For some, it seemed that producer, filmmaker, playwright and actor Tyler Perry was an overnight sensation. His wildly popular plays centering often on family matriarch Mabel Simmons, affectionately called “Madea,” were a hit among audiences across the United States. Madea, played by New Orleans-born Perry himself, is a gun toting, church eschewing, sassy grandmother who seemingly has no filter as she dispenses acerbic but loving advice to her family, both biological and adopted. Perry says that the character of Madea is an amalgamation of his mother and aunt. These well-received plays gave Perry the platform to launch first onto the silver screen and later onto television with shows that either continued storylines of characters previously introduced in Perry’s earlier works, like the nationally syndicated “House of Payne,” or fresh new material following a soap opera format, like “The Haves and The Have Nots.” Seemingly attached at the hip to the formidable media tycoon, Oprah Winfrey, Perry seems to be on a trajectory that will keep him flying high for many years to come.
Thank you Memphis. 5 shows. Headed in to the last one. pic.twitter.com/fkFerIA9Sf
— Tyler Perry (@tylerperry) April 27, 2015
For all of his success, Perry still has many critics.
The animated show created by Aaron McGruder, “The Boondocks,” lampooned Perry in an episode entitled “Pause.” The episode parodied Perry as a “closeted, cross-dressing cult leader whose love of the Christian faith is a mask for his true sexuality.” The jabs continued with Spike Lee and Perry engaging in a very public war of words on the value of Perry’s artistic offerings.
The character of “Madea” has invoked the ire of many as a stereotype of the worst sort, as she supposedly represents many of the matriarchs found in the extended families of African Americans. To this criticism, Perry says in an interview with reporter Jen Yamato,
You know what; I’ve stopped trying to defend that stuff. I don’t even deal with it anymore. I like to let the audience speak for themselves. We all know what we like, and how we like it and what we want to see, and I think that it’s awful that we as Black people – and this is where most of the criticism comes from, it comes from within our own culture — that we are so ashamed about certain parts of our society, about our own culture, that we want to act like it doesn’t exist. But this woman exists. I still know her. She is still in my neighborhood. She was my mother and my aunt. She didn’t go to an Ivy League school, and she took care of the whole family. So it’s not a stereotype, it is a part of our culture that we all need to embrace.
Criticism of Perry has also come from within. From early in his career, there were rumblings of Perry’s poor treatment of his actors and the writing team. In 2008, Perry fired his “House of Payne” writing staff, setting off a firestorm of controversy. “I feel like I was slapped in the face, like we were used,” said writer Teri Brown-Jackson. “We were good enough to create over a hundred episodes, but now when it comes to reaping the benefits of the show being syndicated and having other spin-offs from it, he decides to let us go unless we accept a horrible offer.” “Disrespected, betrayed, saddened…it’s hard to describe,” said writer Lamont Ferrell. “The actors and a majority of the production crew on the show were working under union contracts and they received the pay and benefits that you need to survive on in this business. But after all those episodes and success when it came time for us to get a fair contract, we’re told on a conference call ‘sorry, you’re fired.’” “House of Payne’s” head writer, Kellie Griffin, added, “A lot of people who fought for civil rights and social justice never really saw what eventually came out of their work. While I’d like to see something positive come out of this for us, if this fight helps future Black writers get what they deserve, that’s a good thing.”
Most recently, Perry has been under fire again, as we previously reported, when two unions banned actors from working with the million dollar writer/actor/producer with the Midas touch but a tight clutch on the purse strings.
The stories of mistreatment are particularly disheartening because one would think that someone with Perry’s background would want to compensate those who had helped him earn his success. As a child, Perry was physically abused by his father. At the age of 16 he attempted suicide. Perry credits watching the Oprah show as the impetus for him to begin to write and launch his first stage play in Atlanta. That first show was a resounding dud with only 30 people in attendance. Undaunted, Perry went back to the drawing board to try again to launch the play, suffering similar letdowns in several cities, until the play “I Know I’ve Been Changed” hit its groove at the House of Blues in Atlanta. From near empty theaters to sold-out shows, Perry, who had at one point been homeless and living out of his car, had arrived.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CL88tfPxwM
Perry does seem to have a philanthropic side for those not connected to his organization, supporting victims of Hurricane Katrina, giving financial aid to Haiti, and donating $1 million dollars to the NAACP in celebration of its 100th anniversary. Recently, Perry made news by providing significant assistance to the Houston/ Brown family during the tragic injury and later death of Bobbi Kristina Brown, daughter of Bobby Brown and the late Whitney Houston.
Perry, for all his flaws and glory, remains an enigma.
His tenacity, vision and fortitude provide a platform for his writing and paved the way for the over the top character “Madea” to become a household name. His work continues to evolve with widespread support for his current televisions shows. His characters reflect more depth; the storylines are more unpredictable and tackle more complex subject matter. For all of his contributions, the question remains whether everything that is popular is good in a greater sense, particularly when the most lovable character is a mere caricature of the women who are most often the cornerstones of Black families. Perry’s themes of domestic violence, bitter and broken women, neglected children, and loosely moraled but ultimately redeemable heroines, don’t paint a fully realized picture of Black life. In real life, every situation does not resolve itself through the love of a rough around the edges blue collar worker who falls in love with a damsel in distress sprinkled with a healthy dose of church/jail/Madea.
Is Tyler Perry any different from any other modern creator of entertainment targeted at Black people?
His appeal is undeniable, his success quantifiable. The difference is perhaps in his unwavering vision and dedication to his form of art and his willingness to stick to his tried and true recipe, despite criticism from his community and peers. Ultimately, it is up to each one of us to paint the narratives we want to see portrayed of what Black life is. That responsibility does not reside only with Tyler Perry. Whether we support or decry his work, it is his idea of what we are that is being consumed by both Black and white audiences. There is no doubt that he has opened previously closed doors and we, as a community, gave him the foundation to do so. But what happens next, whether we continue to follow along the path he trailblazed, or we support other deserving writers who share messages more in line with how we view ourselves, is exclusively up to us.
