CONGRATS TYLER PERRY?
Let me declare this in the early and get it out of the way.
I’m not a Tyler Perry fan.
His work doesn’t move me, inspire me nor do I find it funny.
I did enjoy his plays when I was younger but as his work came to screen it felt more like it wasn’t saying things I found were as uplifting as those around me were claiming it to be.
But this man, being an incredible success in a world that doesn’t appreciate blackness portrayed in any form, has achieved a tremendous amount and deserves the accolades being showered on him. Recently opening his full studio to the public in a large ceremony surrounded by the best of Black American Hollywood, he has created a Black cultural focal point representing the ideals of Black Excellence.
With a studio lot large enough to swallow several others in Hollywood combined and housing 12 stages which he has dedicated to Black Icons of entertainment, it truly is a milestone in Black American Entertainment History.
But some feel it isn’t getting the true attention it deserves from others in the black community.
How could anyone see this remarkable achievement by this black man and not laud it? Well to be honest I found myself in several places around this topic and wasn’t sure if I could come to a definitive position that wouldn’t upset people.
The work that he has created over the last few years has been extensive but has been critiqued as problematic in its themes and portrayals of black people. He does invest heavily in black talent with his several shows and film projects that employ numerous black actors, writers and crew but this comes with the asterisk of the work having denigrating overtones.
From the Mammy impression of Madea that leans towards Minstrelsy, to the constant suffering of black women in his films, to the colourism and misogyny that often doesn’t get dismissed or acknowledged, there’s a litany of reinforced tropes and concepts that stain the plethora of his work.
So on one hand we have an artist producing an enormity of work that employs and represents black people, while on the other he is seen as a creator of work that reinforces negative ideas of the Black Lived Experience for profit.
And he definitely has made profit, with his current estimated Net Worth last estimated at US $600 Million. His large amount of work is making him incredibly wealthy which has allowed him to invest in this massive 330 acre studio lot that was previously a Confederate Army Base.
This perfectly represents the doubled edged sword where the only way to make a dent culturally as black entertainers is to make your own, as is often echoed by those who down cry calls for diversity and visibility within traditionally white spaces in screen and theater.
But it comes at the cost of portrayals of us that have not been the most uplifting or flattering when objectively examined.
Tyler Perry often argues that the audience for his work is very much aware of what they want and that he is speaking directly to a market that understands what he is trying to achieve and that is true.
And his most ardent fans and defenders will very much echo and uphold this belief. But when our only means of success and progression has to come at the expense of who we are and portraying ourselves in negative ways, then is it the best means of success?
Are we only allowed to measure our merit by way of monetary value in society and our impact by way of how much we have purchased or given monetarily to others?
It leaves me torn.
The fact that Perry was able to contribute to a cultural phenom like Black Panther by letting his own studio space be used for shooting scenes, gives me hope that this future venture will be the way forward in creating far more art that better represents Black People as a whole.
Listen, I like many others am rooting for Everybody Black, but at the same time I know that all skin folk are not my kin folk and we cannot only be doing this for a cheque.
It also doesn’t mean that if you like his work somehow you are a bad person. There has to be space for us as Black People to have art that is not expected to be perfect or great on every single attempt.
But, if all we are is money motivated then we are gonna wind up selling each other out and not propping each other up.
So yes I can say congrats to Tyler Perry, but I can only hope that the work that comes from this won’t be like the work that got us here.