Spike Lee recently had an interview with Ed Gordon on Our World with Black Enterprise where he expressed his frustration with Tyler Perry’s “House of Payne” and “Meet The Browns.”

“We’ve had this discussion back and forth. When John Singleton [made 'Boyz in the Hood'], people came out to see it. But when he did ‘Rosewood,’ nobody showed up. So a lot of this is on us! You vote with your pocketbook, your wallet. You vote with your time sitting in front of the idiot box, and [Tyler Perry] has a huge audience. We shouldn’t think that Tyler Perry is going to make the same film that I am going to make, or that John Singleton or my cousin Malcolm Lee [would make]. As African-Americans, we’re not one monolithic group, so there is room for all of that. But at the same time, for me, the imaging is troubling and it harkens back to ‘Amos n’ Andy.  Each artist should be allowed to pursue their artistic endeavors, but I still think there is a lot of stuff out today that is coonery and buffoonery. I know it’s making a lot of money and breaking records, but we can do better.…I am a huge basketball fan, and when I watch the games on TNT, I see these two ads for these two shows (Tyler Perry’s 'Meet the Browns' and 'House of Payne'), and I am scratching my head. We got a black president, and we going back to Mantan Moreland and Sleep ‘n’ Eat?” –Spike Lee  (newsone.blackplanet.com)

There have been a lot of discussions about the state of African American images in film and television. Most ethnic groups face this same dichotomy.  As artists one should be able to pursue any genre of entertainment that appeals to them and that they are passionate about.  Equally, one should be conscious and understand the magnitude of their power when dealing with products for mass consumption, such as weekly television shows that shape our collective consciousness as a society.  

Tyler Perry has obviously experienced resounding success and this success could only come from having an audience that put their hard earned dollars towards supporting his work.  Perhaps Lee is taking things too seriously here?  Should the Tyler Perry’s of the world be held to a certain standard of storytelling and performance?  If so, who determines what that standard is?   It seems that we would have to look to the consumer who has in this example made their choice crystal clear.  The African American dollar seems to favor these types of movies, sending a direct message to the “powers that be” as to where they will invest their disposable income, and more significantly, their time.  Is it any wonder then that when “Once Upon Of Time When We Were Colored,” “Rosewood” or “Malcolm X” failed to hit the big box office numbers studios resort back to what financially works?   

Let’s weigh the pro’s and the con’s here.  Tyler Perry has opened up a gateway for non-working actors, as well as helped break new talent.  Yet, if this is all African-American talent can look forward to, perhaps the future is pretty dismal. Tyler Perry’s movies always seem to have a spiritual lining ripe with positive messages. Yet, it’s not the most flattering reflection of African American life and is sometimes downright embarrassing.  Despite this, Tyler Perry has been able to carve a niche for himself as an entrepreneur and an artist in an industry that is very difficult to penetrate.  One is left to wonder to what extent he understands and embraces the theory that with opportunities come certain, perhaps unspoken obligations.  So, where do we draw the line between art and responsibility? Must artists be shackled by these types of rules and be required to elevate their race?  It is clear that Lee has taken on this level of consciousness all throughout his career.  Yet, was that a mandate or a choice? Perhaps in the greater scheme of things there may be many projects that Lee desires to make but opted for something he felt would be more meaningful to the global community?  Maybe as artists the unspoken responsibility to show a broader spectrum of the human experience for a particular ethnic group, and not just relegate ourselves to seemingly “safe” stereotypes and formulas that “work”, shouldn’t be disregarded. 

Does it bottom-line at integrity or dollars?  Where does one stop and the other begin, and is it as simple as that?  It is really a hard place to be for any artist because those lines can become blurred very easily.  Seems like more than anything, today’s Artists will have to continue to reach a place where that choice will no longer matter because there will be a wide-range of images, and not only a reinforcement of clichés and stereotypical ones. However, until that wonderful and glorious day comes perhaps it’s an obligation that one can’t really afford to ignore?