Posted on 03/30/2008 4:52:02 PM PDT by forkinsocket
Some of the most memorable women in black entertainment have been played by men. This drag tradition with roots in minstrelsy harks back to '70s TV star Flip Wilson's sassy Geraldine character, and most recently has hoisted chitlin auteur Tyler Perry's Mabel Simmons, aka Madea, to superstardom. The sharp-tongued matriarch that Perry has portrayed in six hugely popular movies and a long-running TV show makes a cameo appearance in his new film, "Meet the Browns."
Madea, the seemingly inimitable Aretha Franklin of faux femmes, has yet to inspire knockoffs, but similar drag acts continue to pop up -- the corpulent Rasputia of Eddie Murphy's "Norbit," Keenan Thompson's Virginiaca on "Saturday Night Live," and Martin Lawrence's repeat performance as Big Momma in "Big Momma's House 2," among others. By now, Hollywood drugstores may be running low on plus-size pantyhose.
Perry's core audience began with middle-aged black women, introduced to Madea by the outrageous traveling theatrical shows that made her name. These faithful admirers, and the millions who have caught on since, still can't get enough of the character, but others don't like it hot. Some prominent black men in the entertainment business contend that there's nothing funny about a manly grandma: They say the surefire laugh-garnering power of slipping a macho Negro into chiffon doesn't represent anything but an effeminizing, racist spectacle.
Last year director John Singleton griped to Black Star News, "I'm tired of all these black men in dresses ... How come nobody's protesting that?" And comedian Dave Chappelle told Oprah Winfrey that during a shoot with Lawrence, the writers and producers had twisted his arm to do drag. "'Every minute you waste costs this much money,'" he recalls them telling him.
(Excerpt) Read more at salon.com ...
“Norbit” had more racist stereotypes in it than “Birth of a Nation”
I guess that’s why Jeremiah Wright was wearing a dress while he was G-D ing America.
“Norbit”’s problem was that it just wasn’t that funny. But Rasputia was. Eddie Murphy has a great talent for doing varieties of characters, but he hasn’t had a good script in a long time... probably not since “Bowfinger” (and that was Steve Martin’s writing).
Screw them
I got all Tyler Perry movies on DVD they are soooo funny
Exhibit A: Gangsta Rap.
"But you said I looked like Marilyn Monroe."
Date,"No,I said you looked like Mariln the Hoe!"
I have to say that I love the Tyler Perry movies and have played certain portions of them over and over again for family members and there has never been anyone who has not totally cracked up.
Tyler Perry’s movies always have a nice moral base and he really emphasizes the importance of family, but all I have to do is see Madea and I crack up.
One of my favorite scenes is the one where the granddaughter is being abused by her husband (plus he’s cheating on her) and Madea goes up in the bedroom and starts going through the clothes and then later uses a chain saw to cut up the furniture.
“The sharp-tongued matriarch that Perry has portrayed in six hugely popular movies and a long-running TV show...”
I have never heard of Perry, his TV show, or his “hugely popular” movies. Am I missing something?
Madea - yes
Flip Wilson - yes
Norbit - NOOOO (yuck)
Every time I see Madana I always crack up I think Tyler Perry Madaesa is Geraldine of 21th century comedy
That what I think
Sassy African American all knowning Mama
I thought it was him.It’s been so long,that was a damn funny show.Fire Marshall Bill was my favorite.
White comedians such as Milton Berle dressed in drag as part of their comedy routines too...waaaaay back in the day.
I don’t get the “House of Payne” series. Maybe it needs to grow on you.
ha ha.
Monte Python included a lot of this too. I'm guessing that people who write for Salon magazine just aren't real familiar with conventional humor.
Or, looking for yet another controversial story angle for any number of reasons.
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