This week, during an interview with Keke Palmer on her podcast, Baby, This is Keke Palmer, Black media mogul Tyler Perry went off on critics, who have again accused him of making underwhelming art and employing negative stereotypes to do so. The mogul, whose work has spanned several decades, has proven to be not just one of the most formidable entities in Black Hollywood but Hollywood as a whole, being the only African American outright owner of a major production studio.
While Perry is known for churning out plays and cinema that have garnered him a massive audience, as well as a bank account, the wealth has still not bought Perry any silence from critics, or his art any real respect. Some, including Perry, argue that he should be allowed to make art that does not have to be for “highbrow negroes,” just as white people have the freedom, to do so. The problem is that Perry wants to serve cheap beer in champagne glasses; he wants the honor of sophistication on a bottom-shelf budget while essentially making cinema with the depth of Mentos commercials. White filmmakers who indulge in the ridiculous accept what that reception looks like. Adam Sandler, who produces most of his films through his production company, Happy Madison, may have played a serious role or two. Still, he is aware that his legacy in film is slapstick comedy, and at the very least on the rare occasion he does have a serious role, it is presented in a way to be taken seriously.
Black art deserves the right to mediocrity, just like any other demographic, but that mediocrity should not consistently come from the top. When given the opportunity to make Tyler Perry Studios a bastion of amazing Black cinema, in a spectrum broader than cheap laughs and even cheaper wigs, Perry seems content with the stagnation that is allowed when you sign your own checks and, therefore, don’t need checks and balances.
Tyler Perry dismisses ‘highbrow negroes’ criticizing his films: “who are you to be able to say which Black story is important … get out of here with that bullshit.” https://t.co/veLHFOyJYp pic.twitter.com/AdnplOopjj
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) July 24, 2024
His brand of production is indicative of someone who has the room to grow but refuses, almost purposely defiant, to progress or to possibly hide the incapability for it.
Atlanta, home to Tyler Perry Studios, may love Perry, but that did not keep his brand of conveyor belt art from being parodied in the TV show of the same name. What city wouldn’t love a philanthropic golden child who has paid off Christmas layaways, handed out turkeys and paid off old property taxes? Perry is generous, but of course, someone who gets tens of millions in tax breaks pays a smaller percentage in taxes than the average American (and deprives local area schools of valuable tax money), including a tax break for his plane, would have money to burn. Sometimes it goes to the actors; Cory Hardrict, Meagan Good, and Taraji P. Henson all sing Tyler’s praises when it comes to bridging the pay equity gap for Black and/or female actors, but not only do these actors deserve better pay, they also deserve better roles.
Black actors should have the chance to be cast in movies that win major awards, and not saying that white award shows are the litmus for good art, but these are hardly roles which acting legacies lean upon for credibility. Tyler Perry has the ability to upgrade these roles, enriching his own legacy and propelling these actors’ careers even more, but he refuses to outsource, dosing out a bittersweet experience of high pay with high ridicule.
The roles are not good because the writing, production and directing are not, not saying Perry is incapable of making good work, he just does not make good work. With Atlanta being the Black entertainment capital and the scammer capital, it is hard not to watch a TP production and not feel that you just experienced both. In an Instagram post from the beginning of 2020, Perry shows off 8 different scripts and boasts, “I have no writers room, nobody writes any of my work, I write it all”….I wrote all of these scripts by myself, in 2019. What’s my point? WORK ETHIC!” “WORK ETHIC,” was also the title of the Atlanta episode that parodies Perry.
A major problem for Perry is that he has confused hard work with good work, and it shows.
Yes, Black people are owed pure ridiculous joy, that does not have to be tied to some reminder of how hard it is to be Black, but that does not mean that it must be devoid of a decent amount of creativity that shows the audience you at least tried. Perry defends himself by stating “We’re talking a large portion of my fans who are disenfranchised, who cannot get in the Volvo and go to therapy on the weekend.” Tyler wants to tell stories for the blue-collar Black American, but what about the blue-collar Black American makes them unworthy of solid plot lines? What makes them unworthy of a story that has a decent wig budget and a continuity supervisor? Why are so many of the film’s plotlines centered around a Black woman suffering or negative stereotypes? If the aim is to have comedy that sets Black people free, why is there still the employment of stereotypes that set Black people back?
Tyler Perry’s talent is in the innovation and production and seeing a market opening and striking effectively enough to have a stronghold. The problem with having such a stronghold is that it is easy to confuse doing it first with doing it best. A man worth a billion dollars could have a more successful run if he spent more time delegating duties instead of pretending he is best suited for every single job. It is absolutely fine for an artist to want to put a craft in any way, shape, or form that suits them, but that artist should be open to the criticism that comes with deciding to produce a lackluster product. While Perry attempts to collect as many commas in his bios as he does in his checks, he has to be painfully aware that his legacy of cinema will not be remembered as anything worth remembering.
If Perry is doing anyone a disservice, it’s himself.
Even though Perry has been honored by the Academy Awards and the Primetime Emmy’s for humanitarian work, with such a large catalog of work, he has yet to receive a “highbrow” award for the actual crafting of any of his productions. Perry isn’t required to make quality entertainment, but what a lazy use of a legacy. When given the opportunity to highlight amazing Black art, art from talented screenwriters, talented directors and even more talented actors, Perry would rather continue the one-man-show ethic, rushing productions without acknowledging plot holes or richness of craft.
Tyler Perry thinks he’s doing the work of Zora Neale Hurston, talking about some high brow negros…I’m so weak 😭
— fragrance and foolishness (@Brieyonce) July 24, 2024
At the end of the day, Perry will probably not change his formula. He is a billionaire, so clearly, the formula worked for him. He was able to serve a niche market and flourish where others had not yet. Unfortunately for Perry, flourishing and blooming are not synonymous, and while his garden bears plenty of fruit, it is still not ripe enough to satisfy anything, but a basic hunger.
