Think Like A Man allegedly gets dissed in France along with Tyler Perry productions for lack of diversity.
By: Taren Vaughan
Comedy film Think Like A Man performed well at the box office in the U.S., bringing in approximately 33 million dollars in its opening week and remaining at the top for three straight weeks. As it is seeing much box office success here, the movie was allegedly banned in France for being too ethnic and lacking a diverse cast.
Will Packer, the film’s producer, came to the defense of the Black film industry as a whole, saying that French cinema lacks open-mindedness:
“Attaining successful international distribution is by far one of the biggest challenges facing filmmakers of colour. Surprising as it may be, the answer lies in the fact that the film has an all-black cast. French cinema is often pointed at for not fairly displaying all components of the country’s multiethnic population.”
It was said that the film was never scheduled to be released in France. Either way, the French’s response has many people angry and crying racism left and right.
Despite the fact that Think Like A Man was not his production, Tyler Perry’s name somehow made its way into this film controversy. Now he is being called out for his films being “too black.” Landing a role in a movie is hard to do, especially when it comes to actresses and actors of color. With that in mind, Tyler Perry is out here giving work to hungry Black women and men looking for their big break or established ones looking for another chance to shine. Supposedly, Kim Kardashian is set to star in one of his next films (epic fail in the making) so maybe that will get a few critics off his back.
So should Tyler Perry step outside of the box and add a little diversity to his casts?
Or keep on giving work to the brothers and sisters in the acting game?
Tyler Perry should just stop making the same kinds of movies all the time that feature the typical angry black woman. It’s boring and it’s not doing anything major for black cinema. Throwing a few white people in the movie won’t change the fact that he needs to improve his story lines.
I don’t think there’s anything Tyler could do at this point to make me want to watch his films. I just feel like I lose brain cells when I give him my attention. Black movies as a whole need to step up in the writing department. We haven’t had compelling movies in years.
Quick edit: You meant to ask if Tyler Perry’s films are ‘Too Coon’ right?
LOL!
I miss the days when Spike Lee reigned. Not knocking Tyler, but I just can’t connect to any of his characters or plots. I miss the era of black films when we had Spike, John Singleton, the Hughes Brothers, etc. We need that diverse range of black directors again.
Yeah I do feel like his movies are too black and lack diversity. If we’re going to complain about a lack of black actors in major films, we should at least be willing to include more whites, etc. in our movies too.
But why do we have to add more whites to our black films when there aren’t that many black films being made? I get the sentiment, but logically it doesn’t really make much sense. Black actors struggle to find work outside of predominately black films.
Diversity goes both ways, right?
Agreed! Fair is fair.
Are his films too black? In a sense, yes. But are they too predictable? Absolutely and I think that is the biggest problem. Tyler Perry has not mastered how to create more realistic and complex characters. His plots lack depth. He dresses in drag and acts like an angry black grandmother. He’s just offensive. So I would say it’s many things he lacks and struggles with as a director. A lack of diversity is the smallest of the issues.
I think Tyler’s movie’s have some great messages, I wouldn’t say too black . You can’t put being BLACK in a box, that would imply that there is a way to be black. All black people are not the same in character, and what are we saying when we say “TOO BLACK” as if it’s OK to be black but not “TOO! BLACK”, as if there are levels lol. But I do wan’t him to be a little more diverse in his casting, because blacks are not the only people with the problems he highlights.
Tyler Perry produce movies to the best of his abilities to please his demographics. Tyler is not capable of producing a movies like the Hollywood champs. No diversity. Yes, he may have cute characters and give black people jobs. He tries to be Super-Save Em’. So, don’t expect to see any movies like Inception, The Negotiator, Sunshine, There Will Be Blood…from TP.