Letters to the Editor

Letters posted here are associated with the following article:
The Tyler Perry juggernaut
How did an African-American playwright, nearly unknown to white America, become one of Hollywood's most successful filmmakers?
Andrew O'Hehir [2008-03-21]
The letters thread is now closed.

  • Here's how Tyler Perry did it:

    he saw that no movies were being made about Black families who successfully stay together despite all the forces that could tear them apart (jail, addiction, infidelity, poverty, domestic violence, etc) and filled the void with films that preach a little but generally entertain. I'm Black and an avid moviegoer - it gets a little old to see our people typecast as dangerous, weak or just plain crazy (yeah I'm talking to you, Wayans brothers). Black people, especially Black women, want to see their stories told and will happily shell out ten bucks a ticket to see it done. Tyler Perry's films will never win an Oscar but he's going to become a billionaire simply because he's serving an audience that Hollywood largely ignores.

    -- notmyname
    [Read notmyname's other letters]
    Thursday, March 20, 2008 09:54 PM

  • I *LOVE* Tyler Perry

    "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" changed my life. It is about forgiveness, for one thing. There are other movies with themes like this, but not too many these days.

    -- Nat Nabob
    [Read Nat Nabob's other letters]
    Friday, March 21, 2008 05:26 AM

  • Hi did it by

    Not having any talent. His movies and stage plays suck. Characters are one dimensional, the dialog is ridiculous and the faux Christian messages are nausiating. It's a shame that this is what is passing as great art in the African-American community. Why isn't August Wilson's work as succesful? It's 100 percent better than Perry's crap.

    -- gcindc
    [Read gcindc's other letters]
    Friday, March 21, 2008 06:14 AM

  • I've never seen one

    But I'm irritated that about a quarter of the inventory at Blockbuster is the current crop of 300 thousand dozen Tyler Perry movies. All with the name "Tyler Perry" in them.

    -- blank-
    [Read blank-'s other letters]
    Friday, March 21, 2008 06:38 AM

  • First time I ever heard of Tyler Perry was at The Onion.

    http://www.theonion.com/content/magazine/the_top_50_tyler_perry_movies

    -- A Jerbillion Happy Knees
    [Read A Jerbillion Happy Knees's other letters]
    Friday, March 21, 2008 11:59 AM

  • @gcindic

    I don't think Tyler Perry's movies *are passing as great art in the black community. I think they're passing as great entertainment. And great entertainment will always make more money than great art. Life is stressful! Most people want to be entertained. Great art demands something from the viewer/listener. Of course the rewards are staggering, but a lot of people are far too stressed out to cope with the demands (or the ticket prices). I happen to agree with you about the quality of Perry's movies, but I don't think it's helpful to judge people for what they gravitate towards.

    -- woodside
    [Read woodside's other letters]
    Friday, March 21, 2008 01:09 PM

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