Tyler Perry’s Madea

Matthew Spear

Dr. Juniper Ellis

EN346D.01 Seminar: Humor Studies

3 April 2023

Tyler Perry’s Madea

            Tyler Perry’s Madea is doubtlessly a divisive character in popular culture. A black man playing a large, loud black woman via the medium of drag performance is likely to turn heads no matter the setting. However, the book “Don’t Make a Black Woman Take Off Her Earrings” offers a unique perspective on this character as well as the insights she might offer. When I began reading this text, I expected, frankly, some cheap and punchy toilet humor on the part of Tyler Perry in order to further cash in on his wildly successful Madea character. But the prose I discovered was far more developed, using comedy as a medium by which to show the good attributes and deep flaws of a character that Perry says was “inspired by his mother and aunt.” By keeping this inspiration in mind we as readers may be able to gleam more meaning from Madea and her whims, and view her instead as a method by which Tyler Perry offers us more insight into his personal life and experience as a black person in America. Additionally, it shows us what he has been able to gather about his mother’s experience based on the way she treated him. In the book, Madea’s first memory begins with her contemplating the beauty of nature and then being beaten by her mother for getting distracted and not finishing the dishes. While it may be a valid criticism to distain Madea as a role model due to her flaws and some of Perry’s crass comedic stylings, it may be worthwhile to consider what that comedy tells us about Perry’s experience.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Final Reflections

       One of the most exciting things I have learned throughout this class is the broad scale of healing and social action that can occur from humor and how the different types of humor weigh in to form a particular narrative around complex topics. Before taking this class, I had experienced people utilizing humor in their lives to talk about issues that might be weighing heavy on their minds or conflicts they need to get off of their chests, but I never did I imagine humor being associated with sexual assault; or racist stereotypes by individuals that have been victimized to heal their pain and move past their trauma. The articles we read for class regarding the role of humor in social change and sexual assault put the power of laughter into a new category for me where I had not yet recognized its purpose. The power of humor to heal should be shared by individuals who have been victimized to break down oppressive structures surrounding them.       The funniest thing I experienced in
Read more

Principles of Uncertainty

  Sophia Starkey   Dr. Ellis EN 346D  19 March 2023 Principles of Uncertainty Response             The idiosyncratic inner monologue that Maira Kalaman presents is exceptionally relatable and incredibly touching. She constantly is in a tug of war with Time and what anything means if it all disappears one day. She recollects “the realization that (you/me) going to die and the attending DISBELIF- is not that the central premise of everything? It stops me dead in my tracks a dozen times a day. Do you think I remain frozen? No. I spring into action. I find meaningful distraction” (46). I, too, have had the inevitable dread about the deeper meaning of everything I am doing and how my worries and anxieties are nonsense because they cannot change a thing. Her mention of meaningful distraction is so prevalent in finding meaning and purpose. I, too, can appreciate the beauty and elegance of fruit platters or sitting in a garden. Some things do not need to be pressing. Everything is not a fire d
Read more