life: For Colored Girls… aka not for colored Men?

I have been hearing a lot about Tyler Perry’s latest “uplifting” film, For Colored Girls, which was released in theaters on November 5th of this year (happy birthday mom). The biggest buzz is about how empowering it is to black women. One critic hailed Perry’s remake of the original stage play as “daring, provocative, and a little arrogant” stating that “some in the audience will ‘get it’ and that’s all that matters (Bill Gibron, filmcritic.com).” Others bash it saying, “Perry tries to be faithful to the play and also to his own boldly and simply told stories, and the two styles don’t fit together (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times).” As it goes I have heard more positive reviews than negative from my peers who advise that I should see it so that I can get a glimpse of what “black women have to go through on the daily basis.” Instead, I wonder if I, or anybody else should view this movie at all.

The majority of Perry’s films follow a format that most in the African American community view as empowering, with all star casts and female underdogs who overcome immense amounts of adversity seen in the form of their male counterparts, who are usually their significant others. To me, his formula is not empowering at all and is in fact the opposite. I see his formula in a totally different way. I see victimized women and evil black men. In the majority of the films I have seen by him, I see women who have no sense of direction. Someone who is portrayed almost as, if not more, helpless than a mere newborn. The women in these films constantly make irrational decisions based on what they see as love until the very end of the film where, in a moment of epiphany, they decide to exit their situation “gracefully”. The weakness of the characters is masked by strong acting often times. The image of the males in these movies is far bleaker than that of women. The male figures are constantly shown as extremely aggressive, abusive, misogynistic, shiftless and just down right lascivious. In simpler terms, they embody the Black Buck stereotype of African Americans or virtually sex crazed animals. When I see the films he has made, I am automatically struck to think, “Damn. Am I really that bad of a person?” Should black men be offended by Perry’s self loathsome portrayal of the African American male or is this what we deserve for years of portraying women in the way we portray them in media as mere objects of desire? What happened to the films in which we were portrayed as strong and nurturing? The Heathcliff Huxtable-esque male. What happened to that image? What happened to the Spike Lee films that empowered both men and women and gave them a sense of belonging in a world that tells them that they aren’t good enough? What happened to the John Singleton films (the old John singleton films) that portrayed the male and father figure as a man who uplifts his family as well as his community? Is this really how we view each other now-a-days? I ask these questions as I constantly sit back and watch our image as black males deteriorate.

Some say Tyler Perry is the new Spike Lee, I disagree. Reason being, Spike Lee has balance. For every negative image tree was a positive. Every villain was not a black person. Every film was not about race. Yet he still told uplifting stories. Do i believe Perry is a bad guy? Not at all. I believe his heart is in the right place, I just do not agree with his delivery. He is still new to the game though, there is plenty of time for him to expand his repertoire. As for Perry’s new film, I am a bit biased and skeptical. But I guess I cannot really judge the film until Isee it for myself. But as I purchase my ticket, I brace myself for the worst.