Spike Lee: Tyler Perry’s “House of Payne” and “Meet The Browns” Are Not In Line With Obama Era!
Cast of "House Of Payne"
As much as the African American community loves playwright, television, film and actor Tyler Perry, it goes without saying that he is widely supported and appreciated. However, the flip side of that adoration is the deafening silence of the African American community regarding Tyler Perry’s television series “House of Payne” and “Meet The Browns.”
With everything that Tyler Perry touches turning into gold, it is no wonder that he would try his hand at a television sitcom. The problem develops soon after in that the shows are not original and the story lines are sub par. “House of Payne” borrows too much from the Archie Bunker meets George Jefferson school of situation comedy. In fact, “House of Payne” is crammed pack every week with tons of buffoon / clown antics and situations that make little sense. It is hard to concieve that Tyler Perry would put something of this magnitude on the small screen that only justifies why television executives aren’t really hard-pressed at creating positive African American television shows. Why should they when number one top box office filmmaker Tyler Perry produces sitcoms that border on unintelligent and unwatchable, which continues to project a negative image of African Americans?
Spike Lee made an interesting quote that should not be shot down just because he said it:
“I am a huge basketball fan, and when I watch the games on TNT, I see these two ads for these two shows (Tyler Perry’s “Meet the Browns” and “House of Payne”), and I am scratching my head. We got a black president, and we going back to Mantan Moreland and Sleep ‘n’ Eat?”
It is fascinating how accurate that statement is! The scary thing about it also is that no one in the African American community with clout is standing up and saying that “House of Payne and “Meet The Browns” are mere modern day charicatures of “Amos and Andy.”
Here’s a suggestion: perhaps instead of the African American community applauding publicly and frowning privately behind closed doors about the negativity of Tyler Perry’s two sitcoms , maybe a healthy dialogue should take place to bring “House of Payne” and “Meet The Browns” up to a standard that will be in line with the historic election of an African American President.
When future generations look back at the year 2009, wouldn’t it be great to show the steady positive progression of African Americans in ALL aspects of achievement? It would be a shame to have President Barack Obama and his family on one wall and the cast of “House of Payne” on the other. What would be the lesson there? Our generation still didn’t get it?
Tracey Ricks Foster
Wow
Jimmie
May 31, 2009 at 6:44 am
this show was so bad it made me cry that horrible mother who beats her kids get s the kids. take this show off the air its horrible!!
karl
June 11, 2009 at 5:21 am
Nice
Jimmie
May 31, 2009 at 6:45 am
sounds like someone’s jealous as I a lot of the arguments spoken here was applied to the Cosby Show. so The House of Pain is not Sanford and Son or Boondocks at least Tyler does a show that can be watched by all ages.
No it’s not Archie Bunker or George Jefferson. the House Of Payne and meet the Browns are about trying to except each other different’s not judging people by there race and throwing out ethnic slurs for laughs.
The sad thing in the old day because these shows try to be wholes people like Spike Lee would have said These shows are not cutting edge. a buzz word for liberal but people got smart to that liberal shows couldn’t be watched by kids so now people throw out the word Obama Era as if people will not realize that it still saying liberal.
if it were up to Spike the Paynes would be living in the projects have daughter who is a lady of night and Mrs Payne would be constantly talking about Marten Luther King and passing out clean needles to drug addicts while preaching about safe sex over abstinence as a nurse at the planned parent hood. Mr Payne would be talking about how bad life sucks while standing in line of the unemployment each and every week then blaming the white masses or the buzz word George Bush for all his problems.
no offence but I like House of Payne I would much rather watch a show that has values What people including Spike forget is the reason these two shows stand out and are popular is that they are 1 they are among the last to moral comedies on TV . while they may touch on controversies they don’t wallow in them even sex is carefully avoided but not denied. 2 Tyler Perry appeals to Evangelical Christians Spike Lee’s do not he can complain all he wants but there are a few of us who would rather watch Tyler Perry Then Aaron McGruder BET even complained about the second season of Boondocks I like it but not as much as house of Pain I want to see meet the brown it just hasn’t been relised in dvd yet
good day
Philip A Moore
June 7, 2009 at 5:27 am
Thank You for reading The Kaleidoscope Factor, Philip! Your comment is greatly appreciated! However, I have to ask a question. Have you ever watched The Cosby Show? I was fifteen/sixteen when The Cosby Show first aired and the main complaint about the sitcom was that the family was made up of a doctor and a lawyer…an upper midddle class African American family. For that era, that was indeed a first! The storylines each week were bright, intelligent and filled with messages for adults and children who were watching. The Cosby Show was a definite departure from what America and African Americans were used to seeing on the small screen. The Cosby Show was funny, funny, funny! But it was intelligent and did not cross the line to straight-up buffoonery.
Mr. Payne from “House of Payne” is a direct study/take from George Jefferson and Archie Bunker. Mr. Payne is insulting, curt, disrespectful, loud, and has an anger management problem. Tyler Perry tries to balance this with Mrs. Payne who is the Edith Bunker/Weezie Jefferson of the show. “HOuse of Payne” is a sitcom that follows a basic sitcom prototype that is as old as television itself. Every sitcom of this sort actually takes back to the days of “The Honeymooners.” This type is very recognizable when African American sitcoms are put on the air. Tyler Perry should know better than that!
I know that you like “House of Payne” and I have nothing against that. African American shows should be supported by the community. But if we are to arrive at a place where we as African Americans can be more employable in Hollywood, we need to create shows that will put us to work and be a positive source of upliftment, too! Right?
In defense of Spike Lee, whose career I have followed since 1986 with his debut film, “She’s Gotta Have It,” Lee has a catalog that can back up his complaint against bad African American tv. And rightly so. Aaron McGruder’s “Boondocks” is one of the best shows on tv. Why? Because it simply tells the truth. Truth can taste like cotton candy to some, while to others, it can taste like castor oil! BET complained about the “Boondocks” because Aaron McGruder parodied the network and it’s top brass. BET, up until that point, was showing stinking garbage on the air that included BET late night programming that showed R/X rated hip hop videos. Someone in the community had to stand up for what was right. Where were the Evangelical Christians when it was time to boycott BET?
And…shows like “Good Times” and “The Jeffersons” have their place in our legacy as a people. But thirty years later, I have to ask when I watch “House of Payne,” when are WE as a people, “gonna move on up?” By the way, I am also happy that the UPN was dissolved…”The Game” was cancelled. “Girlfriends” was a good show. “My Wife And Kids” was a great show. I’m not shooting down my people…just voicing an opinion when necessary!
Thanks Again For Reading!
Tracey Ricks Foster
June 8, 2009 at 4:55 am
Philip A Moore couldn’t have said it any better and I totally agree with him more!!!!!
Linda
June 11, 2009 at 2:45 am
God help us! If we African Americans continue to support negative entertainment that colors the world’s perception of us as viable, intelligent human beings, then the Obama legacy will just be a fluke moment in the history books of time.
Get A GRIP, People!
Tracey Ricks Foster
June 20, 2009 at 5:06 am
I’m not a big fan of The House of Payne or Meet the Browns because the episodes’ content is of no substance! His shows are basically imitations of his plays (through dialogue, characters, and etc.) I think the shows can be better; if he gets NEW WRITERS!!!!!!
Dee
June 12, 2009 at 11:53 pm
You know…There is a difference between Mr. Perry’s shows and the Cosby show. Just sit and think back. It is easy to be defensive and want to support black entertainment, but we must also be selective. I can easily correlate the Huxtables to the Obamas…Not so much the Paynes. The Huxtables had people of all races and creeds on their home and watching their show. Again, not the case for the Paynes. It is unfortunate that we ourselves are so used to being portrayed below excellence that we cannot see the difference (and the legacies being left behind).
House of Payne could be better. The only criticism for the Cosby whow was that the black family was “too successful” and acting “white”-this all by itself speaks volumes (success = too white, and then lesser achievement = black). The criticism of the Paynes…well you have read the comments above. VERY DIFFERENT focal points of critique. Take for example, the Fresh Prince- that show was about a successful family but stil humerous and intelligeble. Also wathced/enjoyed by a variety of people.
Having studied American film. The differences are clear. Tyler can do better. He can carry on the movement of change, enlightening minds, quality, and breaking barriers that most artists, film makers, and good writers aim to do. Instead of mediocracy.
Observant Servant
July 4, 2009 at 12:16 am
Obseravnt Servant,
Thank you for reading and responding to The Kaleidoscope Factor! Your “observation” is right on point and I hope those who weren’t too thrilled with my post take a quick note of what you have said.
Thank you for reading The Kaleidoscope Factor!
Tracey Ricks Foster
July 6, 2009 at 1:49 am
Finally, someone who sees those two shows for what they are: negative stereotypes of African American Christians. They make me think of Steppin Fetchit, Rochester, and Amos ‘n Andy. I find them incredibly offensive. Why is it that shows that denigrate Black people are pushed by networks, but shows like Girlfriends and Everybody Hates Chris are canceled? We must stop blindly supporting shoddy efforts by African Americans and focus on quality.
katieM
July 7, 2009 at 4:23 am
I agree that Tyler Perry’s shows are “slapstick” to say the least. I do have to give credit, that the newer shows are better the earlier ones, but still have a long way to go. I think the “characters” make it so unlikely, how about an older man to play the role of the older man? I don’t tune in, I think it would be great to see Tyler Perry get advice from Bill Cosby on what he needs to do to attract and advance his audience.
L R Maxwell
July 8, 2009 at 8:49 pm
What I think most of the readers aren’t getting in this article is the fact that, black people who watch this show are predominantly from the ghettos and are looking for an outlet of daily stress. Tyler Perry’s House of Payne reminds people of their own families and the antics that occur everyday in their own families. When you can find that on television as a black person, you continue to watch because you feel like what you are and who you are is finally becoming accepted. You are finally what most people want to be, NORMAL, in a world that says black is not normal. We as fans of the show are not uneducated, we are not avid watchers of nothing but comedy, we do watch more serious and complex things, but to help support a black man in anyway possible is necessary in helping our race to succeed. Tyler Perry’s shows are reminiscent of Black life and the black experience, and helps the rest of the world see what some of the Black experience is, and I see absolutely nothing wrong with that.
Cat
August 30, 2009 at 1:09 am
Thank you for your comment, Cat! Your point was eloquently written and well-taken. Thank You for reading The Kaleidoscope Factor!
Tracey Ricks Foster
August 31, 2009 at 3:13 am
COONERY & BAFFOONERY implies that the show MERELY relies on rascist & self degradating humor (oh look how dumb niggers are) to get laughs . I was gonna get real philosophical but this is pretty damned simple. Was Seinfeld JeweryBafoonery, is Scrubs HonkeyBaffonery, is King of Queens FattyBafoonery ???? I could go on & on. Just call it a BAD SITCOM.
P.S. I don’t particularly care for the show, but I think Mr.Perry has just as much right as any white person, to make a bad comedy, with bad actors, bad situations & simple minded moral points delivered by unrealistic characters. IT IS A SITCOM SPIKE !!!!
jeff
September 20, 2009 at 6:47 pm
Jeff, I agree with you. The key word, is “unrealistic”. Does Mr. Lee really think his movies showed how “black” people really are? If he did/does then he is out of touch with reality. The biggest problem I see, is an inability to to see movies, television, and music in it’s proper persepctive. Of couse you have people who really believe that the girl comes with car in the commericial LOL.
dek
October 27, 2009 at 10:45 pm
I am white, ill just clear that up, i have nothing against black people or their community.
But i don’t understand how someone like Tyler Perry can be such a success.
His movies simply are not funny, the acting is terrible (by any standard, it just sucks), and now his show comes out and it is so damn cliche, and i find it incredibly insulting that he would think it is acceptable programming in this day an age.
The father is a fat loud mouthed idiot, who is always screaming (and it gets extremely frustrating), i don’t like using the N word, but when if i could place it to one person it would be the father.
Then each show has a corny moral plot, that has been done thousands of times on early morning children s cartoons, (dont steal, dont curse, dont give out information on the internet, so old and done).
It seems incredibly obvious to me that Tyler Perry is taking advantage of ignorant African Americans who somehow are willing to accepts that that is how they should be portrayed.
It may seem horrible, but i know people who watch this because it is hilarious to them to see black people acting like buffoons on TV, like a scripted Jackass show.
Brian
November 27, 2009 at 1:31 am
Thank you, Brian, for your comment! I am in total agreement.
It is unfortunate that more people inside and outside of the African American community do not see it the way you and I do. Tyler Perry once said that his movies and television programs were not for one particular segment of the American population, but for everyone. The big wigs at the network that runs Perry’s shows are in it for the revenue and Perry is in it for the profit.
Thank you for your comment and continue reading The Washington Review!
Tracey Ricks Foster
November 27, 2009 at 6:13 pm