BACKlikeWEneverLEFT

I love watching movies, so new movie previews will always catch my eyes.  As I look around to see what new movies are out, I see that Tyler Perry has a new Madea movie in theaters.  As of   June 29  ,Madea was in full effect yet again, I can’t wait to see this.  I hope everyone can hear the joy I have looking forward to Tyler Perry putting on another dress, and exaggerating the essence of a black woman.   Normally Madea movies don’t really catch my eyes, but this time it caught my attention for all the wrong reasons.   Usually when I see Tyler Perry wearing these old lady dresses, it’s normally surrounded by African-Americans; this time I noticed a few white faces in the bunch.  The last couple of Madea movies have seem to really push the bar of cooning to another level.  Once you cross the realm to cooning with other races, I feel things are starting to get carried away.  I was thinking out loud when this post first came to mind, and as I did my friend said ” why do all these black male actors/comedians throw on dresses at some point in their career?”

Great question good brother!! As soon as he asked it, I began to think about all the greats have played a woman at some point in their career.   During this conversation he made reference to something Dave Chapelle said in an interview a few years back on Oprah.  I have a link to the clip I’m referring to, but essentially the segment was about how a film director/writer wanted him to wear a dress because “it would be hilarious.”   http://youtu.be/Nk8eBn1D7zk He ended up turning down the role after a few times back and forth with the producers.  In this clip after Chappelle finishes, they show clips of every black male actor who has thrown on a dress throughout their career.  The list is genuinely pretty long, and interesting to me.   It has become the norm for black actors to throw on the dress and over exaggerate the woman character.   Another part of the discussion with my friend, was about the concept of being manipulated.

As I look deep into this, I came across a term coined media manipulation.  Media manipulation is when people create an image or argument that favors their particular interests. Such tactics may include the use of techniques that often involve the suppression of information or points of view by crowding them out, by inducing other people or groups of people to stop listening to certain arguments, or by simply diverting attention elsewhere.  Why is that relevant? Well I believe the “dressing like a woman” concept is something that has stemmed from media manipulation.  For instance, a comedian may make reference to something off the record; a funny experience, a comical parent, a hostile situation.   At that very moment the powers that be, catch them slipping, then proceed to encourage the ignorance.  ” Hey guy, what did you say about your drunk aunt?”  ” Yea, yea that’s funny people will love it!!”  Unbeknownst to the actor, you have just set yourself for ignorance.   Now that person introduces the character to the world, later is trapped into becoming the character. Everybody knows I loved the tv show MARTIN.  To this date, it is still one of my top five favorite shows.   Thinking back on the characters, I’m sure Mama Payne was a version of Martin’s real mother or another mother he had encountered in his life.  Somebody in Hollywood told Martin to play that character; but my question is was it for the right intent.  I have really been trying to wrap my mind around this question for the past few weeks.  The more that I contemplate about it,  i began to think that having men throw on these dresses are not just ‘by chance’.  I believe there is a hidden methodology behind the nonsense.   It comes off as a form of emasculation of the black male. I’m sure everyone is wondering why i chose the term emasculation, well in the metaphorical sense it means to make less of a man. Media powers have learned how to emasculate the black male without doing anything.  Black actors/ comedians have embraced this role all on their own, they welcome the dress.  When I look at, it sounds rewarding and prosperous.  I mean let’s look at Tyler Perry, with a budget of $20 million,  the latest Madea installment has doubled that in just over two weeks.  The film has grossed about $45 mill, proving that dress gains success.  Tyler Perry used the dress to gain notoriety and make it to big the screen.   Tyler Perry had a few Madea plays gaining major attention, before his break through movie release of Diary of a Mad Black Woman.  Now this is not a knock on him, more so the concept of men dressing up as woman.   Tyler Perry makes pretty thought provoking movies, those I don’t have a problem with.  It’s his portrayal of the Madea character that bothers me.   I have tried to let things be, but every time another Madea movie drops, I lose a part of me.  The actual Madea character grows with popularity, but also increases with ignorance and level of obnoxiousness.   This seems like a direction collation with one of another,   meaning the more you coon the better ‘WE’ pay.   The question  ‘when do you draw the line’ comes to my mind far too often for black actors.

As a society we need to learn how to think outside the box,  and get away from the dress.  It is not beneficial for viewers to continue to see this display of cooning.  People across the board are becoming confused with what’s real and what’s for show with this character.  This is not a great adaptation of the black woman nor black actor for that matter.   We need to open our eyes as a society, understand the emasculation process is real.   Media execs are strategically using different media ploys to suppress the  black community.  We have to become more alert, do I support Tyler Perry yes; however I DO NOT SUPPORT the Madea persona. We need to grow as a community, and the emasculation of the black male actor is preventing this.  Media has a great influence on our entire culture, and right now the images of Black America does not seem promising.   Hopefully we can grow our balls back, take the dress off and continue to flourish as a society.   Media is continuing to demote us, as this primitive race.   Be alert of the bananas that are dangled in your face,  they can’t wait to see if the monkeys come out.   On that note,  I guess I need to find me a dress to get me to the next level or to help gain more fans.  Gotta dress the part right?