Tyler Perry’s Jet Flies Whitney Houston Back East

Tyler Perry

Media mogul Tyler Perry has offered his assistance to the family of Whitney Houston.  Her body is being flown back to New Jersey, where her funeral is being arranged. When Perry heard about her death, he offered his jet as a service to the family, who took him up on his offer.


Whitney Houston died this week in the bathtub after taking pills.  Although the autopsy results are not yet conclusive, there is no suspicion of foul play in her death.   Houston’s daughter, Bobbi Christina Brown, was rushed to the hospital shortly after her mother’s death.

WAR OVER TYLER PERRY

TYLER PERRY BECOMES THE HEATED TOPIC ON CNN NEWS. By Wayne Hodges
NEW YORK - After reaching the top of Forbes "Highest-Paid Men in Entertainment," film producer and director Tyler Perry is back in the headlines as the war in Urban America continues to build momentum.

My boy Dr. Boyce Watkins, who I can't thank enough for allowing yours truly to contribute to YourBlackWorld.com, and social news commentator Touré both appeared on CNN the other day to debate the socioeconomic impact of Perry's films.

Touré, who loathes the Madea character, compared Perry's films to "cinematic malt liquor."
*CLICK HERE TO SEE THE DEBATE* 

Touré also knocked the quality of Perry's movies and questioned his overall talents as a director.

Touré says: “Tyler Perry is definitely serving an audience that is underserved by Hollywood. Especially black southern women do not see themselves at all in Hollywood fare. So, when he’s serving them movies where they appear to be in situations that are naturalistic and recognizable to them and definitely have that Christian message, I absolutely understand why my grandmother, my mother, and my aunts love this stuff, and my family down south, they love this stuff. I just can’t watch it without cringing because I’ve seen good movies and I know these are poorly made films.”

Although he's not exactly thrilled about a black man making millions for donning a dress, Dr. Boyce defended Perry by lauding his accomplishments in hiring black workers.

Touré countered that drug dealers create jobs too but it doesn’t make them “good jobs.”

As I previously mentioned, there's a war going in Black America. And with all the social media that's available today, it's being exposed for the entire world to see.

Dr. Boyce and Touré do battle on CNN

 If you've followed Mass Appeal the past year or so, you already know my stance on Perry. I like him as a person. I love his onstage productions. Although entertaining, I do lamen the quality of his films. But, I also understand we have to laugh. So buffoonery is necessary sometimes.

That said, aside from the repetitive abuse of the English language, Perry's flicks tend to follow the same, tired, redundant theme. The omission typically includes a weed-smoking elder (like Aunt Bam in the film Madea's Big Happy Family) accompanied by:

1) Big Mama melodramatics. 2) Madea’s sass & opprobrious attacks on disenchanted youth. 3) Mr. Brown’s hideous attire. 4) A black man fresh out of jail. 5) Contumacious, profanity-spewing children. 6) Inadequate acting. And 7) a rustic, predictable storyline which usually concludes with a Madea counseling session coupled with a reconciliation between bitter, rivaling parties. 

All of these items, according to Perry, are endorsed through the heavenly name of Jesus.
“It’s crazy the things people print without any facts. What is also interesting is how hard they work to try and discourage (people) from going to see my films…,” said an irritated Perry in response to his critics.

“They don’t get the spiritual side of this… They don’t get that it’s about uplifting and encouraging the soul.”

Yep. Nothing uplifts the soul like a $20 bag of marijuana.
“Hallelujer!”


Look, I'm actually in agreement with Dr. Boyce and Touré.

Like Dr. Boyce, I applaud Perry's efforts when it comes to hiring black employees; especially during a time when African-American unemployment has fluctuated to a Depression-like 16.1 percent.

From where I'm standing, Perry has already done more to alleviate the black unemployment crisis than the Obama Administration and Congress put together.

However, like Touré, I do believe certain genres in films and music have done irreparable damage to the universal black image. And some of Perry's films and characters certainly fit this mold. 

Trust me, from both a business and international perspective, nonsensical characters Madea and Mr. Brown are doing the black community absolutely no favors.

I guess what I'm trying to say is when it comes to Perry's heart, I'm a big fan. Conversely, when it comes down to the quality of his theatrics, I'll go to my grave believing there's much to be desired.
Check out this quote from Dr. Boyce:

Dr. Boyce says: "The point is that black people have every right to be as silly and ridiculous as any white man we might see on the MTV show, 'Jackass.'  The problem with predominantly white media is that these are typically the only images provided to us, which puts us into a discriminatory box.

"Films like 'The Help,' and shows like 'Basketball Wives' might provide popular and profitable entertainment, but the broader concern is that Hollywood has a troubling history of casting African Americans in subservient and humiliating ways."

Everything Dr. Boyce said is 100 percent true.

Just keep in mind, most people don't travel to the hood to get an accurate depiction of black culture. Therefore, what they see on film is typically what they believe.

Most Tyler Perry supporters I talk to are quick to defend him by claiming "it doesn't matter what other people think about us" when in fact it truly does.

How so? Because legions of blacks, at this very moment, are busy filling out job applications at predominantly white-owned businesses.

Meaning?
What people think does indeed matter.

In giving reasons for non-hire, a Chicago-based employer let the cat out the bag recently by citing a plethora of racial stereotypes in describing blacks as “uneducated,” “unskilled,” “unstable,” “illiterate,” “dishonest,” “lack initiative,” “unmotivated,” “involved with gangs and drugs,” “don’t understand work,” “lack charm,” “have no family values,” and are “poor role models.”

And believe me, if this employer feels this way – the majority of them probably do too.

Whether fair, perception is usually construed as reality. Like I said, buffoonery is necessary sometimes. But, it's imperative we put enough positive images out there to help offset the bad ones.

See, I encourage every black person to travel overseas at least once. Because, after you do, you'll return to the United States peeved at Perry and all other comparable filmmakers.

Dr. Boyce mentioned that blacks have as much right to act an ass on TV as white folks. The difference, nevertheless, has much to do with balance.

Think about it. For every show like "Jackass" there's a 'Criminal Minds,' 'The Mentalist,' 'Castle,' 'CSI,' 'NCIS' and 'Cold Case.' Shows that feature whites in tactical, intelligent and valiant roles.


Basketball Wives portrays bad images
Conversely, shows like 'Basketball Wives,' 'Meet the Browns' and 'Tiny & Toya' disseminate repulsive images of black people; giving the world a very distorted view of what truly constitutes Black America.    
Folks, worldwide, we're being laughed at. And our suffering has escalated as a byproduct.

For years we were taught the 'white man' is solely responsible for our socioeconomic decline. Decades later, we're forced to swallow the despicable fact our impasse is tied mostly to black-on-black hate, commercial greed and self-destruction.

As a race, we have to get back to making sense and holding each other accountable. Somehow we've gotten strange. Now we're battling to regain a measure of normalcy in an era of anti-shrewdness and uncertainty.

For example, with a median household income of $34,445, blacks are officially the poorest people in the United States; trailing the Hispanics, who are equipped with an median household income of $40,946.
Yet, too many of our songs, too many of our television shows, and too many of our movies deliver contumacious messages about "getting paid" and "making paper."

There's an arrogance in our entertainers, our actors and our athletes that illuminates our socioeconomic plight even that much more.

Black people it pains me to say this, but "we're not getting paper." Instead, we are poor and destitute. We lack ownership, yet we embrace being owned. There's nothing glamorous about finishing last in median income.

And it's certainly nothing to be proud of.

Come on man... let's get over ourselves and start re-examining our goals and expectations.
70 percent of black women are single. And most black films focus on relationships. But given the high number of single parent homes and lonely souls in Black America, one has to wonder how credible these films are.

The intent here is not to come off as pompous or condescending. I just don't see the point in sugarcoating our inevitable genocide any longer.
Wayne Hodges, an MBA from St. Mary University, is the Editor-in-Chief of “Mass Appeal News.” He's also a business columnist for the Atlanta Post, he’s a Democrat reporter for the Examiner, and he’s a film critic with ILoveBlackMovies.com.

'South Park' takes shots at Tyler Perry

South Park is a show that takes no prisoners.  Sometimes they can be brutal, and when your name is mentioned on the show, you might as well prepare to be embarrassed.  The latest victim of the show is Tyler Perry, who is presented as “Funny Bot,” a woman in a dress who tells silly stereotypical jokes that make you laugh over and over again.  Every time Funny Bot throws out a catch phrase (“Oh lawud, this chicken sho is hot!”), someone hands him a dollar.   He is also, by the way, presented as the greatest threat to all of man-kind by President Barack Obama (you can see a clip by clicking here).

Personally, as a person who has been a fan of South Park since the show was started 15 years ago, I felt that they went light on Tyler Perry.  Aaron McGruder, creator of “The Booondocks,” went all-in on Tyler, insinuating that Perry is gay and engages in sexual harassment on the set.  The South Park folks don’t seem to go there, which surprises me, because they’ve put the hammer down on Michael Jackson and Tom Cruise in the past.

This is, of course, not the first time someone criticized or poked fun at Tyler Perry.  Spike Lee has gone hard against Perry for years, with Perry responding in a way that shows that the criticism has really gotten to him.  The best thing for Perry to remember is that the bigger you are, the more haters you have; so the brother should just keep it moving.

At the same time, Perry is well-aware that the bulk of his success on-stage and on-screen occurred because he got up one day and wondered what would happen if he were to put on a dress.  A large chunk of Madea’s success (as well as Big Momma, which really makes me roll my eyes) is a reflection of the fact that the black audience hasn’t matured and evolved as much as we would like to think.   One can’t imagine a white man making a movie in a dress and expecting the film to be #1 at the box office.  But that did happen 25 years ago when Robin Williams (Mrs. Doubtfire) and Dustin Hoffman (Tootsie) did the exact same thing. But the fact remains that Williams and Hoffman only put on dresses once or twice; they didn’t try to make an entire franchise out of it.

Perhaps one day black people will get some power in cinema without having to do things that are a bit primitive and immature.  As the critically-acclaimed actor Jeffrey Wright said the other day, “There is no Black Cinema.”  Black people must obtain the capital to begin telling a multitude of stories, not just the ones that remind white people that we are fun to laugh at.  So, perhaps by putting on a dress for a few years, Tyler Perry can open up black cinema for something a bit deeper and significant.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Professor at Syracuse University and founder of the Your Black World Coalition.  To join the Your Black World Coalition, please visit YourBlackWorld.com.

Funnybot
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PARKJimmy Valmer,Timmy,more...

Tyler Perry: ‘Spike Lee Can Go Straight To Hell’

Tyler Perry has been waging a war of words with Spike Lee ever since the latter described Perry’s sitcoms Meet the Browns and House of Payne as “coonery” and “buffoonery.” Sick and filthy (that’s creole speak for tired) of the criticism, Perry let his nuts hang by lambasting Lee during a press conference in Beverly Hills on Tuesday.

“I’m so sick of hearing about damn Spike Lee. Spike can go straight to hell! You can print that. I am sick of him talking about me, I am sick of him saying, ‘This is a coon; this is a buffoon.’ I am sick of him talking about black people going to see movies. This is what he said: ‘You vote by what you see,’ as if black people don’t know what they want to see.”

“I am sick of him — he talked about Whoopi, he talked about Oprah, he talked about me, he talked about Clint Eastwood. Spike needs to shut the hell up! I’ve never seen Jewish people attack Seinfeld and say, ‘This is a stereotype.’”

“I’ve never seen Italian people attack The Sopranos, I’ve never seen Jewish people complaining about Mrs. Doubtfire or Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie. I never saw it. It’s always black people, and this is something that I cannot undo. … We don’t have to worry about anybody else trying to destroy us and take shots because we do it to ourselves.” (source)

Black Males Feel BASHED By "For Colored Girls" Movie?

by Natasha

 

Tyler Perry's "For Colored Girls" movie may have raked in the dough to the tune of $20.1 millie and landed at the #3 spot at the Box Office opening weekend (even though it was shown on half as many screens as the #1 and #2 movies).  But even with the relative success of his stage play adaptation, there are some (possibly many) black men who are up in arms about how the movie put them in a bad light to the rest of the world.

Y'all know I have my thoughts on that ish.  But check out the article written by a black male Washington Post writer who blames Tyler for the way black men are portrayed in movies, especially in his latest.
Washington Post writer Courtland Milloy took a slightly comedic approach to his For Colored Girl complaints that I personally heard from other black men as well this weekend.   Here's the article (some parts removed for length reasons):

Can anyone name a movie that came out recently starring a black man who wasn't a sociopath? Someone who had a terrific screen presence, like a young Paul Robeson? And he portrayed a character who was complex and fully drawn? Did he respect black women, too?

Anybody saw that movie? I didn't. But surely it's out there somewhere, right? An alternative to those Tyler Perry films portraying black men as Satan's gift to black women? But where is it?

Maybe I didn't hear about it because of all the buzz over Perry's "For Colored Girls," which opened Friday and is based on Ntozake Shange's 1975 stage play, "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf."

Or maybe I didn't hear about it because I was retching too loudly after seeing "For Colored Girls" - and reading so many inexplicably glowing reviews.

"This movie is powerful," Demetria L. Lucas wrote recently in Essence, the nation's premier magazine for black women. "It is incredible. The performances in it are astonishing, but most of all, this film will leave you lifted."

Me, I thought the movie should have renamed: For Black Men Who Have Considered Homicide After Watching Another Perry Movie.

"Oscar buzz, breaking news," read the Hollywood Reporter on Friday. "Will 'For Colored Girls' blindside Tyler Perry's critics?"

Too late. I was blindsided while watching the movie, especially when superstar Janet Jackson appeared on screen looking like Michael Jackson with breast implants.
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"Don't laugh," says Shadow and Act, an online publication about black films and filmmakers. " 'For Colored Girls,' an Oscar contender?"
Oscar for what?

In the category for best infection of a black woman with a sexually transmitted disease that renders her infertile. . . . And the winner is: Black man.

For best down-low, double-dealing husband who has sex with wife while sneaking around having sex with men on the streets. . . . And the winner is: Black man.

What an awful year for movies featuring black actors. Samuel L. Jackson in "Unthinkable." Thoughtless would be more like it. "Brooklyn's Finest" had a nice cast, with Don Cheadle and Wesley Snipes. But Richard Gere and Ethan Hawke got top billing. "Our Family Wedding" with Forrest Whitaker was okay. But how many black wedding comedies can you watch. Even preacher T.D. Jakes is coming out with his own copycat wedding movie next year.

Surely Spike Lee and Denzel Washington could team up for a sweeping historical drama - say, a black sharecropper's son, educated in a one-room schoolhouse built by slaves in Alabama, who grows up to become one of Wall Street's most powerful CEOs.

Smarter than Gordon Gekko, but more complex. With a cameo appearance by former Merrill Lynch chief executive Stanley O'Neal.

Maybe you saw the kind of movie I'm talking about. If not, maybe it's time to make one.
SOURCE

Hmm.  My take?  This movie was a true representation of real and horrific events that many black women (and women of all races) suffer through during their lives.  Many of those events are at the hands of men.  And in For Colored Girls, at the hands of black men specifically.  But we can't and shouldn't ignore these things simply because of the ignorant folks who will generalize a few men on a movie screen to all 20 million+ black men in America.

In my experiences in life (and even backed up by a few controversial scientific studies), black women are treated without empathy, without respect, without praise, and quite honestly, worse than the other gender and many other races.  I would go so far as to say one of the worst when it comes to how we are perceived --thanks to sweeping and usually incorrect stereotypes perpetuated by the masses and media.  This movie truthfully and tastefully showcases these hardships women go through on the daily like abortion and rape and molestation and oversexualization and cheating and STDs.  So if the movie slightly affects how black men are perceived, then so be it.  At what point do we stand up and take a bold stance to air out the issues in order to combat them?  When will we have to stop apologizing for being a black woman?  We have these issues--which many times include the black man--and they need to be addressed.  PERIOD.  If we don't address them, who will?

The last thing on my mind while watching this movie was, "I wonder how the black man feels."  There were MUCH bigger issues at hand.  And quite honestly, the black men who felt threatened by the visuals and actions of the men portrayed on the screen, should maybe channel that anger into changing the root of the problem in their own communities.

I do agree with Mr. Milloy, however, that this was far from an uplifting movie.  I barely found half of a moment of joy or upliftment.  The ish was depressing.  But needed.

While Tyler is not responsible for the original literary work, he did make it come to life on a large Hollywood scale, which made it even more powerful.  I had to have not one, but SEVERAL drinks after seeing the movie.  So yes, it was difficult to process or even discuss right away.  And instead of missing the entire point of it all and whine about how it made black men look, how about we focus on the fact these ARE relevant problems to our community today.  And we should focus on fixing that fact.
Your thoughts?

FYI: Tyler stated on his interview on the "Today Show" that he took it upon himself to add in Hill Harper's cop character (the only "good guy" in the movie), as he didn't want his fellow brothas to feel and appear totally bashed.  He commented that he wanted to show a different, more loving side of the black male.

Tale of the Titans: Black Filmmakers Spike Lee and Tyler Perry

Though several black film directors look to him as a mentor in Hollywood, Spike Lee hasn't been too pleased with Tinsletown's most successful black filmmaker of the day, Tyler Perry.

Lee has been very vocal about his frustration with the images of black America shown in some of Perry's films, saying, "We shouldn't think that Tyler Perry is going to make the same film that I am going to make...but at the same time, for me, the imaging is troubling and harkens back to 'Amos n' Andy.'"

In response to the criticism, Perry told a '60 Minutes' reporter that Lee's comments "pissed him off" and were "insulting" because he creates all of his characters as "bait to get people talking about God, love, family and faith."

Despite them appearing to be polar opposites, both filmmaking icons have more than just a few things in common.

BlackVoices.com explores how both acclaimed directors have proved themselves to be viable commodities – helping to break the careers of new talent, while transforming and resurrecting the careers of other legendary actors -- all the while becoming their own men and unapologetically making the types of films they are passionate about.

By Bridget Bland

Janet Jackson’s Promo Poster For New Tyler Perry Movie “For Colored Girls”

Janet Jackson looks a little scary on the movie poster for Tyler Perry’s “For Colored Girls.” Are you a fan of Tyler Perry movies?  This film hits theaters in November.