Plus, the judge in the Larry Nassar case is risking everything survivors fought for
| | | | | | Enterprise reporter Taryn Finley recently analyzed the complicated significance of director Tyler Perry’s career. The film mogul, amid his deal with Viacom, launched two new shows on cable network BET, and he also opened an impressive studio lot in Atlanta for his and other producers’ film and TV productions.
For Finley, these big moments provided an opportunity to assess Perry’s work and his impact in Hollywood. Must Reads talked to her about the piece in this interview.
What inspired you to write this story?
Tyler Perry’s work has been divisive among Black viewers since he began his steady ascension to the top. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve argued about the fact that his work is a double-edged sword. The back and forth would address the harmful stereotypes he’s leaned on to create his empire and also the value that he places on Black talent who often go overlooked in mainstream Hollywood. For me, the argument would always end with a “it’s complicated.”
What were the challenges you faced while reporting and writing the piece? I had to set a lot of my own biases aside about Perry’s work in this analysis. Since I was 13, I’ve watched his work, going back and forth on my views about him. In reporting, I had to watch his work with fresh eyes and take on both perspectives of his critics and his loyal fanbase. The latter was the hardest for me, but one point Dr. Robin R. Means Coleman made during our conversation helped in that: Those who genuinely enjoy his work also deserve to be seen since there are already so few of our stories being told. If Tyler Perry were to read this article, what ultimately do you hope he would learn from it? I hope that he would really understand the critiques he’s gotten come from a place of hurt and to dismiss them would be like dismissing the history tied to these narratives. I truly hope that he understands that so many people are rooting for him to put out good content with Black female characters who don’t need to find a man to save them. There was a line in one of your drafts that said, "We don't have to be Black excellence all the time." Why do you think it is important for Black film and TV creators to embrace all sides of their art? Black excellence puts the pressure of perfection on Black creators. That pressure is dangerous, as it causes creators to limit themselves to so few lenses rather than the full scope of life. That pressure also causes only a few to rise to the top. White TV and film creators are given the grace of mediocrity all the time. They’re given the grace to fail and fail up. Black creators shouldn’t have to always be excellent to get our stories told. Tyler Perry was able to fail at depicting us but still have the room to create more content because he created a platform that gave him that leeway. But building your own estate shouldn’t have to be the condition for making bad movies and shows. |
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