Good for the people who wrote in! I hope most were well thought out and put together responses, but either way I’m glad that black people made their feeling known. I just wonder where our outrage is on weightier issues - like Nobel Prize winners calling us inferior, boys being killed in boot camp, war, etc? If we get this upset over a movie and can exact some change, then what could we accomplish if we put our energy into something that actually matters?

teeheehee, they had to apologize.

bmd> i imagine that if contact info were readily available, e.g., if the nobel prize winner had a blog or myspace, more people would get involved.

sad but true; we (Americans) prefer our battles convenient.

bmd, black college students are outraged. the general population doesn’t know. i think because it was said in the UK and American news folk have yet to really run with the story, most people are still unaware.

as for roger ebert’s review, i thought it was right on. the premise has potential but i was just appalled by the drag thing (see martin lawrence, eddie murphy) and some of the characters that are caricatures of black people that i would expect more from a white director circa 1950. roger ebert is married to a large, older black woman which might be why he is a bit touchy when it comes to said caricatures.

“bmd, black college students are outraged.”

Haha! Ok so that’s what?? 2% of our population?

The Fox news story included the place where Watson is currently chancellor (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory on Long Island) so it can’t be that hard to contact him. bmd’s question is a good one.

haha…I wrote in. My mom and I were incredulous when we tuned in to see this heinous excuse of an interview. Mark S. Allen is usually a manic dumb-ass, but he went above and beyond it with Janet.

And I regularly write in when I’m offended. The media just doesn’t care unless it’s going to hit their pocketbook.

I like how Tyler stood up for her in the interview.

So why does Tyler Perry hate professional black women?

He doesn’t. You don’t like his humor so no amount of explaining him is going to do any good will it?

It’s not the humor. Why do his movies have evil professional black women keeping the innocent, hard working black man down? I’m not a fan of black men dressing up in drag mocking black women, but that’s another issue.

It’s not just his either. I have a similar issue with soul food. The black professional woman is miserable and her husband hates her while the stay-at-home mom baking brownies is not only incredibly happy in her marriage but her sex life is amazing, her children are perfect and her ish smells like Chanel No 5.

Unfortunately, he’s not off the mark with some of our sisters, Daria. There was just a story here in Chicago about women who make more than their men and the sister who was the face of the article was so twisted. She said that any man dealing with her should know that she might want to dip off to Jamaica at a moment’s notice and if he can’t pay, then he’s not a man. I was appalled. Maybe, he has to use his loot to support his own goals and dreams, maybe he doesn’t want to go to Jamaica, maybe if she wants him to accept her invitation she could pay just like men who make more are inclined to do for women. She didn’t seem to grasp that the reason she has man trouble isn’t because she might have more loot (as a $50K paralegal and makeup artist/model) but because she judges men on their bank account only. I felt bad for the good brothers I know who don’t make six figures but treat a woman well.
As far as the drag stuff, Madea is so much like one of my favorite aunts down south. It’s just that TP plays the role instead of a woman. Big deal. That character is real to me and doesn’t offend me.

The vast majority of women are not like that. Young women are making more than young men in cities like NYC. A lot of them are not willing to date less well-to-do men which I understand. A lot of men have a complex and we were raised to think that men should be providers. That woman that you’re talking about would never date a blue collar worker. Many of the prof bw in TP’s movies are married to blue collar workers. Their failures seem to be because they aren’t doing “women” things like cooking and cleaning.

Men have a bigger issue with the income gap than women do and I understand it. That being said, I’m not going to be with a man who has issues with this. College educated women are far more likely to be in domestic violence victims and no one should be subject to that B.S. because the man has a complex.

If your aunt down south smokes weed and occasionally shoots up people, then I could see why that might not offend you BUT most older black women do not carry on like that.

Believe it or not there are lots of other black movies out there, Daria. Look past the main stream or to ones that are older. I’m sure you’ll find some with the images/messages you want to see.

I’m well aware of this. I’m trying to understand why TP seems to hate professional black women.

I don’t think he does. I think he tells semi-one demisional stories from the point of view from the woman who is not professional. Professional or not it resignates with a lot black women. His stories deal less with what the woman does (homemaker vs. professional) and more with her interpersonal relationships. IMHO.

I really understand both sides of this discussion. There is a propensity for Mr. Perry to reflect the prof woman in a not so angelic light. Perhaps that is his frame of reference and just maybe, in future films he will stretch a bit more and do as you suggested Daria.

Perhaps it would be helpful to send him a note thru his website. On the other hand, it is somewhat realistic and entertaining for a lot of people. Note the box office success of his movies and plays. The characters are resonating with a whole lot of black people. What is really sad is that there are so few black playwrights whose efforts are being produced via the medium of film and who reach the level of success currently being held by Mr. Perry. I doubt that he can cover all facets of black life and still be successful. If there were more playwrights we would likely get more variety in the type of characters portrayed.

That being said, I support the production of a play or film reflecting a positive, together, professional black female, living a productive, spiritual life with a man of the same ilk.