House of Pain

Many years ago I read a book titled, "Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies and Bucks An Interpretative History of Blacks in American Films," written by Donald Bogle. The book talked about the image of blacks in American film over a fifty year period. When I read the book I was amazed but came away with more knowledge about blacks in film. Some of the images presented in the book were quite negative but I think Bogle's point was to show where we were and where we are now. He goes on to show more positive images in his book to make his point that we have come a long way. And we have come a long way.

I remembered Bogle's book the night I watched Tyler Perry's House of Payne's debut on TBS on June 6th. I remembered the book and its descriptions of blacks in movies because "House of Payne" was so painful to watch and in my opinion depicts the buffonery that Bogle told of in his book. Whether you want to believe that blacks want to make these types of shows is a discussion for another time but to think that blacks actually vie for these roles is something altogether different. The show, in my humble opinion, is a mockery of blacks. It's the kind of humor that Bogle talks about in his book where the mammy types are dark black, loud and obnoxious. Its the kind of show that blacks probably would run away from instead of embracing it as a commentary on black life in Atlanta. The "multigenerational" family is, in one word, embarassing.

I realize that Tyler Perry has made a name for himself doing this type of work but maybe he needs to quit while he's on top. House of Payne is not funny and is an embarassment to blacks. While watching it I felt as though I had been transformed back to the fifty's when shows depicting blacks as simpletons were popular. House of Payne is a House of Pain.