Coonery For Me But Not For Thee

One thing about social media is that you find out pretty quickly that many times there are opinions, even within demographics which you identify with, that strongly diverge at times over things you might think have close to a consensus view. I for one have been a fan of Tyler Perry for a very long time. Certainly long before he started doing movie and was just doing plays. His material was always funny and over the top but at its root he always had positive messages in his work.

When he started doing movies and TV I liked some of his work and didn't care for other parts but I still recognized the messages he was trying to send. So much of his films are about wounded and "damaged" blacks and other minorities finding a way to make themselves whole again, usually with a touch of Christianity involved.

Now is that for everybody? I imagine not but I also don't think he makes movies for "everybody". Tyler Perry makes movies and TV shows for the people who will enjoy them and judging by his success so far that is a substantial number of people.

But there are a group of what I would describe as bourgeois ass black folks who seem to think that because Tyler Perry isn't making THEIR type of movie then he should be derided or torn down. That is the biggest bunch of bullshit I have ever seen and it burns me up to no end. Hell I don't like all of Michael Bey's movies. Does that mean I think he shouldn't be able to make them? But to hear these folks tell it Perry is "harming" the black community because he includes over the top characters like "Madea" in his projects. This shit would be funny if it wasn't so pathetic. Its like they can't see past their own concern trolling to notice that "Madea" is just the honey to bring folks in before they get a good message from the rest of the show.

The latest clown, and I do mean clown, to trip on Perry is Spike Lee. Lee had the nerve to call what Perry is doing coonery, I guess he is now the voice of black upper crust or some shit. But its amazing that the same asshole that made "School Daze" and "Do The Right Thing" could accuse anybody on earth of coonery. Oh I guess we are supposed to forget about all those Jordan commercials too? Negro please. Girl 6? C'mon Son! Get the fuck outta here with that bullshit.

The truth is, and I hope most folks can see this, that Lee is mad because Perry is getting shine that he thinks is reservered for "guys like him". I think Perry's response is absolutely perfect and I hope he has a face to face "conversation" with Lee real soon to see if he has the nuts to talk that coonery shit to the man's face. Somehow I doubt it.



By the way, somebody should tell Spike Lee that real coonery is running to the media to hate on another black man who is just trying to do their own thing. Seriously.