ESD Employees called me an Uncle Tom because I hate Tyler Perry Movies!!!

Why?! What is the obsession with the African American culture and movies that involve a cross dressing man in a fat suit pretending to be some fat woman???

Seriously - We were in the break room and all the African Americans in our workplace were there. First I thought how funny it was for the whitest super Christian I know to start talking super slang and in a southern drawl accent to pretend like she was on their level like she always does when she's the only white female in the break room. Then they were talking about how great Tyler Perry was for his films and how he's changed our generation and how no other director or actor has been able to rise up and create such a big impact like he did. When I said I thought Tyler Perry movies were retarded you thought I just spouted blasphemy in front of the inquisition.

One lady dropped and spilt her orange soda all over the floor, and another co-worker looked like he was about to jump across the table and strangle me! I'm not joking!!! I got this huge lecture about how much of a change he's made and the positive impact he's made

Then they asked me to name any other actors or directors that have risen up as much as he had... I don't watch much trash TV or movies so wouldn't know. I should have told them that African Americans represent 1/10th of the US population and just because 1/10th of the population thinks Tyler Perry is God doesn't mean the rest of us do. It's almost like he's worshipped more than Oprah and Obama combined in African American Culture.

And because I couldn't come up with a straight answer I was called an Uncle Tom because I just hate the kind of movies he caters to. I HATE TYLER MOVIES BECAUSE THEY'RE GARBAGE!

Anyways thoughts? Opinions? What should I have said to calm them down after my racist sentence I muttered so they wouldn't have all freaked out??

I just had to Google Tyler Perry, I've never even heard of him before.

Now I know the names of movies to avoid at all costs....

reply to post by Swing80s

I would have said his wife Katie's music is also a load of garbage.

Originally posted by Swing80s
Then they asked me to name any other actors or directors that have risen up as much as he had...

You should've mentioned Will Smith or Flip Wilson, plus loads of others that I can think of.

Anyway, I've never heard of Tyler Perry. Maybe they were just trolling you?

Originally posted by Swing80s


Seriously - We were in the break room and all the African Americans in our workplace were there. First I thought how funny it was for the whitest super Christian I know to start talking super slang and in a southern drawl accent to pretend like she was on their level like she always does when she's the only white female in the break room.

WOW , Now that was racist!

What do you mean by "their level" and "white super cristian"?

By other people calling you uncle tom I suppose they are saying your not a real black person because you dont like tyler perry?

I would buy a Medea T shirt and wear it to work next week.

Maybe its a New Orleans thing is that where you are at?

Tyler Perry makes all the "Madea goes to Jail" "Madea Big Happy Family" " A Madea Christmas" "Madea's Family Reunion" "Madea is a Retard and Caters to Retarded People" etc... the movie list goes on and on literally look at how many he's made not all of them have "Madea" in it. AND GOD FORBID YOU GET IT MIXED UP WITH "BIG MOMMA'S HOUSE" THAT'S THE WRONG MAN IN A FAT SUIT PLAYING AN OLD WOMAN!!! THAT'LL PROVE HOW MUCH OF AN IGNORANT RACIST YOU ARE!

Now to get ready for another day in Paradise...

Unless you have watched all of his movies and tv series then how can you say they are all garbage? It's kind of stupid to watch one or two movies then say they are all the same.

reply to post by lunchmanstan


LOL GOOD IDEA!!! However maybe I'll print my own so I don't have to give his money to his dumb franchise. O and what I meant about M was how she completely changes her demeanor and how she acts around African Americans to fit in. Literally... If you knew more about her you're understand. If you are the only white person stuck in a neighborhood full of black people are you going to act all posh or are you going to try and assimilate as best you can?

reply to post by Swing80s


I get it resistance is futile, all will be assimulated. LOL

I did a little search on tyler and while I havent watched his work he does have 33 movies out and is a director.

are they really all bad? or has he finally made enough cash to start doing more mindful work?

Hmmm....I don't like Tyler Perry's movies. I don't watch tv so I've never watched any of his shows. I am very weary of the whole black man dressed up as "black woman/big momma/madea/mammy"...it's very insulting to me as a black woman. I am not quiet in my dislike and disdain for this type of buffoonery, and I've never been insulted or called any names.

I'm thinking that your co-workers are extremely ignorant and closed-minded. Ignore them, you have a right to like what you like. Do you.

Never seen any of them.

I'm sorry to hear that OP. I can understand how people can become shocked because you do not understand references about the media and pop culture. In my opinion one of the greatest movies is Malcolm X. Which was electrifying and eye opening.

LOL..I have long said the same thing about all of his movies and tv shows. Some show did a spoof on one of his movies that was so right on I was out of breath from laughing. It was something like "Tyler Perry's movie starring Tyler Perry, written by Tyler Perry, with supporting actor Tyler Perry...etc" It went on for about 2 minutes and is EXACTLY what his credits and movies are like. He caters to a specific viewing audience and is about the equivalent of a B-movie actor/producer/writer/director in my opinion. I don't think we will be seeing him winning an Oscar for any of his work.....

Let me make a wild guess - your co-workers also don't like Bill Cosby, Herman Cain, Clarence Thomas, Alan West, or Condoleezza Rice. But they love Tyler Perry, Obama, and Jesse Jackson. You could easily argue race isn't their bias, but political affiliation is.

I agree with everything you said and then some. I think his movies do a disservice to the African American collective mentality and culture. I have seen more than I care to admit because my wife thinks madea is funny. That being said, I think you're white and this thread is deception. I've been wrong before though

I suppose I have to be a dissenter here.

Tyler Perry's movies are hyperbole. They are stereotypical in nature, but they accentuate issues (primarily) in African-American culture in a way meant to bring them to light for the culture to address. Domestic violence, charity, racism (including black-on-white racism) are all themes within his works.

The Medea character is the stereotypical large, black woman who, as current culture also reflects, is the matriarch since the father is absent, the strongly opinionated leader of the family who can't keep herself out of other people's business. She stands up for women's rights and equality, at whatever cost, while attempting to maintain some morality and ethic, though the extremes she goes to are exactly that: extreme, and often unlawful.

Having said that, I do think he is over-hyped, much like Quentin Tarantino and others who get away with quirky creations, but there is some realism to Terry's productions. I disagree with some of the portrayals, but overall, considering the underlying messages, find the movies insightful.

If the African-American communities, and society as a whole, would look at things he and others create and "get a clue" rather than just simply laugh at them and then shrug them off as "entertainment", society could change for the better.



As for others trying to affect culture, look at Bill Cosby, Red Foxx, Flip Wilson and the myriad of others who either by example or parody have tried to make a statement about the culture and have had little to no impact on the evolution of that culture.

reply to post by Swing80s


That is quite ironic.

One could consider all African-American Perry lovers to be Uncle Toms.

Maybe Dave Chappelle wasn’t as crazy as we all thought he was. In a 2006 interview on Oprah, the former Chappelle's Show star, who'd fled from fame and fortune, theorized that Hollywood is trying to emasculate strong black funnymen by making them wear dresses. Despite writers, directors, and producers pressuring him to cross-dress, he took a stand and refused. Chappelle has been the exception, because when it comes to black comics, dressing up in drag is practically a right of passage.

www.complex.com...

Black comedians get pressured into cross dressing by white hollywood executives, and that black crowd loves it and even praise those actors for their accomplishments?

The fact that they would see Perry as one of the greatest things black culture has put forward, is just pathetic.

His movies are just pure garbage.

That's interesting.. I live in Baltimore and Tyler Perry doesn't have as many fans as you would expect anymore.

I think he made people temporarily forget about Spike Lee and others.

reply to post by abecedarian

The Medea character is the stereotypical large, black woman who, as current culture also reflects, is the matriarch since the father is absent, the strongly opinionated leader of the family who can't keep herself out of other people's business. She stands up for women's rights and equality, at whatever cost, while attempting to maintain some morality and ethic, though the extremes she goes to are exactly that: extreme, and often unlawful.

No!

If the African-American communities, and society as a whole, would look at things he and others create and "get a clue" rather than just simply laugh at them and then shrug them off as "entertainment", society could change for the better.

What? There is nothing wrong with black culture as it suffers from the same issues all cultures do when they are low on socioeconomic ladder.

As for others trying to affect culture, look at Bill Cosby, Red Foxx, Flip Wilson and the myriad of others who either by example or parody have tried to make a statement about the culture and have had little to no impact on the evolution of that culture.

What? I say again... What? You are one of the ones looking at the situation from outside the box. That statement is totally untrue and slightly insulting Do you know the evolution of black culture at all?

As for Tyler Perry movies, i'm not going to knock the hustle. I watched his movies way back when he was putting on plays for black audiences, yea he's come along way. He started in theater and his plays are quite hilarious even though you have the prototypical black guy in drag

Nah, that guy is a template of what America is doing right. A guy that came from nothing to blow up and become big. Not in love with ALL of his movies but i have enjoyed what i saw minus a few.

reply to post by Swing80s


I get the same reaction when I tell people that I don't find most Will Farrell, Adam Sandler and Jim Carrey movies funny either.

Some are good, just not the majority.

Perry's first flick was...ok, but then those that followed were just the same old shtick, just like those listed above.