TheLoop21.com

By: Nsenga Burton, Ph.D. (Add to your loop)
Fri, 10/02/2009 - 06:56

Film mogul Tyler Perry.

It’s true. Tyler Perry is the man in Hollywood. Look up “Golden boy[man]” and his picture should be next to it. Perry is able to green light any film that he makes because of the amount of money he spends making films relative to the amount of money the films make at the box office. For example, Perry’s latest film I Can Do Bad All By Myself was made for $13 million. During opening weekend, it brought in $23,446,785, making a $10 million profit. Since opening weekend, the film has grossed $44,552,477 and stands to gross much more during its release.   

This is not a new phenomenon. In recent years rapper/actor O’Shea “Ice Cube” Jackson had this type of success with his films Player’s Club (1998), Friday (1995), Next Friday (2000) and Barbershop (2002) for the very same reason.  This practice is not new in terms of Black filmmaking.

Historically, Black filmmakers were able to make something out of nothing,  producing movies for Black audiences and making a living for themselves. Oscar Micheaux did it. Ossie Davis did it. Perhaps the greatest example of this is Melvin Van Peebles who made the classic Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971) for $500,000 and grossed $10,000,000.

This film proved to Hollywood that Black people wanted to see Black people in film, and that films with Black themes and casts, could make money at the box office.  This controversial film with a soundtrack produced and performed by Earth, Wind and Fire and investors like Bill Cosby, became the blue print for the Blaxploitation era of film, which spawned some of the most damaging images of Blacks in film ever seen. Hip-Hop and BET were in fact late to the game, but that’s another article.

Critics of Perry’s problematic images in his films, most notably Madea, have reason for concern. There is a tradition of funding and disseminating films featuring portrayals of nihilistic behavior amongst Blacks, stereotypical characters and low production values in Hollywood.  Perry’s films meet this criteria. Before you brand me a hater, I’m not judging Perry, I am saying that there is a history of guaranteed success for films made in the way that Perry makes films.

In his films, Perry attempts to uplift audiences through Christian themed storylines and emphasizing the importance of the Black family and community , not to mention employing Black and Latino actors, who probably would work a lot less if not for his films. When was the last time you had seen Academy Award nominated actresses Angela Bassett or Alfre Woodard in a feature film with a broad release?

Tyler Perry is complicated, but he is not above reproach or critique. People should not be labeled “haters” because they do not enjoy flat characters, stereotypical images, recycled storylines and low production values. To many, his films are much more than that. They are about hope and inspiration and that in my mind is just as important as the production values.

Many who get angry with Perry’s critics often cite his net worth as a defense. “I’m not mad at him for making his money,” or “you can’t knock his hustle.” Well, in the words of President Obama, “Yes, you can.”

So what he’s a millionaire many times over? That does not absolve him from responsibility for the images that he puts out, his alleged mistreatment of writers and contractors, and his inability or unwillingness to develop his characters and storylines. If Ice Cube, Spike Lee, John Singleton and the Hughes Brothers can be critiqued, then so can Perry.

As Perry tries to teach us in his movies, Black people, our behaviors and institutions are not above critique. He also reminds us that money is not the measure of a man.  While money may not be the measure of a man, his films can be. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, all that glitters ain’t gold.

This is the second article in a series on filmmaker Tyler Perry.  Read The Madea Mystique: Tyler Perry's Class Conflict. Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D. is managing editor of The Loop21.com. She also serves as cultural critic for Creative Loafing and writes the Pop Cultural blog, Tune N. She is an Assistant Professor of Communication and Media Studies at Goucher College.
 

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