Madea: The Deconstruction of the African American Matriarch

Matriarch:  a highly respected woman who rules or dominates a family, group or state.

What a way to kick off my first post, than to discuss something that I’m sure many people feel very passionate about…in this case its Tyler Perry’s fictional, elderly, bespectacled and beloved character, Madea.  Now I’ll admit, a few years ago when my aunt Doris introduced me to my first Tyler Perry play, I found Madea to be just as funny as the next person.   Now here we are many years later.  The “Madea” franchise has grossed millions of dollars for Mr. Perry and has allowed him to truly become a household name in the African-American community as well as a trailblazer in cinematic media.  Here’s where I take issue with the “Madea” character.  I realize that what Mr. Perry does is merely comedic expression, but I think with the latest installment of “Madea Goes to Jail”, we have hit a new low.  Mr. Perry was on the Larry King show last week and Larry asked him about his inspiration for the “Madea” character.  As expected, he said that she is a mixture of his mother and aunt and she represents every African-American Matriarch throughout history.  I don’t know about you Mr. Perry, but the women in my family are not gun-toting, blaspheming felons that have a threat prepared for anyone that dares to say a word.  As Madea continues to make the rounds through the rest of our popular culture, this caricature of our mothers, aunts, grandmothers, etc., goes right along with her.  The African American woman is arguably the strongest individual figure in this country; do we not at all feel that the Madea character is slowly eroding this notion?  One thing that I heard Dr. Maya Angelou say is “when people show you who they are, believe them the first time.”  With this thought in mind, the Madea character is destroying a symbol that has changed my life.  Mainstream society will see this character and make a great assumption about a key element of our culture.  My friends know that I have a very strong relationship with my both of my grandmothers.  One time at work, I stated that I was going to visit my grandmother for the holidays and a co-worker proceeded to ask me if my grandmother was like “Madea”.  Of course I snapped her into correction.  I don’t want people to think that our beloved family matriarchs are anything like this figment of Tyler Perry’s imagination.  For those of us that have relatives that behave like this character, more power to you.  We also have relatives that are similar to Nino Brown from New Jack City or Ebony from Player’s Club but we are quick to hide them from society and persecute film-makers that continue to perpetuate those stereotypes.  Tyler Perry’s explanation for going forward with these characters is that through all the comedy, his movies have a message.  Well I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of his movies conveying an oversimplified moral sermon to cover up for the sheer ‘coonery’ that exists in some of his films.  I am in no means suggesting a boycott of Tyler Perry’s films, but we need to think about the kind of signals that we’re sending out to the rest of the world.  Out of all the movies that Mr. Perry has created, none have gained more notoriety than the ones that star Mabel “Madea” Simmons.  Now that these films have successfully reached the mainstream, Madea is brought up in every interview.  All of the news reporters and talk show hosts want to know about Madea.  “Oh she’s so funny”, “Where do you pull your inspiration from for the character”.   Every time he says “Madea is just like many of the matriarchs in our community”, I CRINGE!    Over the past year, the African American community has experienced a meteoric resurgence of pride with the election of our new leader.  Let’s ride this wave!  Let’s continue to build on the momentum!!  Let’s demand more from our entertainers!!! I realize that the same argument that I’m making for the obliteration of Madea can and SHOULD be made for Flavor Flav, Ray J, etc., but I am focusing on Madea because I think that society is patting Tyler Perry on the back for these “wonderful” films and our community needs to call him to task.  One thing I can guarantee, the Academy will continue to encourage Tyler Perry to create more Madea movies.  Madea Goes to Space, Madea Goes to Paris, and Madea Goes to Hell.  One thing I KNOW…Madea won’t go to the Academy Awards.