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WATCH IT! – ‘The Boondocks’ Lampoon Tyler Perry, a Larger Conversation?

Written By Hillary aka Steely D

DUDE, this is hilarious and I couldn’t stop laughing watching this show early this morning. And I mean hearty belly-bouncing laughter… They had Tyler dressed up like the dude from Rocky Horror Picture SHOW!?! LMAO!

However…

Parlour roomie says “This episode was almost a public outing of Tyler Perry. While this is funny, it speaks to a bigger dynamic of how black gay men — choir directors, pastors — have to live in secrecy in the church.”

Do you agree? Give us some comments because this is an interesting discussion. And of course, watch the clip after the jump.

props

Last 5 posts by Hillary aka Steely D

  • tyler perry outs himself every time he dons the madea get-up. i had refrained from joining the debate on twitter because let’s face it, debating within 140 characters is limiting & frustrating and it’s so easy to be misconstrued. anyway, i loved that episode. contrary to some people’s belief that it was homophobic, i think that the denial of any homosexual tendencies is self-hating and in a way, homophobic.

    but that’s not even why i don’t like tyler perry. aside from the same story line that seems to run through everything he does (can you grow/expand some?), i’m offended by his caricature of black women. yes, the most obvious caricature is madea (i don’t know why people still think men dressing up as women is still funny. and why couldn’t he get a black woman to play the matriarch?!) but all of the 1.5 dimensional women fall into the 3 stereotypes of black women – the mammy (sheila/jill scott), sapphire (angela/tasha smith) and the jezebel (trina/denise boutte). these characters are from “why did i get married?” but they are reoccurring in almost all of perry’s works.

    rants aside, i am still optimistic about “for colored girls…” because he is just producing it. the story is already written and he would be hard pressed to twist shange’s vision.

  • SneakinDeacon

    The Boondocks brings a bigger issue that is beyond Perry its the silence of Black gay men in the Black church. Gay men want Jesus on a Sunday but can’t live out loud because of fear of being shun by their church and demonized. So their silenced and hiding behind the choir robes, the organ, the keyboards, Usher board and the pulpit. What does this have to do with Perry you ask. Black Church people love Tyler Perry but they don’t acknowledge or accept the fact that he is a man in drag, a man mocking the very women that support his films and plays.
    Perry ain’t the only writer/director hiding in a wig or behind their female or flamboyant gay characters on the Black Jesus loving how to get a man keep a man wig wearing play circuit.
    I commend these men for taking the church peoples money because they can only be authenticly themselves is on a stage performing for the church. That stage/pulpit is the only place they can truly be living out loud.
    Until the church accepts the gay men in their choir, on the usher board, paying tithes and on their pulpits. Their will always be Madea.

  • i feel you, SneakinDeacon. hypocrisy is on the top of my list of issues with the church, and the black church in particular, but what perry is doing is not just between him and the church. his portrayal of black women fuels society’s view of black woman. but that wasn’t the original topic. does that episode beg a larger conversation? yes. is the black church going to finally be ok if the gay men don’t want to relegated to the choir? is society in general going to be ok if gay men don’t want to just do hair, design clothes or provide snarky commentary?

  • Afro Tapp

    why does Tyler perry sound like Maya Angelou?