The Queen's Chair: The De-Masculinzation of Black Men in Comedy
I had an interesting discussion with a co-worker, Nate, about Tyler Perry the other day. In between commercial breaks during a guest hosting spot, he asked me what I thought about Tyler Perry. Spike Lee has been criticizing his directorialship, his films, and his buffoonery. Honestly, I think both writers are brilliant in their own rights. However Perry has become more mainstream than Lee and Spike is perhaps a better storyteller and has a better cinematic eye.
The thing that annoys me is that we have more filmmakers now than we did 20 years ago, but I'm tired of both black and white folks thinking that we are one monogamous culture. We all don't share the same experiences. I didn't grow up in a ghetto, I'm not an unwed mother, I grew up with two parents, and I don't just like to listen to black music and eat greasy fried foods. I'm West Indian and have a whole different experience.
My co-workers issue. Perry's portrayal of Madea. Yes, most of us know someone similar to her. But he was bothered by that because some (male) comedians have taken the impersonate-a -woman-for- laughs route and it has backfired. Flip Wilson did it, but most people don't remember anything else comedy-wise that he did. Miguel Nunez did this in the movie, Jawana Man. Other than the movie, Life, and a short-lived series on Fox with Avery Brooks from the Fresh Prince, what else did he go on to do?
Jamie Fox, is one of the few exceptions. He did Wanda on "In Living Color". Fox went on to win an Acting Male Oscar for the film, Ray. He has recorded albums and is a classically trained musician. Now comedian Robin Williams did Mrs. Doubtfire and was funny. He also won an best supporting acting honor for the film, Good Will Hunting. So he escaped what I call "the curse".
I had to really think about this because Nate had a point. Richard Pryor and Redd Foxx never dressed up as a woman for laughs. Neither did Bill Cosby or Bernie Mac. In show business, male males should get laughs for their material not because they look dumb in a dress. And George Carlin, a white male I consider funny, never had to do that either. Come on, can you see Carlos Mencia in a dress?. Please, that's not ever happening.
The criticism is valid because we are talking about the black male image in comedy.We have to put up with white men in black face that distort our features and our command of the English language. Yes, it was buffoonish. And we remained quiet. My question: how much more are we willing to put up with for a laugh?
The thing that annoys me is that we have more filmmakers now than we did 20 years ago, but I'm tired of both black and white folks thinking that we are one monogamous culture. We all don't share the same experiences. I didn't grow up in a ghetto, I'm not an unwed mother, I grew up with two parents, and I don't just like to listen to black music and eat greasy fried foods. I'm West Indian and have a whole different experience.
My co-workers issue. Perry's portrayal of Madea. Yes, most of us know someone similar to her. But he was bothered by that because some (male) comedians have taken the impersonate-a -woman-for- laughs route and it has backfired. Flip Wilson did it, but most people don't remember anything else comedy-wise that he did. Miguel Nunez did this in the movie, Jawana Man. Other than the movie, Life, and a short-lived series on Fox with Avery Brooks from the Fresh Prince, what else did he go on to do?
Jamie Fox, is one of the few exceptions. He did Wanda on "In Living Color". Fox went on to win an Acting Male Oscar for the film, Ray. He has recorded albums and is a classically trained musician. Now comedian Robin Williams did Mrs. Doubtfire and was funny. He also won an best supporting acting honor for the film, Good Will Hunting. So he escaped what I call "the curse".
I had to really think about this because Nate had a point. Richard Pryor and Redd Foxx never dressed up as a woman for laughs. Neither did Bill Cosby or Bernie Mac. In show business, male males should get laughs for their material not because they look dumb in a dress. And George Carlin, a white male I consider funny, never had to do that either. Come on, can you see Carlos Mencia in a dress?. Please, that's not ever happening.
The criticism is valid because we are talking about the black male image in comedy.We have to put up with white men in black face that distort our features and our command of the English language. Yes, it was buffoonish. And we remained quiet. My question: how much more are we willing to put up with for a laugh?
Although I understand your coworker, Nate's point there are however people who do have lots of people in their lives like the Madeas of the world who they emulate and immitate due to being reared by people like Madea in absence of male figures. We called these women Big Mama when I was growing up.
I really think that Spike Lee should allow Perry to do his thing as it is Perry's own personal experiences that he is writing about which I and many other Black Americans can relate to. For those of us who have slightly differenct experiences (perhaps like Nate), then I'd say write movie and play scripts to reflect those experiences. Let's see all of the Black experience, but don't "down" someone for a different experience.