tyler perry and spike lee drama

spike isn't the king of blackness.. and he's a so-so filmmaker who gets over by tackling controversial subject matter. Spike is actually as heavy-handed as perry when it comes to messages and statements in his films.

 

Nowhere did I say it "represented" black people or me. I said if you're down with Meet the Browns and such, go to the source. Period.

But if baggy-pants hip-hop negroes and Medea represent me and other blacks, why not Amos 'n' Andy? Kingfish shole is funny.

 

I have found this debate interesting, and I think all the sides have valid points. It does not have to be adversarial. There is no winner takes all in this debate. But I hope someday Tyler decides to pursue issues that makes the case, not just for the black man, but treats human issues that cuts across race, and social context. I think this often happens after one has made money, pioneered in certain areas, and has reached the level where some important things start to matter. things we can scale on Abraham Marlow's hierarchy of needs.

I must confess upfront, I don't like Tyler Perry, yet I understand the economic context that he has to operate in, and the value judgments he made to make to make money. He leveraged what he had, talent, and a knack for predicting what the market wanted. I think that in itself is an art, few people have it, and that is why those that have it are the ones that normally succeed.

Art sometimes is qualitative. Interpreting art can require education, and involves a whole range of enlightenment also to understand its impact on society. There are many times art, although a take on society, still it can go on to re-invent a new reality. I think that is what Spike speaks too in my opinion.

When I try to evaluate people. I try to understand their experiences, so that can inform me about how they came about their take on life and what instill in them the passion and interests one notices. Tyler Perry has little education. He barely finished high school. Spike Lee has a graduate education. He went to a historical black college before graduate education.

Equally social context where everyone was reared, and one's urban experience has a lot of influence on people. I think growing up in New York for Lee, and growing up in the rural south speak to the path each film maker probably also took.

There are many reasons why I say this. There are people and there are values.If you look at people outside film making. Bill Gates for one, he has since moved on to philanthropy. He supports projects in Africa.Meanwhile some of our African rich men would rather build and own houses in North America and in Europe. And have money stashed away in foreign bank accounts, like in Switzerland. Bill Gates did not start out this way.

At a point in his business life, he almost stunted innovation in IT. He drove more creative companies out of the market. He was successful does not mean he had the best technology. Apple's rise and Steve Jobs passion to innovation speaks to this aspect of business, and recent Apple's success.

I used Bill and Steve to illustrate capitalism. The fierce nature of the market and how the market is dominated by by not necessarily the best companies, but most times by the more savvy companies, and those that have a feel for the market.

On value orientation, I think it makes sense to use companies that have now embraced environmental concerns, or social responsibilities. I think that is the ethical dimension that even those that focus on the bottom line have come to embrace.

I usually don't believe that black people should narrow themselves. Yes, there is history of all sorts of atrocities committed against the black man. But at a point you have to plug in into universal human values, aspirations and interests to have a cross-over appeal.

The rap moguls, Jay Z and Sean Combs started from gangster rap, and gradually they have evolved into global ventures that are into packaging a style, a cool attitude, not just in music, but extended to fashion. I think at a point, Tyler Perry has to take stock, and reflect on what really he wants his legacy to be. It is the reason, I talked about Maslow's hierarchy of needs as a model for this progression and evolution in his human values. That, I think he owes the black community. I mean that bit of social responsibility.

 

Ahhh damn

 

Those do seem to be the biggest clues.

 

Neg rep for my Amos 'n' Andy post. Hey if you're down with Tyler Perry and Medea, why not be down with the Kingfish? Just askin'. LOL.

Clearly I'm too uppity for some people.

05-13-2011 03:41 PM Go back to the fields nigger

 

Hahahahahahahahahahaha! We got plenty of Jaylove47s on this forum.

 

why does any of it have to represent you or black people? why play into that racist power dynamic ? and if youre going to play into it then why does mr Brown have more an effect on how black people look than Barack Obama? As spike lee said we live in an age of a black president and yet he's more worried about a fictitious character who dresses funny...

 

N4Real,that is a wonderful commentary on the needs of Blacks and how Perry harnessed it into a financial powerhouse. No doubt Perry would say he is doing some responsibility via his films and works in the community. Black women loved his art and flock in droves. I wonder if Spike Lee could do the same with Black males? I doubt it since he is much more of a mainstream than a niche filmmaker.

 

Didn't you say Africans said that to African Americans cus i am assuming the fields mean cotton fields or am i wrong

 

now that Oprah Winfrey has her cable network... there is an opportunity for "progressive" black filmmakers to produce original TV films, also hour-long dramas, documentary specials. After "Soul Food" and "The Wire" went off the air, what was left in terms of a predominately black drama series?

 

Confusing the issue, does not compute.

 

thats what you would think...but remember who oprah's core audience is..middle age suburban white women...and looking at her history has oprah ever tried to appeal to a black audience?

 

Well if she actually tried to appeal to a black audience, she definitely wouldn't be the multi-trillionaire and programming force she is today.

But OWN is showing that a little Oprah goes a long way. She has finally met her match.