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Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Tyler Perryism



Tyler Perry is unarguably one of the highest paid men in Hollywood, his road to success story is an inspiration to many, he has produced several television shows, many of his films have proven to be box office hits, and he has employed many black actors who were having difficulty treading water in the movie industry. Aside from these facts, is his writing style really phenomenal?

While I commend Tyler Perry for becoming a business success (as I applaud anyone who beats odds and "makes it") I must agree with my friend who said "his success is at the expense of black issues." What this means is, he is a BLACK film writer...he writes material for BLACK audiences. Where are the Black writers, producers, and directors that make good EVERYBODY material? Where is a Black Scorsese? What about a Black Steven King? Black sci-fi writers? Black murder mystery writers? I am not understanding why in order for Black writers, producers, and directors to make it seems they have to make "Black" material.

What is "Black" material you ask? Black material=Tyler Perryism. It's material that caters to or encompasses the following:

1. Religion
2.
Tired Ass "Black Community Issues" (i.e. he left me for a white woman, how hard it is to be a single Black mother, how hard it is to find a Black man, how hard it is to get out of the hood, etc.)
3. Overly Dramatic Plot Lines (i.e. not only did he leave you for a white woman, you figure out he is gay, and gave you AIDS, and has a whole family on the side, and beats you.)
4. Watered Down Writing and Lines (i.e. "...and that's when I told him I CAN DO BAD ALL BY MYSELF!")
5. Black Historical Anything
6. Overly Dramatic/Bad Acting
(for empathises or to drive home the point someone has to be ghetto as all hell and most of the time actors scream at the audience)
7. Stereotypical Expectations of the Black Community



Now I could go on a tirade of how I feel his movies and plays are promoting buffoonery and are a disguise for modern day Black face, but today I am not going to do that. I am simply observing that you either have to write mediocre stereotypical material or fit into a genre of "Black" to gain quick success like Tyler Perry. The same could be said for the music industry these days too.

Hence why I'm writing a book...It's not a "black" book, it's a EVERYONE book. While some of the issues that some "Black material" covers are very valid there still needs to be a balance. We just need a few Black writers and directors that write GOOD everyone material.

2 comments:

  1. There is one director his name is F. Gary Gray. He directed The Negotiator, Friday, The Italian Job, Set It Off, Law Abiding Citizen, etc. He is not in the spotlight like Tyler Perry, but he's better than him. His movies are well known, but he flies under the radar.

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  2. ^^ I have heard of him. I think the reason directors like F. Gary Gray are not as popular is because in Hollywood you are almost forced to succumb to stereotypes to get facetime

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