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sistah souljah tells it like it is

Black Male Image: Epidemic or Entertainment?

The following article is not meant to be an attack or a moral degradation on any black actor in hollywood, but as an societal observation of how the black male image has been feminized, emasculated, and overall destroyed by the media through fallacious propaganda and a hidden agenda to perpetuate black male docility. Historically, black male images such as a Cliff Huxtable who was a black doctor married to a black lawyer and the head of a stable functional family is something not commonly seen in today's depiction of the black male image. Today the black male image has been polarized. On one end your have the stereotypical black thug that represents black male aggression and misguided hostile youth. On the other end you have the comical and conformable black image that has been used to "entertain" black audiences under the guise of black stereotypical caricatures that exist amongst the black community. Some people will view this as no problem at all and people like Martin Lawerance, Eddie Murphy and Tyler Perry are just entertainers who are just acting a role for the sake of comedy. Well lets look into this a little deeper and examine both sides of the argument.

EPIDEMIC? Earl Ofari Hutchinson author of "The Assassination of the Black Male Image" argues that the myth of the malevolent black male is based on a durable and time-resistent bedrock of myths, half-truths  and lies that have been perpetuate by the media for decades. Movie director Spike Lee would impose that the imagery depicted by Tyler Perry, Martin Lawrence and Eddie Murphy as pure coonery symbolic of the portrayal of the 1920's sambo blackface. In reality the stereotypical images depicted by Perry and others plays a significant role in cultural identity and cultural self-esteem. If black youth are consistently being exposed to emasculating black male images, then their concept of black masculinity is being completely sabotaged especially in increasing number of black single parent households and the lack of positive black role models in the media. I am not saying that if you watch Tyler Perry then you will develop certain mannerisms or ideologies that's based on subjective interpretation. I am stating that the imagery depicted by Perry and others can be very detrimental on black masculinity in society and should not be viewed as normalcy or acceptable behavior.


ENTERTAINMENT? In reaction to claims stating that characters like Madea are too unrealistic, over the top, and don’t really exist in the Black community,some people would say get off your bougie high horse and get more politic with your folk in the hood. Other critics would argue that Coonery is the conscious exploitation of ignorance for the sole purpose of turning a profit and/ or impressing those outside the Black race and Perry in not selling out Blacks to Whites, he is simply pitching self worth to Brothers and Sisters. Regardless of Perry, others who depict black stereotypical caricatures are just playing a role of exaggerated characters for entertainment purposes. These critics will also juxtapose that white buffoonery such as "Ernest goes to jail" and black coonery are the same thing. These depictions of "real people" aren't detrimental to the black community because Madea is a representative of someone's auntie and that Martin Lawrence's Big Mama is showing someone's grandmother that are very realistic.  Society should be more concerned about the catastrophic effects of the images of Hip Hop then the images of Tyler Perry and others.


In summary, I will restate that this article is not a attack on Tyler Perry or any other black actors. The point of this article was to highlight both sides of the argument and to try to place the argument in a broader context. My main concern is vision crafting which is manufacturing a cultural perspective for black youth. When black youth watch Perry, besides the prolific message he provides what type of imagery is being instilled in the malleable minds of the youth and what long/short term effects will this have in the development of their psyche, self-esteem, and cultural identity.  I will also juxtapose the question what does it mean to be black? If a cursing, gun slinging and hostile grandmother is the sole representative of the black community,  then is this the imagery that we want to pass on to future generations? I will end by saying no media outlet, high profile movie director, or fictional character can define who you are as a person if you have knowledge of self and understand your ancestral potential.