Like many others this week, I waited in anticipation for the Friday release of "Madea's Happy Family." My anticipation was elevated after the week long repeated comment from Tyler Perry to Spike Lee to "go to hell!" I sat erect when I first heard Tyler Perry's comment, this coming from a man who best expresses his feelings through his written talent. With all of the negative backlash Tyler has received, especially after his melodrama, "For Colored Girls," he has managed to remain composed and let the venom of critics to not enter his creative vein.
The saying must be true that the pain is much greater when stabbed in the back by family. Spike Lee has made it no secret that he detests the character of Madea or the stereotyped portrayal of the African American family. Spike has gone as far to call Tyler Perry's movies buffoonery. The public argument between the two fueled my curiosity of "Happy Family."
I saw the movie on both Friday and Saturday with racially mixed audiences. Two things happened which made me realize that the TPS brand was needed in cinema. The first ten minutes, I sat paralyzed at the numerous stereotypes that came across he screen. There was the excessive weed smoking, the rude customer service at the fast food chain, the nagging baby mama, the gold digging girlfriend wanting the fast life that only the streets provide, the light skinned pretty sister with "good" hair against the darker skinned sister who wears wigs, and let us not leave out the deep dark family secret regarding rape from an uncle that led to a baby who was raised as a brother and not the son. I could continue to add to the list of stereotypes but I will urge you to see for yourself.
However, once I relaxed my muscles from tension and the crippling judgement, I could see a lovely story unfolding. Could the movie have done without the negative images? I am not so sure. People love to watch what they can identify with. In the case of the TPS productions, I understood why they are such huge attractions. Although the characters are mainly African American, the lesson, the story lines super cede color lines. Around me in the theatre were different ethnicity's who laughed, cried, and talked backed to the screen, because they saw themselves and connected intimate relationships. Besides, in these rough times, everyone needs a laugh.
Side note: African Americans are not the majority or equal players in the film production industry. There is more than enough room for various types of storytelling. Spike Lee, Tyler Perry, T.D Jakes, Tracey Edmonds, and an up and coming film writer all have room to brand themselves and make their mark. Let's get past the crab in the barrel complex already.
During my second viewing on Saturday, a young Caucasian girl about ten or eleven was very vocal during the movie. The scenes of Byron's baby mama, the young girl would say that she was ghetto and needed to be slapped. However, she caused a little commotion as she yelled out that the baby on the screen had nappy hair. Black people around her were highly offended and made it known that her comment was not appreciated.
I didn't understand the offense at all. The younger generation use words like this in their general daily language. How often have we heard the word ghetto on Jerry Springer? How many times has the term nappy been used to describe matted hair regarding any race? Are youth have really gone beyond the color lines. Is this not what our older generations wanted for us to no longer see color. So why is it that when a young Caucasian youth use these terms, we send ourselves right back to the era of segregation? Tyler Perry has done an amazing job of using universal undertones to bring to the forefront dialogue that we still refuse to maturely engage in. We have come to point where Whites, Blacks, Asians, Hispanics can watch an "urban" film together but have not removed the mental blocks that keep us seperated. "Madea's Happy Family" has made me question, how far have we really come?
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