For a guy who dresses like an idiot everytime the Knicks play, Spike Lee is one to talk about buffoonery. There has been a long standing feud between Spike Lee and Tyler Perry, probably because Tyler actually makes movies that make money and Spike likes to live in a high and might art world of films. At a press conference for his latest movie, Tyler was asked about his relationship with Lee and what Spike has said in the past about Tyler's work.
"I'm so sick of hearing about damn Spike Lee. Spike can go straight to hell! You can print that. I am sick of him talking about me, I am sick of him saying, 'this is a coon, this is a buffoon.' I am sick of him talking about black people going to see movies. This is what he said: 'you vote by what you see,' as if black people don't know what they want to see."
I appreciate all movies and I obviously think movies that get nominated for Best Picture are for the most part wonderful films. But, I also love movies which take me away for a few hours and obviously people spend money going to see Tyler Perry movies and watch his television shows. Because movies are commercial does not make them bad movies, and I think Spike saying that Tyler's movies represent bad black stereotypes is just wrong.
Good for Tyler Perry not being afraid to voice is actual opinion and not sugar-coat it.
ReplyDeleteA better question is who does Spike Lee like....I'm sure it's a very short list...with himself in the #1 spot.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Misch on this one.
ReplyDeleteTyler Perry's movies aren't bad because they are commercial, they are just bad. Sappy, poorly written, Lifetime movie bad.
ReplyDeleteI've never seen a Tyler Perry movie or show, but he seems like an okay guy in TV interviews. Why would Spike Lee go off on the only guy who is giving Black actors steady employment? That seems to hint of jealousy.
ReplyDeleteSpike started off brilliant with Do The Right Thing and was never able to recapture the brill.
ReplyDeleteHe needs to get over it.
To chill out, in honor of 4/20, somebody needs to smoke a Spike Lee joint.
ReplyDeleteI don't care for either of these filmmakers. Then again, I don't like watching men dressed up like women, or talking infants or animals, either. And Spike Lee is just an ass.
ReplyDeleteOK, I'm going to boldly go where no Anglo should go and talk about Black politics. What Spike said is wrong and here's why: Do the Coen Bros criticize the Farelly Bros for making movies that make Anglos look stupid. No. So this is my point: Black folks are not a single entity. They are a large and diverse group. No one Black person could or should represent all other Black folks. So STFU Spike and be tolerant of people who have different sensibilities than you.
ReplyDeletespike lee's flick with ed norton, as a drug dealer, was a very good film. done just right. however, i'm suspecting that his personality gets in the way of him achieving the critically acclaimed success that he wants.
ReplyDeletelooserdude, excellent points, but it's up to you and me (whitey too) to let other white folks know this.
ReplyDelete@Robert - *standing ovation* That was brilliant.
ReplyDelete@looserdude - shut. the. fuck. up. you. mongloid. shitpile. douchefuck. Your opinion is about as spot on as a blind man playing darts, so don't fucking talk about shit that you know nothing about. Stick to what you know, which appears to be fuck and all.
Anyway...I'm torn. I like Spike, both as a filmmaker and as a person. However, I also REALLY like the Madea movies. They're both a couple preening jackholes that need reality checks.
looserdude nailed it.
ReplyDeleteTyler needs to respect his elders. He wouldn't be where he is today if it wasn't for Spike, plain and simple.
ReplyDelete@Nightmare Child - WOW! Just wow.
ReplyDelete"Can't we all just get along?"
ReplyDeletenightmare child, just curios, are you black? i also don't care if you rip me a new one. it's just the internet!
ReplyDeleteFUCK TYLER PERRY! I mean that with NO sincereity.
ReplyDeleteFUCK TYLER PERRY!
Spike made One crummy movie in his almost 30 year career. ONE. That was 1996's "Girl 6".
Tyler makes NOTHING but shit. Nothing. I'm only in my early 30's but I will NEVER subject my eyeballs to a Tyler Perry minstrel show.
Do The Right Thing, Jungle Fever, Malcolm X, Clockers, Get On The Bus, Summer Of Sam, 25th Hour - all directed by a man that knows and loves cinema.
Tyler Perry's Medea is Martin Lawrence in Big Momma's House 2.0
Nightmare child - what on earth provoked a response like that? If you disagree on looserdude's point, tell us why, but why resort to name-calling?
ReplyDeleteApparently Alp, everyone can but Nightmare Child.
ReplyDeleteif tyler does not like tyler's movies, then don't watch them. yeah, spike came before tyler, but elders don't have to be nasty to the youngins.
ReplyDeleteLike I said....
ReplyDeletewe need more black filmmakers in Hollywood because there aren't many black filmakers(Mario van peebles,wayans brothers,Singleton,Hugues,Senna and Precious's director) and here is the clue
ReplyDeleteAND Lee is well better filmaker than Perry
I like Tyler's movies, and his Madea character. He uses the humor to pull people in and then gives you lessons on the importance of love & respect of self, family, God, morality in general. Madea just straight cracks me up. I'm sorry, I live in the South and black or white we can all go a little Madea on your ass here! Spike Lee...can't stand him because of his attitude. Yes, Spike your shit stinks too.
ReplyDelete@looserdude: "So this is my point: Black folks are not a single entity. They are a large and diverse group. No one Black person could or should represent all other Black folks."
ReplyDeleteI'm not gonna go for your jugular here, but this is the same exact point I was trying to make about women a few posts back. :-)
Oh, and I'm gonna side with Jason Blue Eyes on this one. There is NO COMPARISON between the man who made Do the Right Thing and the man who puts his own name in all of his shitty movie titles.
pomme, spike may be a better filmmaker. however, tyler and spike make DIFFERENT films.
ReplyDeletespielberg and scorsese also make different movies, but have these two ripped into each other publicly?
spike started this, and he should be the one to end it by keeping his trap shut.
I don't know anything about Tyler Perry, but I know Spike Lee is a straight up asshole. If someone portrayed African Americans in their films with the same contempt he shows Italians, he'd be calling for their head on a platter.
ReplyDeleteKiss my Italian ass, Shelton.
Lee is an asshole in person, too.
ReplyDeleteDon't hate Spike for his dipiction of Italians.
ReplyDelete"Jersey Shore" did more damage for Italians then Spike could ever do.
Looserdude, I'm half black. I've heard your exact words ("No one Black person could or should represent all other Black folks.") come out of my father's mouth, so yeah, it was just fine that you said it, in my opinion.
ReplyDelete@ Looserdude, I think you made a good point. I don't think Lee is doing a good thing by trashing Perry. Perry is good friends with Oprah. She could mess a man up I am sure. lol : )
ReplyDeletethis pasty white chick actually appreciated looserdude's statement...
ReplyDeleteTeam Looserdude!
ReplyDeleteI think you were right. No one person can be a "representative" for their entire race. Look at the President.
Though did anyone see Wanda Sykes' special where she talked about Michelle Obama just wanting to go "all ghetto". Funny s&*t.
I saw nothing offensive about what looserdude said.
ReplyDeleteI do not care for Tyler Perry's movies, but good for him for defending himself. I look forward to Spike's response to this.
Looserdude had it EXACTLY right! There are no more "typical" black people than there are "typical" whites, Jews, women or Italians. There is diversity in ALL groups and the ones that don't want diversity in their group are the ones that worry me.
ReplyDeleteI. think. there. is. something. wrong. with. nightlight's. keyboard.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that I think Ent or whoever monitors this site was wrong in not deleting a comment that was such an ignorant personal attack.
@Mr Pink -- I think Ent saves the censorship for blatantly racist or sexually aggressive comments.
ReplyDeleteI can think of only ONE commenter who's posted revolting things here lately whom I personally find ban-worthy, and it definitely *isn't* Nightmare Child.
OK, so a profane personal attack on another commenter is fine as long as I avoid using race or gender related insults.
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to know where to draw that line.
@Mr Pink -- um...have you visited CDAN lately?
ReplyDeleteIn terms of personal insults, this thread is tame. I just don't see the need to stir up drama if the two parties who are supposedly at war are currently keeping quiet.
*what looserdude said*
ReplyDelete"Jersey Shore" did more damage for Italians then Spike could ever do.
ReplyDeleteUm, honey, the trash in 'Jersey Shore' is NOT Italian!!!
I understand looserdude's point, but the problem is that Perry does employ a lot of negative stereotypes in his movies. Yes, I understand that a lot of it is supposed to be tongue in cheek, but a lot of ignorant and/or culturally unaware people will not take it that way. I dont like the idea that people can reinforce their racist and outdated views about black people with movies by and about black people. I think that Tyler Perry is too good to rely on that stuff for laughs.
ReplyDeleteMy ex actually wrote a really good article about this exact subject ( minus the spike lee part ) on Tyler Perry and his movies...
ReplyDeletehttp://movies.msn.com/movies/moviesfeature/tylerperry/
and he received SUCH backlash ( 700 angry comments ) that MSN did a story on his story!
http://movies.msn.com/movies/article.aspx?news=307153
pretty awesome stuff if you have a moment :)..
I am Miss(pdx) btw..I just never feel like switching google accounts when I comment anymore...I am lazy these days!
"Jersey Shore" did more damage for Italians then Spike could ever do.
ReplyDelete@JasonBlueEyes - I don't disagree with you, but "Spike" got a head start of about 20 years.
@Alicia -- just wanted to say that I just read your ex's review, and I pretty much agree with him. Thanks for posting the link -- it didn't go unnoticed (by me, anyway...).
ReplyDeleteI can't comment on whether or not Tyler Perry's movies are detrimental to black culture, but it DOES seem as if Spike has made a more significant cultural impact.
Um, Nightmare Child, guessing you misread looserdude's comment. Because your odd response doesn't make much sense.
ReplyDelete@ IDA :) the funny part of the backlash was everyone was accusing him of being a racist and all assumed he was white. He is actually a black man. Lol talk about racism..when people automatically assume all journalists are white!
ReplyDeleteoh yah and JasonBlueEyes I am with ya all the way
ReplyDeleteThe Nightmare Child said...
ReplyDelete@looserdude - shut. the. fuck. up. you. mongloid. shitpile. douchefuck. Your opinion is about as spot on as a blind man playing darts, so don't fucking talk about shit that you know nothing about. Stick to what you know, which appears to be fuck and all.
That is SERIOUSLY THE most fucked up thing I've EVER read on this blog. HO. LEE. FUCK. I'm tempted to agree with SnowCherries comment that perhaps TNC simply misunderstood looserdude's comment, because there is ZERO reason for TNC's ABSOLUTELY PSYCHOTIC display, otherwise. Seriously, W.T.F.
I'm new to the boards, everyone. So, hi -- but I must weigh in on this. You have to understand, Tyler Perry is REINFORCING a stereotype that black performers have tried so hard to stem away from. Spike may be an ass, but his point is completely valid.
ReplyDeleteYes, we don't ask Mr. Perry to represent an entire race, but if that's all that is the only entity that allows us to be "mainstream", I think that it's truly a shame. It's truly disheartening, and I don't think people realize how much it can truly affect our already poor representation in the media and society in general.
They are *BOTH* total asshats. End of discussion.
ReplyDeleteHEART BREAK BEAT FOR THE FUCKING WIN
ReplyDeleteI havent seen a Perry movie but I have flipped across his show he has on cable here in the U.S. and it looks appalling- VERY stereotypical and foolish and just cringe tastic.
ReplyDeleteStereotypes CAN die out- the problem is we keep reinforcing them- and Tyler Perry, though personally he seems nice enough, is not doing the black population any favors here.
I think Maury is more detrimental to black culture than either of these two chuckleheads are. Truth.
ReplyDeleteTyler Perry makes movies. He doesn't represent a whole race of people. The movies are simple, formulaic and attempt to be funny & educating. That's it.
ReplyDeleteSpike Lee's comment(s) was/are tacky, uncalled for and pompous. He needs to sit down and hush.
Nightmare Child, that was a bit much and I think a misunderstanding occurred. Loserdude was on-point with his comment and it wasn't offensive. "mongoloid"? really? Tacky.
Thank you, JasonBlueEyes. I cannot believe anyone would dare compare these two filmmakers (and I use that term loosely with Mr. Perry). Tyler Perry is an unoriginal one-note "wonder." Sad to see so many talented black comedians (Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence, etc.) inevitably reduced to "ugly, fat" black-woman-drag comedy. It is unoriginal, sell-out garbage and an incredible insult to all black women. Tyler Perry is as substantive as warm pudding.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with everyone that comparing Spike Lee to Tyler Perry in terms of quality of content would be like comparing Scorcese to whoever the dude is who makes the Transformer movies-- but as a Boston Celtics fan, I'm taking Tyler Perry's side here on that point alone. At least he doesn't show up at Knicks or Lakers or whoever we are playing's games and actually say on camera in his ridiculous outfits that he is there for the purpose of cheering AGAINST Boston. I love his movies but dude seriously 1) you can't be a real Knicks fan if you also cheer on the Lakers when they are in the playoffs and 2) if he honestly thinks the Boston/NY rivalry is actually worthy of cheering against us no matter who we play-- then he is beyond clueless. Sorry Knicks fans but its the truth. You can't have a rivalry with a team that is not even close to being on the same level and hasn't been for years despite recent acquisitions. We're not talking about the Yankees and the Red Sox here. How can Spike be so in tune with society and culture as portrayed in his exellent films from Inside Man to Do The Right Thing yet so fricking clueless about something he claims the be passionate about?? No wonder he never stays overnight in Boston.
ReplyDeleteSpike has called out many people in the film industry, black & white, throughout the years on issues he does not agree with. Whether you agree w/his opinions or his tactics or not, trying to say he should exclude black people as targets of his ire because he is black himself is just screwed up.
ReplyDeleteI don't really look as either man as a spokesman for black cinema, but my opinion is that Lee is correct - Perry's brand of comedy is based on coonery. There's nothing wrong with portraying fools on film, but Perry uses specific stereotypes that were foisted on black people back in the movies of the 30's, 40's & 50's by a racist film industry. I find his humor offensive and his technical skills as a director awful. I'd rather watch Lee's terrible 'Girl 6' ten times than his pitiful treatment of 'For Colored Girls' just once more.