The Student News Site of North Carolina A&T State University

The A&T Register

The Student News Site of North Carolina A&T State University

The A&T Register

The Student News Site of North Carolina A&T State University

The A&T Register

Perry doing ‘bad all by himself’

What do you think of when you hear the words “overdone” and “uncreative?” Is it songs that revolve around a two-step dance like Soulja Boy’s “Bird Walk”; or what about reality T.V. shows, starring D-List celebrities, such as College Hill or The Real World? Well for me, those words bring Tyler Perry to mind!

For a real-life “pauper to prince” story, Tyler Perry has come a long way personally and professionally; however his work continues to disappoint. When his plays first debuted, they were a breath of fresh air, especially since predominate African American issues aren’t typically expressed on the small stage.

Nevertheless, that was almost ten years ago, and since then only two of his movies were completely separate from his plays. If a person were truly about improving and/or perfecting his or her craft, each project would be something new and definitely something different. Tyler Perry has yet to even attempt this feat.

For example, his films are his plays, just all mixed up and without most of the music. There is nothing different about the plot and nothing special or surprising at the end. Some may argue that his T.V. shows, The House of Payne and Meet the Browns, were his attempt toward something new, but clearly spin around characters already introduced in his plays. This lack of creativity irritates me that most.

If you’re going to try and be a “Jack of all trades” think outside your current success box. I mean, where would Will Smith be if he were still acting in multiple spin-offs of Fresh Prince.        

Just because he is a Black producer/writer attempting to explore the dynamics of the Black community and the hardships Black people encounter, no one really wants to call him out on how he’s exploiting it.   He takes full advantage of the Black dynamic, and his new movie, “I can Do Bad All By Myself” is another prime example.

For example, the trailer for “I Can Do Bad All By Myself,” does not give any insight as to what the movie is about. If you haven’t seen the play you’re out of luck. At first, this upset me because it is irresponsible to think people will understand otherwise, but then I was reminded that his target audience is Black America, and we’re already knowledgeable about what goes on in our communities. He did not feel the need to express what we should already know.

That thought process just illustrates how damaging he is to himself by staying close minded and not writing to educate other ethnicities on the ways of our world. In addition, we should hold him to a higher standard because he is Black and he does understand, not just let him continue getting away with these textbook classic tales of life in the ‘hood. Our communities face real problems, real discrepancies.

They are not just full of drug dealers trying to feed their families or women choosing materialistic values over her children. More so, by only producing films that portray the stereotypes, Tyler Perry is encouraging that mindset within people who do not understand our neighborhoods, both Black and non-Black. 

Overall, I will say I do applaud Tyler Perry’s efforts. After all, he is the owner of the first and only African American studio in the country, but he does need to take some time to reevaluate his purpose in his profession.

First, he needs to broaden his prospective. He can’t just work from his own narrow experiences because then he loses out on showing the world how diverse being Black in America can be. Secondly, he needs to collaborate more. He is so worried about having his name on everything for sole rights during its success, that he forgets that working together is one of the fundamentals Black communities were built on.

Also, having sole rights mean he’s the only one to blame when it the project fails and then his brand name loses respect. Most importantly, he needs to move on to something new.

The Madea saga has run its course and it stopped appealing to many a long time ago, but with a graceful exit she may be able to be consider a classic. 

  • LaRia Land
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