This Really Pisses Me Off!!!

I know this may sound moot, but I now have basic cable (again). Recently, I saw a few episodes of House of Payne. All I can say is that the shit pisses me off. Yeah, I know its supposed to be 'entertainment' and 'comedy'. Still, it portrays Black people as all obvious stereotypes. Typical safe stuff that shows the world Black folks can't do nothing in entertainment bur comedy. Maybe its just me...

 

You know what pisses me off? Black folks eat that shit up. Seriously we are our own worst enemies. We have low standards in our movie and TV watching, in the books we read and in the foods we eat. Well, sure most Americans do. But as the saying go wehn America has a cold, black people have a fever (or something like that). So in other words we are always at a worse level. You would not believe the friendly and sometimes not so friendly argumnets I get into with black co-workers who think Tyler Perry's work is at an elite level. That dude deservers credit for his success but not for his lack of talent. But, hey, I'm a minority in the black community on this subject. We make success stories out of lightweights.

Just as America will deserve the bad president it will get if it votes in another Republican into the White House this fall, black folks deserve the mediocrity represnting us in film and TV.

 

I caught an episode of this last night after my husband said "Oh, sure. You'll love this." I had to see why on earth I'd find it objectionable.

I do object. Now, I admit I laughed a few times but overall I was stunned that things so backward were celebrated on the show.
I thought that Tyler Perry was a very intelligent man--you know, cause Oprah had him on and I worship her. *blush* Now I'm not so sure. Why on earth would an intelligent person allow stereotypes to continue just to get a laugh?

 

I'm sure Tyler Perry is an intelligent man. He just ain't a good writer in my book.

And frankly I still don't get why people (especially women) think that anyone who appears on Oprah's Show is automatically an elite thinker or artist. Oprah has had countless pretenders, hackers, scam artists and non-talents on her show over the years.

 

It's true. I do love my Oprah, though.

 

I agree, Tyler Perry's TV shows are ridiculously stupid.

The stereotypes are so overdone its almost disgusting.

I thought his whole thing was showing black folks in a better light and not the stereotypical garbage the media has been portraying for the past few decades.

Some of his movies are decent, but even those always have the angry black woman, she can't find a man, always having love problems.

I mean, its not that those things don't exist but, he plays it up to the fullest in pretty much all his movies.

I've given his productions a chance and they all bother me.

Heck, I prefer watching Ice Cube's family movies over Tyler Perry's anyday.

Not to mention Spike Lee flicks. He makes some of the best black entertainment in the most unbiased bullshitted stereotypical way.

 

The problem, SoCal, is that when our choices for black filmmakers come down to Ice Cube, Tyler Perry and a Spike Lee who I feel is past his prime (though still capable of doing a good film every other time) then the state of black cinema is awful. Don't based black cinema on black stars who play roles originally written for white folks (Denzel, Will, Halle). Base it on the filmmakers who make interesting, exciting and unique movies. That's where we are lacking.

I look around and I see a slew of new Hispanic filmmakers making waves every year and tackling subjects dear to them as well as adding their perspective to our society in general. And these same filmmakers at times get to a point that they start doing highbrow, critically accalimed, mainstream films with the likes of Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchette (sp?) I see new Asian American filmmakers on the horizon who will become more dominant in the next ten years. And then there's black filmmakers who have never lived up to those expectations and promises when big things were predicted for them in the early 90s. Just sad.

 

He's smart enough to give black folks what they want and get paid doing it.

In fairness to Oprah, she's had more real deals on her show than losers. She's still got a good batting average as far as I'm concerned.

 

I'd have to agree. Tyler Perry isn't out to change the world, raise anybody up, or give anyone cause to pause. Someone once told him he was funny so now he plays to that audience and gets paid pretty good for doing it. Funny thing is, I know a lot of black women who watch his stuff but I don't know of any black men that do.

 

Well it's obvious his stuff is geared towards black females but to point that out would cause the Politically Correct Police to crash through my window like Minority Report.

 

Tyler Perry is the one who should be ashamed of himself.

 

Funny but true. Whether they are wrong or not Republicans/conservatives are there to pounce when Democrats/liberals say something they disagree with (and vice versa to be fair). In the white community signs of feminism has been shot down by well-respected (if not ultimately sexist) personalities ranging from extremes like Rush Limbaughto more moderate folks (including some white women) who are against the notion of so-called agendas by one sex. But in the black community we don't have nearly as much opposition when it comes to challenging views held by the majority. And when it comes to criticism of black women its almost unacceptable by any black public figures or black media serves/sources. The only ones who do take aim are gangsta rappers but their stuff is so over the top at times, so hurtful and so directed at EVERYONE in general that you can't claim them as a voice for a different set of opinions.

Tyler Perry is a woman as far as I'm concerned. He may be gay but I tend to hate the DL accusations so I shouldn't go there. I have a rule of not thinking much of any man who had a dream and goal of going on the Oprah Winfrey Show. Those types creep me out.

I'll give Tyler credit only for using real actors instead of relying on rappers and singers. I'll give him credit for being prolific. I'll give him credit for being successful. But a lot of artists are successful without necessarily being very good artistically speaking.

By the way I've been off work all week and have often left on the TV when doing my writing. Eventually the soaps will come on and I don't even turn the channel because I don't let the background noise bother me. Commercials have been running nonstop during the soaps for the "Family That Preys" and the angle that has been played up is the one involving the affair between the married white man and married black woman. Think such promos would get such play if the guy was black and the woman was white (like an updated version of Jungle Fever but with more emphasis on the affair)? Probably not. And here's another example of the almost one-sidedness of major Hollywood films portraying pairings between a black and a white person. Its almost always one way (no news there of course). But I'm sure the black lady from Entertainmnet Weekly is about to write another opinion piece on how she didn't care about the Will-Theron relationship in "Hancock" in response. I'm sorry. I can't help but bringing that up to emphasize how ridiculous the whole argument was. Lakeview Terrace and Rock'n Rolla with Gerald (300) Butler and Thandie Newton come out next with a lot more one-sided representations on the way.

 

I thought there was no political correctness from you. It's the truth. Dont be ashamed to say it. LOL! But there aren't any black filmmakers who make products geared towards black males yet...Keep in mind I said 'yet'.

 

Hmmm, I don't think he should be ashamed of himself. He's making entertainment for an underserved demo. Whether we like it is basically irrelevant. The real sadness is after the late 80s, early 90s wave of Spike, Singleton, Matty Rich, Hughes Bros, etc., this is what black cinema turned out to be.

Seems like each generation has its gay icon that nobody in the black community wants to acknowledge as such. 50s and 60s, Johnny Mathis. 70s, 80s, Luther Vandross. Now Tyler takes the mantle. I've seen interviews where he references a girlfriend. LOL.

I was watching the commentary on the first "Aliens vs. Predator" and you should have heard Sanaa Lathan (who was great in the movie IMO) gush about how "fine" her wavy haired Italian co-star was. Let a brotha wax poetic about a non-black female even on this board and watch all hell break loose.

And you should listen to music, it'll help your writing.

Gotta go now, the Pre-Crime Unit is on the way.

 

Tyler Perry

Even though I won't hold my breath on Perry making a IR film but,he has touched a chord to his base:Black women and religion. Hollywood has ignored them and a niche is made. Not since Oscar Micheaux has a black man made wrote,produced,and stars in his films.

 

The bad guys in ALL of Perry's movies are DARK SKINNED BROTHERS.

The bafoons on House of Payne are dark with African features.

These are HIS shows and HIS ideas..therefore that's how he sees the world.

He's a colorstruck.....BM hating.....homosexual.

Oprah is a colorstruck.....BM hating....Lesbian.

 

Sanaa has the scariest hands on earth(I can only imagine what her feet look like)

Those are some hard-looking mitts..

They look like monkey feet.

And I ain't lying..it's the truth.

You'd think she dug her way from China to Hollywood without gloves..with nothing but burnt-up..ugly stumps to show for her trouble.

Google-up some pics of her if you think I'm bullshitting.

SCARY!!!!!

 

I tried to watch an episode last year, all I gotta say is that was 30 minutes of my life that I'll never get back. Quite frankly, I've seen better film on teeth.

 

I thought that myself because he is the rare (if perhaps only black amle director---or any male director that is) to use a lot of "pretty" light-skinned boys often as his leads. Although to be fair light-skinned black men are underrepresented on screen which is the total opposite of light-skinned black women. However with all that being said Perry did have Idris Elba as the lead of "Daddy's Little Girl" or wahtever the hell that was called and Derek Luke will be the male lead of his next movie. Those two men are dark skinned.