Should White Film Critics Be Allowed To Review Black Movies?

The racist and misogynist film “Precious Based On The Novel Push By Sapphire” won two Academy Awards at the Oscars last month. However, it is obvious there was a disconnect between  white film critics and black audiences.

There are racial, cultural, political, social, differences between black people in North America and white people this is a fact.

Although white film critics praised the disgusting film “Precious”, many black people hated the film.

The quandary is, white film critics despite their so called knowledge about films are blinded by their white skin privilege.

It is easy for a white person to criticize black culture due to the fact there are unequal power relations between blacks and whites

in North America.

The insensitivity to black culture is not just due to a critics opinion it is due to white supremacy.

The film Precious, was offensive on multiple levels the film depicted the black community as pathological, dysfunctional, incestuous, and deleterious. Of course, white film critics praised Precious a film that depicted black women MoNique and Gabourey Sidibe as the stereotypical overweight black mammies. Hollywood loves the “black mammies” but what about regular black people?

Why do white film critics review black films when they do not understand the “nuances” of black culture? It doesn’t make sense to me that white people review black movies.

The reason I say this is because,  the new Tyler Perry film “Why Did I Get Married Too?”  was released and of course the critical response is negative.

There are certain issues in  Tyler Perry’s movies that clearly resonate to black folks that white critics clearly don’t understand.

For instance, the black church is very important to black communities in the African Diaspora. Perry’s movies are religious because his core audience are heterosexual black Christians.

I honestly believe some of these white critics are just “frustrated” they do not “understand” black culture and they “lash out” in their film reviews. The question has to be asked? Does the universe have to revolve around white people? Can there be a space where whiteness is not at the apex?

Everywhere you turn in North America,  is focused on white culture.  The subliminal white supremacist message is white culture is more important than black culture.

Go visit a bookstore, movie theatre, look at the magazine stands, the television shows, movies and everything is a white universe. Where do people of colour fit in? Should we just be silent to this white supremacy or should we challenge it? I believe Tyler Perry is important because he is challenging white supremacy in his own way. Perry is saying black people our lives do matter. We deserve to be in the  front row and not at the back of the bus.

Perry is giving a middle finger salute to white Hollywood by following his dreams. Tyler Perry he is  saying  he will do things his own way he does not have follow the “system” to be successful.

The African Diaspora is not a monolithic group, we are all individuals.  Meanwhile, this weekend Tyler Perry’s new film “Why Did I Get Married Too?” was released yesterday. However, Perry’s films are not screened for white film critics and the reason why is he is cognizant he doesn’t need them.

Perry built his audience a decade ago reaching the African-American community with his plays. Tyler Perry’s empire continues to grow his films have earned over $400 million at the box office. Perry’s audience has grown from a black audience and now he is reaching Asian Americans, Native Americans and also white people.

I know this will be a shock to some people but black people we actually want to see movies with black people in lead roles. I think there is a paucity of black entertainment geared towards a black audience.

Tyler Perry is a rare black director in Hollywood, he is not desperate for white approval and validation. Perry cares about his audience and his films are geared towards heterosexual black women an audience that Hollywood consistently ignores.

Although I am not a woman, I still feel that Tyler Perry’s movies are important. Perry places black women at the center of his movies and not at the margins as just the white actress best friend, sidekick, or pal. It is so rare to see movies about black middle class people who are not drug addicts, prostitutes, welfare queens, or drug dealers.

Perry films illustrate there are hardworking middle class black people with good paying jobs, nice homes in the suburbs, and disposable income.  Hollywood is not interested in creating films with black people as just “normal” regular people that’s why racist garbage such as “Precious” are created.

According to , http://www.boxofficemojo.com,  “Why Did I Get Married Too?” will have a solid debut this weekend. It is clear Perry’s movies are connecting with his audience.

After I surfed the internet this morning, I wasn’t surprised with the subversive racism bubbling under the surface of white film critics reviews. The fact remains, Perry’s movies have nothing to do with white people or white culture. Perry’s films are rare because it is a black space where black people can shine.

It is obvious, that some white critics resent Tyler Perry because he is a powerful black man he controls his own destiny and he does not seek or require white approval or validation. For instance, Tyler Perry owns his own studio nobody tells Tyler Perry what to do in Hollywood.

We still live in a white supremacist society where the discourse is the views of white people lives matter more than black people. White film critics are not the arbiters of black culture or black movies.

We do not need white people’s approval and Tyler Perry’s movies proves that black entertainment can be successful. Tyler  Perry proves the racist reviews of white film critics do not matter what matters most is that his audience likes his movies.

I can admit, Tyler Perry’s movies are not always perfect. In fact, sometimes I feel Perry’s movies are a bit melodramatic for my taste. I believe Tyler Perry is still important to black cinema.

Here are some comments from white film critics reviews of  “Why Did I Get Married Too?”:

Alistar Rockoff  Williamette Week Online

“Perry writes mediocre theater and films it with little imagination. The mood is pleasant and the sets are tacky until Janet Jackson takes a golf club to the furniture. ”

Lisa Schwarzbaum Entertainment Weekly

“WDIGMT? serves up speeches about trust and fidelity and rolling with the punches and blah blah blah. But it does so with so little energy that the actors might as well be saying the words blah blah blah.”

ABC News

Frank Scheck

“Despite what the plot synopsis might indicate, this effort actually is more restrained than most in the filmmaker’s prodigious output, though a climactic sequence in which Jackson’s character has an emotional meltdown nearly crosses the border into camp.”