Why Tyler Perry Keeps #Winning and What it Will Take to Vanquish Him

So Tyler Perry released his latest movie last weekend called the Last Temptation of Madea. Apparently it's a PG-13 erotic thriller. I won't spoil it for you, but the professional Black woman is evil and apparently she must be punished for leaving the "good Black man" who only wants to love her professional Black woman devilishness!

I have not seen the movie and will not see it until you pay me a fee of $25,000. I originally was only charging $250 to see it, but the write-ups and editorials have been so traumatic that I had to increase my hazard pay. 

As is now the custom, after every single tyler Perry movie, we have the first wave of negative reviews followed quickly by the social impications of the widespread dissemination of Mr. Perry's faux-theological propaganda. 

Some people are upset that Tyler (once again) uses HIV as a plot device to punish villains in movies. 

Some people are upset about how Tyler portrayed what some are describing as a rape in the movie ( haven't seen it- don't know)

And then there's this latest gambit with Madea teaming up with Miss Sophia from the Color Purple- Paging Alice Walker!

My advice is that we all collectively quit our bellyaching!

None of it matters!

None!

Your outrage is irrelevant. 

Your disdain and derision are for naught.

Tyler Perry's winning and there is nothing you can do to stop him. He's going to be making movies as long as there is breath in his body and your children's children's children's children will be watching his work. In the same way that I stayed up for 6 hours to watch The Ten Commandments during Easter weekend. 

Nope, Tyler's winning as long as he's producing what he wants.

The only way to beat him at this point is to join him. Flood the market with movies based on contorted interpretations of the bible and prey on the soft squishy minds of people who go to church and never quite manage to read any of the Bible verses they don't like. Target the Black folks who resent other Black people who went to college and got degrees. Target the Black women who think that they are single because God hasn't "sent" them a man yet- KEEP WAITING! Target the folks who think they've been ignored and marginalized and give 'em what they want.  

No seriously. It's the only way to end this scourge across the land you so lament. And it's happened before. Roger Corman was cranking out kooky low budget scifi movies and then Steven Spielberg and George Lucas took the same concept and threw bucket loads of money and production value at the same concept:

In the ’70s, the era of the blockbuster emerged with filmmakers who took Corman’s formula to the next level by adding big money and more refined talent to the mix. “Steven Spielberg and George Lucas were obviously influenced by Corman when they made Jaws and Star Wars,” Stapleton says. “And James Cameron, who started his career working for Corman, has consistently proven that you can make epic films that are based 100 percent on the structure of Corman-style genre pictures.” Wired.

The thing is that if Tyler Perry is as horrible a writer as we all think he is, it shouldn't be THAT hard to co-opt him. Except while we're on the sidelines criticizing him, he's still producing content... which means he wins. 

So there is your Tyler Perry post. I have now cross this one off of my To Do list- until next month when he releases his next movie. 

Real Artists Ship: Why Ava DuVernay, Queen Latifah, and yes even Tyler Perry Matter

This week is shaping up as a hallmark for  Black women content producers. Ava DuVernay is featured in the New York Times on the eve of the theatrical release of her second feature, the Middle of Nowhere. Every Black person in America with a Twitter account watched the all-Black remake of Steel Magnolias. Oprah and Tyler Perry just inked a deal for Tyler to provide scripted television for OWN on the back of OWN's ratings growth- due in large part to Oprah FINALLY targeting Black viewers (until she drop kicks them a la CW, Fox and UPN).

 Black women more than any other group on the planet have left their images in the hands of people who don't like them very much ---- such as Black women like Shaunie O'Neal, Mona Scott Young, and Debra Lee. We've watched IN HORROR as the reality television craze has taken the most mentally unstable, drug-addled, publicity hungry buffoons with ovaries that can be found and seen the most buffoonish of the buffoons rise to the top of the television food chain by physically assaulting Black women with words, fists, wine bottles, and feet. 

And so when I posted  a video up about the making of  Middle of Nowhere on the WAOD Facebook Fan Page, a WAOD reader posted the synopsis followed by the universal *SIGH* 

"When her husband is sentenced to 8 years in prison, Rudy drops out of med school in order to focus on her husband's well being while he's incarcerated - leading her on a journey of self-discovery in the process." Middle of Nowhere Synopsis *SIGH*http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1211890/ -- Natalie on the Facebook Fan Page

To which I replied:

Here's the deal - you aren't going to find very many black women producing the films this audience wants to see- why? Because we're critiquing the culture instead of creating the culture. You should check out her first Movie I Will Follow. I'm working on it. I'm working on it - But I think you should study the work she's doing on the distribution and promotion side even if you aren't a fan of the subject matter of this particular film.

and later added:

@Cocoa it doesn't matter how complex the characters, this audience is pretty pro prosecution and incarceration and they aren't fans of the dating/marrying prisoners trend. Most of us would have drafted some divorce papers for the protagonist and told her to keep it moving.

and my hypothesis was confirmed by Celeste:

Yup you've got me pegged at least. I'm a physician and that plot just makes me want to go all BBQ wives on someone for being that foolish.

I know. I know, y'all are not down for a plot about Black women married to convicts. You want Lord of the Rings and Vampire Slayers for Black women. I pointed out that even if you don't like the content of THIS movie,  it matters.

The reviews for Steel Magnolias was mixed between harsh and glowing. 

Ava, Latifah, Tyler and Oprah might not be producing the content you want to see, but they matter because they are PRODUCING something other than a critique.

I love a critique, I've got a Ph. D. in critiquing.  But we've got to add a G.E.D in Culture Making to our Ph.D. in Culture Critiquing. Because it's the makers that matter most. And there is no reason why I or you should not be making more culture. 

1. Camera technology has closed the gap in image quality. The average viewer can't tell the difference between and image captured with a $2,000 camera versus a $20,000 camera. Heck we shot one of the scenes in a class project on an iPhone camera.
2. Digital distribution means you don't have to create expensive copies of your projects on film just so you can screen a project. 
3. People can access your content anywhere so its easier to reach your audience. 
4. Social media makes it easier to build audiences and promote your project.
5. Sites like Tugg  make it possible for you to crowd source your theatrical release and get your filim in theaters
6. With Kickstarter and Indiegogo make it possible for you to fund your project from small donors.

Cast of Namaste - November 2010More people have seen my short films on my laptop than in a theater. No seriously, I pull it out all the time and make them watch Namaste.

Real artists ship. They produce and distribute. The ideas and concepts in their minds- whether you like them or not- end up going from ideas to tangible form.  And once they get those ideas in front of us we change those ideas and those ideas change us. Even the crappy art changes us and we change it. We comment on it, we parody it, we critique it, we build on it.

I didn't come up with this on my own. I recently did coffee with a Black woman screenwriter and she just dropped so much knowledge about how it is she is able to keep writing while I've been stuck on the same story for over a year. She spoke about the importance of failure and then she got ta' talking about "culture making" and Steve Jobs' famous quote "real artists ship."  I left that meeting and went out and purchased the book, Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling by Andy Crouch. I really can't recommend it because I'm stuck on page 51 - it isn't exactly a page turner, but it has all of these buried gems so I'm probably going to force myself to finish it the next time I get on a long plane flight.And yes, my agnostic and atheist readers he uses tons of Biblical references. 

So consider this our semi-annual reminder (to myself) that this blog audience needs to produce a movie even if that movie sucks. We ( and by we I mean I)  have to embrace failure in film making  with the same enthusiasm as I accept typos in my blog posts. I have to be willing to read about y'all whining about something I poured months or years of my life into. 

So you didn't have to like Steel Magnolias or Middle of Nowhere or Madea Goes to Lifeclass, but you do have to ask yourself what you're doing to get the culture making you want to see. 

P.S. Don't stop critiquing! Just add a hint of culture making to the mix. 

Oprah's Unholy Alliance With Basketball Wives - OWN & VH1's Sloppy Seconds

UPDATE- I HAD TO REMOVE THE VIDEO BECAUSE THE CODE FROM OWN IS REDIRECTING PEOPLE FROM MY SITE TO OPRAH.COM- BAD FORM OPRAH!

Yeah, I'm going THERE. 

So in case you've been under a rock, the cancerous scourge that is Basketball Wives has infected the OWN network. Oprah has been tweeting up a storm promoting Iyanla Fix My Life's episode featuring Evelyn Lozada. 

I love Oprah. I love what she's trying to do with OWN. But I can't express how disappointed I am to see her using her platform to promote Evelyn Lozada - A Black-woman hating, hyperviolent, scourge. I've previously written about the abomination that is Basketball Wives and it's star "character" Evelyn Lozada

• Why Isn't Evelyn Lozada in Jail? Why are Advertisers Subsidizing Violence Against Black Women on National Television
• And Susan Taylor Wept- mESSENCE magazine Taps Hyper-Violent Belligerent, Evelyn Lozada for a Wedding Shoot

This woman physically assaulted numerous women on national television and was unrepentant in doing so. I believe in redemption. I believe in forgiveness, but I also believe in consequences for your actions and Evelyn Lozada has no place in civil society or on OWN. There are plenty of dysfunctional women of all races for Oprah and Iyanla to "fix." Go find one of them. She has never atoned for her bad acts.

I also understand that OWN needs ratings desperately. But there has to be another way. I don't think OWN was initially struggling because people don't want positive television.  I think OWN was struggling because the initial slate of programming SUCKED!  A bunch of reality shows featuring middle-aged women like Shania Twain, the Judds and Sarah Ferguson? Who thought that was a good idea?

But then you saw a change as Oprah moved to Life Class and Sweetie Pies and interviews. Ironically, one of the main stations that I think all of my Black women friends watch consistently across the board is HGTV followed closely by Food Network competitions shows. So the idea that you can only have a successful cable station by trotting out VH1's sloppy seconds has pretty much been destroyed. 

I want Oprah to succeed and I know she's under pressure, but there is something unseemly about the fact that Evelyn Lozada can create with horrific character on reality television, then seek more publicity as she tries to "reform" the character SHE created and Oprah is standing there with her arms wide open.

If Evelyn wanted to change her life, then she should have sought counseling in private.  Next up, Oprah is going to have the stars of Real Love and Hip Hop Wives on there. I weep for her. She's better than this. 

Yes, I can learn something from Evelyn... I can also learn something by putting my head in the mouth of a shark, but I don't reccomend it. If the Evelyn-oriented shows are a success, you can expect a new pipeline between VH1 and OWN. VH! will go and find the most mentally disturbed, drug addled women it can find, put them on TV, HARM all of us and then OWN will rehabilitate them. Horrible precedent!

And by the by, this has NOTHING to do with domestic violence. If Evelyn was physically assaulted by her husband, lock him up... the same way she should have been locked up for throwing a wine bottle at another woman on the show. 

Iyanla and Oprah Back Together Again, And It's Pretty Good: Oprah's Life Class Letting Go of Anger

I have not been a fan of Oprah's new network OWN, but I admire her courage for making the attempt. I did catch episodes of her Behind the Scenes show which was great! Especially the episode where Jennifer Hudson was 6 hours late to a taping. But otherwise, the rest of the programming had nothing to do with me. I'm not interested in Shania Twain, Sarah Ferguson, and The Judds, but I might be able to get into this Lifeclass series. I finally gave in to the Facebook Ads and clicked on Oprah's Lifeclass Webcast.

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What in the HOT! CRISPY! HECK? Daniel Edwards is a Loon- Completes Michelle Obama Bust

The man who brought us bronzed statutes of Britney Spears giving birth, Suri Cruise's first bowel movement, Paris Hilton's Autopsy, that hideous bust of Hillary Clinton topless and a sarcophagus and burial mask of Oprah Winfrey is at it again. This time his target is Michelle Obama.This is what a WAOD reader said via email: No words. I don't even know if it's good or not. I just don't know why he can't make a bust that look like Michelle now. He HAD to put some hoop earrings on the woman...ugh.WAOD Reader Sandra Rose's take on the sculpture:

The Afro pick sitting fashionably askew in the Nefertiti style body wave perm adds a nice touch.SandraRose.com

For their part, the Edward's promoters offer this interpretation of the inexplicable:

“Michelle Obama’s Makeover for America” presents an accessorized mannequin bust of Obama that foregoes the conventional pearl necklace, and provides for her a ‘signature look’ to take to Washington. “The goal is to create a look for Michelle Obama that eliminates excessive comparisons to Jackie Kennedy,” said Edwards, who studied under the tutelage of legendary fashion illustrator Antonio Lopez, “like supermodel Tyra Banks’s photos in Harper’s Bazaar, or the puzzling comment from CBS’s Byron Pitts that recommended ‘less Jackee, more Jackie O.’”

A pearl-studded Afro pick, shaped like an eagle, demonstrates the makeover’s fashion mix of Black African and White House heritage to reinvigorate the traditional First Lady pearls. A tight, spiral-textured mane complements Michelle Obama’s likeness, with the pearl Afro pick placed modishly askew in a Nefertiti-esque hairstyle. Included are big hoop earrings shaped like O’s that seem to suggest, according to a gallery spokesman, “Look out Oprah, a new ‘Lady O’s’ in charge.”

Adorning the breasts of Michelle Obama’s bust are temporary tattoos, of which an American flag is depicted, to compensate for Barack’s pin-free lapels. Additional breast tattoo designs for Mrs. Obama, by Chicago tattoo artist Alex Higgins, will also be exhibited.

“Michelle Obama inspires a fashion template change that many First Ladies of the 21st Century may follow, as we witness minorities in this country becoming the majority,” added the spokesman. SOURCE

I am sorry. This looks in no way like Michelle Obama. Look at what he did to Oprah. He constructed a Sarcophagus for Oprah Winfrey/span>

With her endorsement of presidential candidate Barack Obama, Oprah is making known her views on the need for healthcare reform. But controversial sculptor Daniel Edwards is urging talk show host Oprah Winfrey to do more by taking the time on her show to reach out to the recently retired baby boomers for whom healthcare reform will come too late. Edwards is offering his latest creation to Oprah, to assist the television icon in breaking the ice with baby boomers to encourage them to prepare for their own funerals. ... A gilded coffin lid bearing Oprah’s full-figured likeness with slimming vertical stripes, The Oprah Sarcophagus is designed for a look of cultural neutrality with respect to Oprah’s audience and the style of her magazine. “The Oprah Sarcophagus is the ideal visual aid for educating boomers about living wills, casket choices, and memorial service arrangements,” says gallery co-director John Leo. “We would like to hear Oprah tell her viewers that a great coffin should be something of which to aspire, and that no one should have to settle for a pine box.” Source

Now I could psychoanalyze this for days, but I feel dumber for even trying. Brain cells are dying as we speak. Is it November 4th yet? Huh? I saw some Halloween candy at Walgreens that means the end is near. Come on November 5th! Come on!

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