Stereotypes Of African American Filmmakers And Directors

Stereotypes of African Americans in Tyler Perry Films Nautica C. Hereford Wright State University Abstract This paper highlights the negative stereotypes of African Americans that are reinforced in Tyler Perry’s films. The misrepresentation of African Americans in the media has become normalized, meaning African Americans in stereotypical roles have become accepted (Tosi, 2011). The misrepresentation of African Americans in Perry’s films can be traced back to his cruel upbringing. This paper discusses the issues of having common stereotypes portrayed in Perry’s film. In addition, this paper utilizes Eric Festinger’s social comparison theory to explain the potential consequences of negatively stereotyping African Americans.†¦show more content†¦The negative stereotypes depicted by Tyler Perry, a successful African American male, sends a message to his viewers. In addition, the motives behind Perry’s support of stereotypes in his films are inspired by personal traumatic experiences from his childhood and young adulthood. Perry as an Individual Some of the extreme scenes in Tyler Perry’s films can be traced back to his childhood. Perry was born in a household that was not only abusive, but unstable. His father was a verbally and physically abusive alcoholic who worked in construction. Perry revealed his father’s abusive ways in an interview stating his drunken father, â€Å"got the vacuum cleaner extension cord and trapped me in a room and beat me until the skin was coming off my back. Perry later found out that the man who always abused him was not his biological father. His mother’s one attempt to leave her abusive husband failed when he reported the car stolen. She along with other family members went to jail until the husband bailed them out. Perry’s father was not the only abuser in his life, His grandmother abused him as well. She thought he had germs on him and one day decided to kill those germs by bathing him in in ammonia His upbringing was so difficult that he attempted suicide to escape his brokenness. Perry regained control of his life by striking out on his own and pouring his past pain into writing (Owoseje, 2014). Viewers unaware of