Tyler Perry by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University Press of Mississippi
Published: 2019-10-16T16:00:00+00:00

Hilton Als: Tyler Perry Simplifies, Commodifies Black Life

Allison Keyes / 2010

© 2010 National Public Radio, Inc. Transcript from an NPR news report titled “Hilton Als: Tyler Perry Simplifies, Commodifies Black Life” as originally broadcast on NPR’s Tell Me More on May 12, 2010, and is used with the permission of NPR. Any unauthorized duplication is strictly prohibited. Copyright © 2010 National Public Radio®. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to National Public Radio. This transcript is provided for personal, noncommercial use only, pursuant to our Terms of Use. Any other use requires NPR’s prior permission. Visit our permissions page for further information.

Filmmaker Tyler Perry has made millions from his screen and stage portrayals of the smart-mouth, wise-cracking character Madea. But some argue that Perry’s characters and movies demean the black community with harmful stereotypes. New Yorker contributing writer Hilton Als talks about his recent piece on this subject.

Allison Keyes: I’m Allison Keyes. This is Tell Me More from NPR News. Michel Martin is away.

Coming up, we take a listen to songs from rising Asian American soul singers. That’s in a few minutes. But first, she is loud, she’s aggressive, she packs heat, and she’s no stranger to jail or to church. And when people make her mad, look out. I’m talking about Madea.

(Soundbite of film)

Unidentified Woman: Who are you?

Tyler Perry: (As Madea) Who are you?

Unidentified Woman: I’m the owner of this house.

Perry: Eh, wrong answer. My granddaughter Helen is the owner of this house. You don’t (beep). You ain’t got no power or no B.

Unidentified Woman: You can’t do this. This is a Vera Wang.

Perry: Who that is? Does she do nails? I need to get my nails did.

Unidentified Woman: That’s it. I’m calling the police.

Perry: I ain’t scared of no po-po, call the po-po (beep). Call the po-po (beep).

Keyes: Madea is the brainchild of the highly successful director, writer, and producer, Tyler Perry. In addition to becoming one of the most popular female characters in comedy, Madea has made Perry rich. His films have grossed nearly $450 million domestically. And now, largely thanks to Madea’s success, Perry is a major player in prestigious movie projects.

He joined Oprah to produce the award-winning film Precious. And he’s currently producing a film version of the acclaimed play For Colored Girls Who’ve Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf. But Tyler Perry’s box office success has earned him the ire of a vocal band of critics. They chide him as a peddler of simplistic morality tales that traffic in tired stereotypes of African Americans.

Hilton Als recently wrote about Perry and Madea for New Yorker magazine. And he joins me now from our New York bureau. Welcome to the program.

Hilton Als: Hello.

Keyes: So, in your piece, “Mama’s Gun: The World of Tyler Perry,” you present him as an ambitious and determined entrepreneur. But you also kind of throw down the gauntlet and call Madea, well, an outdated stereotype. Before I ask you

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