Does Every Black Movie (ie Madea, This Christmas, etc)
- Thread starter Lebba
- Start date
GFunk
Well-Known Member
Hot grits? Really? Wow. I don't watch many black movies today, because a lot of them are the same recycled shit. Damn, grits. I'm waiting for a movie where some gets uncleaned chitlins in their air conditioning system. I was eating in my kitchen a couple nights ago, and my dad was watching medea, and I just happen to catch a scene where medea got pulled over by the cops, and decides to resit arrest and fight the cops. I was like, "damn, how many movies are you gonna put out with this unfunny character?" A violent old black woman with a gun. Damn, I really sens the creativity.
Lebba
New Member
Well, I can appreciate some of the humor because, like it or not, some of its dead on when it comes to portraying where I come from and the ways my family, neighbors, and friends behaved and believed.
Its just that I noticed today, while my wife and I were watching "This Christmas", that there is always the character of the BM whose either a criminal or a playa, usually both rolled into one. With this one it was a brotha who was, of course, cheating on his wife and when she finally got sick of him, she beat him with a belt while he was naked and floundering on the bathroom floor where she had poured baby oil. That's when it hit me that, damn, the last Madea movie I saw had Blair Underwood being abusive and getting splashed with hot grits by his angry Black wife. There were other examples in other Black family movies and I guess, stupid me, I just never made the connection.
Needless to say, I don't watch these sorts of movies but sometimes my wife does, for some weird reason, and I can't help but notice the stereotypical, negative portrayal of the BM.
Ugh.
Its just that I noticed today, while my wife and I were watching "This Christmas", that there is always the character of the BM whose either a criminal or a playa, usually both rolled into one. With this one it was a brotha who was, of course, cheating on his wife and when she finally got sick of him, she beat him with a belt while he was naked and floundering on the bathroom floor where she had poured baby oil. That's when it hit me that, damn, the last Madea movie I saw had Blair Underwood being abusive and getting splashed with hot grits by his angry Black wife. There were other examples in other Black family movies and I guess, stupid me, I just never made the connection.
Needless to say, I don't watch these sorts of movies but sometimes my wife does, for some weird reason, and I can't help but notice the stereotypical, negative portrayal of the BM.
Ugh.
HappyLife
New Member
Al Green, use to sing love and happiness, until he cheated on his woman, then he started to sing, love and hot grits after she woke his ass up with some hot grits.
raocha
Active Member
I don't know, I usually try to avoid "black" movies and television shows. Most of the entertainment aimed black audiences is about one step from full on minstrelsy these days if they're not already there, and I'm not amused by juvenile buffoonery.
But yeah, from what I've noticed in the past, black male bashing does seem to be a staple of this genre.
But yeah, from what I've noticed in the past, black male bashing does seem to be a staple of this genre.
raocha
Active Member
Soulthinker
Well-Known Member
I disagree Tyler Perry does great work and if he does not then that is your opinion. Unless some Blacks makes more flicks of their liking then there will be more stereotypes.
kuntrygirl30
New Member
I can't believe I'm old enough to view Cosby Show marathons! I love that show.
We must not watch the same shows
"That guy never thinks outside of the box"? I disagree with this assessment.
Tyler Perry's movies display a wide array of black characters: the abusive husband, the strong single mother, the determined father, the fiercely loyal grandmother, the crazy uncle- there are practically no characters left untouched. Not that I'm saying you should like all of his plays/movies, but to say he makes "cliche" black films is a grossly inaccurate portrayal of what he's done for black actors.
With the Cosby Show, on the other hand, you don't see that. And it's OK. The purpose of the Cosby Show was to merely display black people- more specifically, a black family- in a positive light. If you were watching TV at the time that show came out, seeing a successful black family on TV was about as common as an Oprah-like figure. It just wasn't happening.
The Flavor of Love... No comment.
"That guy never thinks outside of the box"? I disagree with this assessment.
Tyler Perry's movies display a wide array of black characters: the abusive husband, the strong single mother, the determined father, the fiercely loyal grandmother, the crazy uncle- there are practically no characters left untouched. Not that I'm saying you should like all of his plays/movies, but to say he makes "cliche" black films is a grossly inaccurate portrayal of what he's done for black actors.
With the Cosby Show, on the other hand, you don't see that. And it's OK. The purpose of the Cosby Show was to merely display black people- more specifically, a black family- in a positive light. If you were watching TV at the time that show came out, seeing a successful black family on TV was about as common as an Oprah-like figure. It just wasn't happening.
The Flavor of Love... No comment.
GFunk
Well-Known Member
Is the fiercely loyal grandmother the same character as the loud, gun packing, resisting arrest grandmother?
hellspawn72
Member
Those roles in his movies still look a tad stereotypical. Oh sure, he makes an effort to portray the black middle class in his movies as well, but remember that black is a business in Hollywood. And it's just the thing to do to portray these characters inside the box to reach a larger audience. Does Tyler make an effort to employ black actors and actresses? Yes. Does he get writers to bring different perspective topics to the table that otherwise wouldn't from our community? Absolutely. But, but, does he still have it portrayed in this "safe" manner that won't turn a black female audience away? Yes. So sure he's done more to put black issues on the table, but variety also implies that the characters have personalities which are sometimes not necessarily accepted by a large black audience. Movies should be designed to challenge their audiences thinking and not just to portray the same narrow-minded storylines.
As for the Cosby Show, that was a little different. From what I've read, the producers who were white wanted to portray a well-adjusted, middle class black couple whose children dealt with everyday "American" issues. They even adjusted the writing to have them live in that house. (brownstone?) But I beg to differ. There was variety on that show. Plus, Cliff Huxtable was in a unique position that he was able to properly counsel his children on various social issues of the time based upon his past experiences. Yes, teaching white american audences that blacks could teach good values at home.
But that show suited it's purpose for the time. I'm convinced that Tyler's movies suit a different purpose today. Simply put, not to teach but to try and reinvent the black family by putting in front of us issues which ironically we don't want to deal with. Why else would black women love the movies so much??? The themes are adultery, abandonment, abuse, poor family structure, all issues blacks are dealing with today. Should we not be discussing this? Sure. But putting mostly this type of movie out there really creates a negative perception of what black people's roles in movies should be, much less stunts the growth of black actors and actresses. Why do ya'll think Sam Jackson is one of the only black actors taking only presumed risky roles that would other wise go to white actors?? Because these "black" movies never venture outside of the box and portray various types of blacks and their issues knowing we don't want to see that. Just my two.
dudaroosky
New Member
agreed
In some cases, yes. My maternal grandmother is testament to it.
I agree with some of this, but the statement "Black is a business in Hollywood" is a bit of an understatement. I don't want this to turn into a "Whoa is us" post because I don't subscribe to that train of thought, but on any given night you are far more likely to see AAs in the news for committing crimes -mind you, AAs only make up 12.8% of the population- than any other group of people.
Is it accurate? No. Does it make for good ratings? Absolutely. To carry your statement to a larger scale, black IS a business, albeit not just in Hollywood. To be clear, there is something to be gained in the way one portrays AAs.
For more:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080717134527.htm
He doesn't always portray black women in a positive light. Remember Jennifer from "Daddy's Little Girls"? She couldn't care for her own children because responsibility was a concept she had never learned to embrace. Tyler Perry used the film to counter the perception that black men would rather make babies than carrying for them AND the notion that black men are not financially motivated.
In the movie "Diary of a Mad Black Woman", even Helen McCarter appears to seek to her husband's despicable level when she tries to get revenge for her suffering. Not all of the characters are shown in the best light for black women; even the black women are from time to time shown to be unsavory characters. Furthermore, he reveals stories from the AA community that would otherwise never break the light of day. Not because there is a lack of interest from the AA community, but rather, a lack of means. Fortunately this will no longer be an issue.
http://www.accessatlanta.com/entert...t/stories/2008/10/04/tyler_perry_studios.html
I agree that he makes efforts to employ black actors- solid actors that ordinarily probably wouldn't even make it past the opening credits in more mainstream movies. I don't know that I can fully agree with the portion in bold.
First and foremost, his products are meant for entertainment. Anything after that is just extra. It's great if he can show AA characters in multiple dimensions- which he has. I've yet to see a static significant character in any of his films. I can't speak for everyone else, but for me, the fact that his characters are AA are not the sole reason I view his movies.
There were three main writers for the show, one of whom shall forever be remembered for JELL-O commercials. The show is largely based on the comedic routines and personal life of a certain comedian who just so happens to be a main character in the show. The comedian and that writer, who are the same person(Bill Cosby), exercised a large control over the theme of the show, which was probably unheard of at that time.
I don't know that there was much variety on the show, seeing as how most of the main characters on the show weren't even full grown adults.
I agree that it served a purpose at that time, which amazes me that a show had to be on TV just to show so many people what was no doubt evident in their daily lives: that AAs were ordinary Americans that dealt with most of the same issues as everyone else; that AAs cared about their children as much as the next family; that AAs could aspire (and actually attain) economic/social mobility; that AAs could rear children who would go on to become productive citizens.
I don't think he's teaching or reinventing anything. Rather, I feel that he's simply putting the issues on the table. Granted, it is a rather big table (TV/movie theater), but if that's what it takes to get more people aware or involved with working on these issues, then so be it.
Of course there are some folks that would rather not talk about it, just as there are some that spend their entire lives trying to educate others of these issues. I don't know about you, but some of these issues are very prevalent in my family (not necessarily my immediate). Some of the stories in his films appear to have been written based on my family.
I'm sure it has something to do with seeing some of their own in movies and for once they aren't snapping their fingers and popping their necks. Far more importantly, it also has to do with the quality of the movies. I don't know if you've seen them or not, but they are rather good.
The thing I've noticed about Tyler Perry's movies is that none of them seek to isolate AA from everyone else in regards to their issues. No one says, "These are problems that exist solely in our community and nowhere else". It goes without saying that these issues are significant ones in the AA community, but it also goes without saying that these are largely American issues, too.
I think anyone that walks away with that impression after viewing one of his films already harbored divisive racial sentiments; the movie, for them, only served to confirm that which they already believed (consciously or not). I say that because the protagonists and antagonists all have something in common: they're all BLACK. The mother addicted to drugs and the luxury of not having to care for kids she brought into the world is as real a character as the father who cares deeply for his children, would even give his life for them, but can't afford to give them everything they want on a silver platter who is even as real as the the drug dealer that could not possibly care less about the community in which he lives and sells poison to the people there.
I'm not really sure what you're saying here, as the sentence isn't entirely clear. I'm going to presume you're saying we see few few black actors in "risky roles" because few black actors are willing to take "risky roles"? If that is the case, I disagree.
Laurence Fishburne was the first black actor to play the role of Othello (who was actually written by Shakespeare to be a black man) in the Shakespeare play Othello AND let's not forget he played the role of Morpheus in The Matrix; Will Smith- who has shown time and again that action stars don't need blond hair & blue eyes just to be well-received at the box office- played the role of a financially strapped father (Chris Gardener) in the movie The Pursuit of Happyness.
Denzel Washington- who went from The Preacher's Wife and countless other "feel good" movies"- played the crooked cop in Training Day, a role NO ONE would have ever picked for him; Don Cheadle brought much attention to the genocides that have occurred in Africa by starring in an independent film that promised very little money to someone who was already a star.
These are just the ones that came from the top of my head. It's obvious that there are plenty of black actors willing to try something "new"; it's just a matter of finding an audience (read: MAINSTREAM America) intelligent enough to watch a movie that defies conventional ways of thinking and one that features people that don't look like them.
The only movies like those with which I'm familiar are the extra low-budget films with the horrible acting, shoddy camera work, etc. They are a dime a dozen and shouldn't even be mentioned in the same sentence as Perry's films.
I don't know about you, but I enjoy seeing how other people perceive different issues. I'm not entirely sure by what you meant with "portray various types of blacks and their issues knowing we don't want to see that."