This week, we are discussing the Chitlin' Circuit and the binary created between "legitimate" black theater and the "Chitlin' Circuit." Tyler Perry can be read as one of the most successful playwrights in African American Theatre history. His plays and videos have grossed over 75 million dollars. Considering Dubois' assertion that black theater should be " by, about, for and near" black people, how do you think Perry answers this call? Some prompts to consider are as follows: Is it possible to understand African American theater as theater that speaks to specific African American experiences within the larger scope of Black Theater created around the world? How do you think that Perry speaks to the immediate concerns, trials, triumphs and tribulations of everyday black people? How does this play address many of the key themes discussed by African American playwrights? How does Perry bridge the ideals of Parks and Dubois in his work?
When I was about thirteen years old I began to watch Tyler Perry’s plays on dvd with a lot of my family members. Like other’s said in class the way I learned about Tyler Perry was after church everyone would have Sunday dinner and then sit down and watch Tyler Perry. The thing that is so special to me about Tyler Perry is his versatility his is a play wright, movie producer, and actor. That is amazing for the longest I did not know that Tyler Perry was playing the character Madea probably because this character is a woman. In one of my earlier blog’s this semester I wrote about how being gay or homosexual in the black community is not really accepted but Tyler Perry can dress like a woman and act like a woman in his plays and movies isn’t that homosexual? If any black male walked on the streets dressed like a woman they would be considered gay, homosexual, or a cross dresser. But why can Tyler Perry do it? I think it is accepted in the black community because he is make it funny when playing the character Madea not really seen as gay or homosexual. I think Tyler Perry is great for the black community and even I am not interested in writing plays or making movies he is someone I look up to as a leader.
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ReplyDeleteDubois believed that black theater should be for, by, about and for black people, and I believe Tyler Perry takes this into account when writing his plays. Perry places a lot of black experience into his plays that a vast majority of black people can relate to in his plays. For example, in the black community and culture there is always that one positive female figure that one can go to with a problem and receive advice and direction from. In Perry's plays he created this superwoman figure Madea, which is a symbolic figure in his plays and can be relate to the African American culture. I believe it is possible to understand African American as theater that speaks to specific African American experiences, because not all black experiences are similar. There may be some things that one audience member may be able to relate to more than another audience member, but that is what makes Perry's play so unique. He is able to write a wide range of different black experiences in the countless number of success plays he has written. In addition, what makes Tyler Perry such an unique writer is that he is able to escape the traditional way of how black theater is written during the Chitlin Circuit, and add his own flavor and style but still address the black experience. I Can Do Bad All by Myself addresses the several themes by African American playwrights, a struggling woman with kids must decide whether to change her ways or life a carefree life. Traditionally, Dubois and Parks may not agree with Tyler Perry's work because of his writing style and use of comedic affect in his plays, but as a viewer when one looks deeper into the his plays, Dubois will agree that his plays are for, by, about and made for black people.
ReplyDeleteAfrican-American theatre is something that prior to this semester I had little to no knowledge of the art form but after this class I now find myself extremely interested in history and development of black expressiveness within acting. African-American theatre is just one portion of the larger concept of black theatre that is seen in countries across the world. African-American theatre expresses the specific struggles that blacks in America have dealt with ranging from skin tone, hair style, segregation and racism amongst blacks in the black community. Many black people from different countries have dealt with these experiences in different forms because of their location which they show in their own words and action within black theatre. Some works within black theatre, like The Blacks, can be easily interpreted as an American work but it is really written by a French man yet it is completely relevant to African-American life because of shared forms of discrimination amongst blacks across the world. Tyler Perry is able to be an outlet for modern African-Americans in everyday life. The characters created by Perry help to unify many black people from different places because he uses themes are interchangeable amongst black communities across the US. His use of comedy creates a following outside of the black community which in turn produces awareness of a type black life in America. Perry uses this forum to continue Dubois’ idea that that black theater should be “by, about, for and near" black people, by using characters that are found in modern black communities and overemphasizing certain parts of black life in America.
ReplyDeleteI was having a conversation at work with someone about Tyler Perry’s newest film “Why Did I Get Married Too”. The conversation was overheard by a guy, who happens to be white and come from a family that consisted of parents that both have college degrees and professional jobs. The guy interrupted us by saying that he does not understand Perry’s productions nor finds them funny. That’s when I went on to tell him that it doesn’t surprise me that he is not a fan of Perry because Perry writes for the audience that can relate to the themes of what he focuses on, the black audience. Perry is a big advocate of what D.E.B. Debois said black theater, that it should be “by, about, for and near” black people. Family, religion, alcoholism, and abuse are all universal themes, but Perry targets them to a black audience. He does this by center these themes around black culture, music, neighborhoods and situatios, making the black audience able to clearly identify them and relate them to their lives. I think that Perry addresses concerns and triumphs of everyday black people that other playwrights chose to ignore. Lecture April 27, it was said that Perry shows the imperfections of families. For example, if you are successful it doesn’t mean that everyone else that surrounds you is successful as well. In “Diary of a Mad Black Woman” a successful black male lawyer, had a wife who was addicted to drugs and resorted to life on the streets. I think that Perry goes beyond what African-American playwrights before him have done. Amiri Baraka addressed interracial relationships by showing a short-term interraction between a black man and a white on a subway. Baraka went out the box of the time The Dutchman was written by addressing interracial relationships, however, the relationship did not lead to anything outside of the subway. How Perry differs from Baraka is that he shows a full blown relationship between two minorities in “I Can Do Bad By Myself.” He shows the skepticism of the couple at the beginning of the relationship to the love that grew between the two from different experiences.
ReplyDeleteMy first experience of Tyler Perry came from going to see Diary of a Mad Black Woman while in high school. I went to the movie expecting to see a pure comedy along the lines of the Nutty Professor. I left the movie thinking it had some briefly funny parts, but felt the situation were forced to preach a specific point. I found the preaching of messages to be excessive as I didn’t understand why is was necessary in the movie. Perry’s preaching concept seems more appropriate after learning the theatrical roots of his work while he toured on the church/chitlin’ circuit. He tackles many of the issues facing the African American community in a typically very faith based method involving the typical functions of the stereotypical African American family structure. I find Spike Lee’s distain for Perry a natural fit as in viewing Perry’s work it struck me as the exact opposite of Spikes more hard, street approach to issues. I find it very interesting that such a success on the church circuit features a cross dressing male, something perhaps of a taboo nature in the religious community, perhaps making it such a ridiculous concept to enact it reality that it provides the comedic relief to constant re-enforcement of messages. I cannot really speak for the messages conveyed in Perry’s television shows as I found them absolutely unwatchable, something I cant say for almost any other mainstream African American centered television show from Martin, Jaime Foxx, and The Fresh Prince to The Cosby Show and Family Matters.
ReplyDeleteTyler Perry's work demonstrates his strong religious viewpoints and upbringing and message in a humorous and interesting way in his productions/films. He is definitely different from other African American trail blazers before him. His religious method hits an entirely forgot about group in middle class African Americans that wield a huge pocket book and can affect box office numbers with the right movie and Tyler Perry caters his films to reach these audiences.
ReplyDeleteI believe Tyler Perry completely fulfills Dubois’ view that African American theater should be “by, about, for and near black people.” I recently attended Tyler Perry’s play Madea’s Big Happy Family and although I’m white and enjoyed the play immensely, it was obviously by African Americans because everyone in the cast was African American. It was about Af Am people and their lives. It was for Af Am because it revolved around realistic struggles and triumphs that Af Am people face and it was near Af Am people because it was in Kansas City, Missouri at the Sprint Center and the place was packed! As I said in class, my mother and I only saw a dozen or two other white people while we were there. Taking into account the laughter, shouts, singing and Amens heard throughout the Sprint Center, the play was loved by many. I think Tyler Perry is an African American theater genius. He created a new, hip way to speak to a young generation of African Americans about everyday problems that many people endure. Perry uses African American vernacular, the Christian faith, comedy, pop culture references and music to spread his message that Jesus is the answer, it’s okay to laugh the tears away, and that there’s no shame in having problems and asking for help. Perry doesn’t include racism and inequality in his plays, like in previous plays we have read, because it’s a given and doesn’t need to be directly discussed (lecture 4.27.10).
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ReplyDeleteFor us by us, that sounds like ads for fubu clothing remember that? Well those four words can implemented to represent more than just clothing. We are talking about words that Dubois stated about black theater and why it belongs to the black identity. Each culture possesses a degree of identity juxtaposed within their culture that represent who they are. For example the superwoman identity is always and will be represented in the black cultural identity. She is the strong and courageous woman who takes charge, giving moral advice to the younger generations about how to cope with life and their struggles. For those of you who need a better example let us examine Tyler Perry’s Madea character. Her antics are quite absurd for the average elder you know in a community. He did mention the creation of this character resembled characteristics of elderly women in his community. He said “We all had them.” For those of us who do not live in black communities would not understand this cultural identity. However Tyler plays this superwoman, gun toting, brash, loud mouth, always taking charge attitude. Very comical but these elements are drawn from real women Tyler once knew. Tyler’s work just does not just label identities in characters that the black community struggles with. He gives you an inside view of their lives and how it effects those around them. That way these characters can relate to the audience who is watching and letting them know someone does understand. Tyler Perry and his cast just do not demonstrate problems more importantly they give solutions to help those who are watching.
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