The problem arises because they have both taken different roads. Lee has taken the more sophisticated route, films like a Miracle At St Anna and Inside Man speak hugely about his artistic skill. This is a man who has worked hard perfecting and honing his skill maturely and with a deadly precision that eludes Perry.
Honestly, one of the most underated films of all time.
Tyler Perry on the other hand is a God blessed man. This man has little to no tact when it comes to handling subject matter; he barrels into sensitive situations time and time again, like a bull in a china shop, just with a "pulling peoples' skirts down on s busy street" type of attitude to film making. You'll just be casually watching one of his films and then BANG! With no warning, someone gets raped (For Colored Girls) or dragged out of their own house on their face (Diary Of A Mad Black Woman) and/or killed in a hit and run (Why Did I Get Married Too?). But he is God blessed and who God bless no man can curse, when God opens a door, no man can close it. How is he a blessed man? Well, here's a man who by all intents and purposes shouldn't really do that well as a film director, but breaks box office records? (Madea Goes To Jail was Lionsgate's highest grossing opening film in its 14 year history.) So Tyler Perry might be the most terrible director of all time (which he's not) but because God has made a way for him, there aint no going back.
My favourite film of Perry's.
Spike Lee, however is right, Madea is buffonery, coonery and as my girls and I like to say the epitome of niggerdom (watch his statements here). Madea appeals to the most stereotypical, basic ideas of what black people's natural instincts are; big, loud and ignorant. Spike Lee is right that this is the era where Barack Obama is president of the United States of America, how can this niggerish "yes sa masssa" level of cinema have such a big pull? Let me tell you how. First watch the trailer for Perry's new film Madea's Big Happy Family.
Hahahaha! I can't wait to watch it.
Black people were in slavery for around 400 years (yes, I'm taking it there, because we must understand the depth of their argument). Slavery was abolished around 1833, but black people across the world only got Human Rights (civil rights for the politically correct amongst us) during the 1960s and it is only 2011 so technically we've only had basic human freedom to live and learn for 50 or so years. (Don't start tweeting or emailing me trying to correct me, I'm trying to illustrate this situation not get a grade.) Many black people are still slaves in their minds. NOT EVERYONE IS A SPIKE LEE and is going want to always delve deeper and look for more. I feel like God knows this and wants to use this to help heal some of His people. And that is what Spike Lee doesn't understand.
Tyler Perry's critics do not understand that while his films are at times unbelievable at buying into and compounding ingrained stereotypes of black people, there is a whole community of people his messages of hope and faith are aimed at and fulfill a need for. God is glorified.
And why can't black people laugh? Must we always be downtrodden and remind of our horrible, horrible past? Must we have a finger waved in our face when we're having a laugh? Madea is hilarious. Hallelujer.
WHAT I HATE ABOUT TYLER PERRY is For Colored Girls. I HATE IT. I am a black woman and that was an assault on my eyes, my feelings, my hope. I personally didn't see how I should come out of that feeling better about myself and wanting to keep going. My girlfriends and I went to watch it at Brixton Ritzy; I cried several times and we all tried to fight some man in the same row as us. That to me is the pinnacle of buffonery and coonery. This imaginery land where black women are constantly raped (Anika Noni Rose), out aborting their babies with Macy Gray in a dark alley (Tessa Thompson), religious extremists (Whoopi Goldberg), extreme domestic violence victims (Kimberly Elise), chasing men that don't want us (Loretta Devine) and getting HIV from our downlow husbands (Janet Jackson). OH MY GOOD GOD IN HEAVEN. What is this trying to communicate about modern black women? That you can beat us, rape us, infect us, leave us and abort us but we'll keep on going? GIVE ME A FUCKING BREAK! LOL. Sorry, had to get that off my chest. But you see, here we go again, where I am horrified, there is a world of people out there who relate to this subject matter and we can se that in the figures. Costing him $21million to make and grossing $20.1million in opening weekend? Let me shut my mouth, the people have spoken. I would also like to say that my disdain for the film is not a reflection on the amazing actresses and their performances, I just hate the subject matter.
Other than that, Tyler Perry and Madea are harmless. Leave him alone, Spike Lee. Please. No one asked you. And Tyler Perry, sit down boo. God has got you, don't be telling no one to go straight to hell and all that jazz. Because it's very interesting that Spike Lee started saying all this way back when in 2009 and you only jump up the week before your new film comes out with your fiery words. Whoooops. Did I go to far? Moving on.
Be quiet both of you because I don't see Martin Scorsese and Ron Howard tearing each other down in public. It's embarrassing. Love you both.
Dx
PS. I forgot the mention Kerry Washington in my rant about For Colored Girls. Blood! I don't even remember what branch of the black woman's affliction tree she was heavy laden with.
PPS. This Tyler Perry vs Spike Lee is another manifestation of slavery. Ohhhh! Any one want to writer their disseration on that, please feel free.
Bye! xxx