Prometheus 6

Yesterday, I participated in a conversation with some folks over at Dr. Lester K. Spence's "Is it hating when the show sucks and you say it out loud?" blog post thread. We talked a little about Tyler Perry's new show, his art's popularity, Black America's aesthetic cultivation, and the philosophy of hateration. The conversation inspired me to write up a lil' something this morning over at my joint, "Mixed Feelings about Tyler Perry's Success."

Whenever I begin to compare fine Black art with mediocre Black art with bad Black art, I tend to bring out folks who like to accuse me of being a culture warrior or an elitist. I don't mind the labels; actually, I really don't understand what their purposes are when folks use them. Surely they aren't trying to assert all Black art is of equal quality and is equally deserving of our dollars and time. Surely they aren't trying to assert different works of Black art can't or shouldn't be compared with one another, with respect to aesthetic quality. Are they trying to defend the producers and consumers of bad or mediocre Black art against being influenced by the honest opinions of Black folks like me, who believe we know the differences between the bad stuff, the mediocre stuff, and great stuff? Are they trying to defend Black America from Black folks like me, who love Black America, but wish she would do more in order to step her aesthetic game a little bit?

Perry is making big money and he is a strong enough to absorb (or ignore) a little tough love from the Black intelligentsia. He shouldn't mind if the little people lovingly criticize his art; should he? He’s influencing millions of Black (and non-Black) minds via his portrayals of the Black American cultures he knows best. So, those of us who are a part of and love Black America are entitled to take a closer look at the reasons why his art, and not finer Black art, is so popular among Black Americans and what his popularity signals about Black America's intellectual and cultural progress.