from watching Big Mama's House or Norbit.
It will be interesting to see what he does in the future.

[theblackactor.com]

@ Mes Deux

You said

"I find it interesting that Black women are the only women who are mocked this way so many times. Whether it's Norbit or Big Mama in Big Mama's House, it just keeps coming."

Yes; I too, find this interesting and I find your next point extremely interesting. We are his supporters. (And I should say that doesn't include me. I've never seen a Tyler Pic play or pic on stage or in the movies).

The issue you raise is deep. Hell, we might need to call in scholars, psychotherapists, psychologists, sociologists and the like.

I think one of the problems we have as a race, as it relates to film is that I think we make a distinction -- we separate the real world issues such as those you raise from enjoyment or and partaking in this entertainment. This blog exists in part, because of this apathy.

Personally, I feel certain that First Sunday and films like it couldn't possibly prosper if it were not for this apathy.

And this brings me to Iris...

@ Iris

Yup. Cuz, on the other hand, it is entertainment. It makes people feel good. And happy. And it makes people laugh. And I suppose oftentimes, this euphoria supersedes principles.

@ Sergio

Uh, it ain't "suspect" over here. LOL. Yes; I understand your longings. I have them, too. We all do. That's why I wrote that Hotel Rwanda post with Don Cheadle. http://www.theblackactor.com/2007/11/thank-you-hotel.html. Say what you wanna say about that movie, but that movie showed us a GOOD, DECENT, BLACK MAN; someone a boy could admire.

@ Regina

You said

"I appreciate how he takes family issues and puts them out there in a way that we can all feel the characters pain and learn something from it."

Yes. I agree. I do agree there is value in what he does. Dressed as a woman or not, there is some value in what he does, I think.

You also said...

"I don't feel that the outcome from watching Madea is the same outcome you get from watching Big Mama's House or Norbit."

I'm glad you said this. I agree with you. You are right. It's not the same, is it?It's not.

[theblackactor.com]

@ Obenson

Oops. I missed your comment somehow... a great comment, at that.

Also, I too, respect his business acumen. It's admirable, really. He's really smart, as you have explained in your comment.

[Qadree]

I've been looking at much of what's been written in review and articles about Perry's work and I really take issue with the attacks people make on what they presume to be his audience.

With great enthusiasm, writers belittle the intelligence, sophistication, and culture of people who enjoy Perry's work. I believe a large part of this is due to the sexism that dominates the industry and society. Most female characters in Hollywood are the equivalent of cardboard cutouts, if you take away the male characters they have no reason to exist in the film. Tyler Perry presents women as people, not just arm candy for the men.

The whole castration issues is further evidence of this. I think people have latched on to this issue because they accept male dominance as the norm. Any man who takes on any of the traits of a woman is seen as taking a step down, choosing an inferior status, and therefore he has lost, not gained power, from taking on the role of a woman.

I can't say what's going on in Tyler Perry's head, but from the way he plays Medea, I think he sees black women not only as a source of strength for men, but as the very embodiment of strength. Medea is not a woman to be messed with!

With all the hollow portrayals of women in Hollywood films, where are the articles and reviews questioning the intelligence and sophistication of the men who enjoy these portrayals.

Now that I'm an adult, I realize that many times while I was growing up my mother smiled at me when she probably wanted to cry. She was strong enough to lift me up when everyone was trying to hold her down. I believe that many black women see and feel things that most other people cannot relate to. Instead of admitting this, thus admitting their own ignorance and undermining the concept of male dominance, many men, and some women, try to discredit anything that violates what they believe is the natural order of things, hiding behind words like "intelligence" while they do it.

If you like Medea don't let these self proclaimed authority figures tell you that your thoughts and feelings are invalid. I'm not even a Medea fan myself, but I recognize those that are.

[Sergio]

@Qadree

You fail to mention the most important fact that PERRY MAKES LOUSY MOVIES! Everything that you said could be said about Coffy and Foxy Brown which are near classics as far as I'm concerned or Julie Dash's Daughters of the Dust, a film that runs rings around all of Perry's works put together. I'm not going to give Perry a break making sub-par work because he's a successful filmmaker.

[invisiblewoman]

I got your back, TBA--I'm also usually the only one in the room that thinks Madea is hilarious (or at least the only one to admit it, haha)!

I must say tho, what I really enjoyed were the plays on DVD. Translated into Hollywood movies, well, they kinda lost something.

I know there may be deeper meanings in what some people see in that image, but that can be said about practically anything. It's all in your translation and point of view, that's what art is about.

That being said, sometimes I just want to laugh, ya know?

[LaJane Galt]

I think he sees black women not only as a source of strength for men, but as the very embodiment of strength. Medea is not a woman to be messed with!

The myth of the strong, black superwoman is a destructive one.

Indomitable and bearing the burdens of others.

Sounds like Mammy to me.

[theblackactor.com]

@ Qadree

Tell it, Qadree! :)

@ Invisible

Yup. Thanks, girl. Madea is hilarious. LOL.

@ La Jane

Great comment, La Jane.

[Qadree]

@ Sergio

I was addressing a point that comes up frequently when I read about Tyler Perry's films, not whether you should or shouldn't like the films, that is purely a matter of opinion. There seems to be space reserved in many of the reviews to make negative remarks about the "built-in audience". I've never seen this done with so much passion.

Those exploitation flicks were selling sex as much as anything else and catered largely to the fantasies of men, Tyler Perry does not do that. Julie Dash obviously does not fit in that category, but "Daughters of the Dust" is not a film that fits easily into one category and is more universal than anything that Hollywood, and that includes Tyler Perry, has produced.

@Lajane Galt

Mammy is a white creation, most black people know when they see these caricatures that they are created by whites, for whites. You use hyperbole, it seems, because you may be uncomfortable with the idea of black women being strong. No one is claiming superhuman capabilities, we all bear the burdens of others, it's just that black women seem to get very little credit for it. The strength is usually perverted and usurped by the Hollywood creations and if it "sounds like mammy to you" it's because you've bought into the racist imagery.

I've never accepted those archetypes as valid ways to view human beings, therefore I don't try to make people fit within them.

I am firmly grounded in reality and do not romanticize about mythical strength, it is for this reason that I speak out against the biased criticism that questions the intelligence of people who like a certain filmmaker, especially when the general consensus is that those people are black and female. If I believed in some mythical, boundless strength, I would believe that this sort of criticism could do no harm, and therefore I wouldn't speak out against it.

[aulelia]

I am really blase about Tyler Perry's work. I don't know if it is b/c I am not African-American so I may not understand all the nuances but I find his characterisations of black women demeaning and quite boring. But i do think it is good that he has worked hard to get to where he is.

[kimi]

Altho I wouldn't call myself a Tyler Perry fan either, I do find his flicks entertaining, not Oscar worthy, but entertaining.

I'd rather support his movies than a lot of the other stuff out there made by AA filmmakers. At least his flicks have a positive message & I do agree the plays come across much better than the movies for some reason.

But jmho, I'd never compare Madea to the female characters in Norbit or Big Momma's house. The characters in latter two films are used strictly for comic relief & to be laughed AT, whereas the audience can laugh WITH the Madea character. Madea makes those around her the butt of jokes.

I once heard Tyler Perry say (paraphrasing this was years ago) that he plays Madea cuz he could not find an AA actress who could embody the character the way he imagined or be like Madea the way he plays her. Obviously I'm not in his head but that I found hard to believe. I've got at least 3 Madeas in my family alone, most AA folk have at least one.

This whole convo is interesting to me. Again, altho not Oscar materal, "Why Did I get Married" is the type of film many who post on this blog claim they want to see more of ... Middle class AAs, good jobs, not negative stereotypes, dealing with real life issues. But we get something like that & it's not supported ... why?

[kimi]

Ok I said this on your previous blog & think I said it much better here so I copied it

I do think Madea is there for laughs & to laugh with her, but not to laugh at necessarily. Perry's movies always have some bigger message ... & Madea is usually involved in delivering it somehow & espousing wisdom in a humorous way.

[invisiblewoman]

@kimi: agreed

[Orville]

I have this love/hate relationship with Tyler Perry. On the one hand I think his movies can be a bit preachy, and a bit derivative. On the other hand I think Perry is important and in some ways inspirational. Perry's movies center around the black female experience he is giving black women like Kimberly Elise, Tasha Smith, Sharon Leal work! Let's be honest would mainstream Hollywood ever let these talented ladies get leading roles?

I also am not surprised at the covert racism of some mainstream film critics that feel left out of the loop. Some media critics resent the fact that Perry's films concentrate on black culture and are not polemical films. Perry's audience is the middle class black audience. Perry doesn't seem to care about needing white America's validation or approval. Perry makes his movies and he makes a lot of cash. However, I notice over on IMDB.COM he is also shrewd. Perry is going to make a film with white actors to be released in 2009 he wants to reach a larger audience. Perry's films make money but he isn't making making $100 million dollars.

[Orville]

As a gay black man there is another side to Tyler Perry a lot of people ignore and that's the Queerness of Madea. Madea reminds me of a fierce drag queen not so much as a matriarch. There are of course rumors about Perry's true sexual orientation and that's his personal business. However, I do notice that it tends to be gay men that provide entertainment with strong female characters then heterosexual black men. Just my opinion.

[Qadree]

I never thought about Tyler Perry's sexuality, but I did notice in "Why Did I Get Married" that he used camera work on male characters that is usually only used for heterosexual male presentation of women (close ups of the mans lips and slow moving, close up shots of the mans chest, back, etc). He also reversed the normal tendency to cast stereotypically attractive, slim women alongside mediocre, couch potato guys. Jill Scott is not unattractive, but she is definitely not the norm for beauty in films.

While this subject is worth discussing, I wouldn't try to draw any conclusions about Tyler Perry's sexuality from it.

[Orville]

I think people should be paying more attention to the things Perry doesn't say then what he does say. Perry's sexual orientation in relation to the Madea character is important. Madea is a part of the essence of Tyler Perry. It is clear to me Madea is based on on aspects of black gay culture. Madea is fierce.