Hey kids.  How was the weekend?  Good?

Good.

So, yeah, there are a few things that seem to be permeating my space as a member of Black America as of late, so I’m chipping in my .02 cents on these two topics that I can’t seem to avoid right now.

#1 – The big TP

That’s right, Tyler Perry.  I’ve gotten two separate Evite invitations to go & see FCG this past weekend.  I didn’t go.  I just wasn’t amped to see it.

From what I’ve seen and  heard, people either loved it or hated it.  But that’s typical for a TP film, right?  Right.

I haven’t seen all of his movies, but his track record hasn’t been the greatest for me.  Why Did I Get Married [the first one] and The Family that Prey’s were not bad, actually.  Meet the Browns, however, was one of the worst movies I think I’ve ever seen in my life.  House of Payne & Meet the Browns [the TV shows] are also just SO sub-par.  Just SO... didn’t curl all the way over.  In my opinion.  And his stage-plays?  Never been a fan.

His characters tend not to have any depth or dimension and they can be very over the top.  The messages tend to be RIGHT on the nose.  Like one of the characters will literally explain the moral to the story in a moment of dialogue, instead of just letting the overall story actually tell the story.  That isht is like fingers on a chalk board.  Drives me ALL THE WAY up a wall.  LAWD.

To his credit, he has some funny actors.  I’d be lying if I said I didn’t CTFU at Madea.  And the lead actor dude on House of Payne.  He’s hysterical.  Still, they’re not enough to save a bad script.

I will say, I cannot knock his hustle.  Tyler Perry has the drive and chutzpah to find a way to get his stuff produced by any means!  He’s built an empire from nothing and that’s definitely something to be commended.

But people have such polarizing opinions about TP that Ion’t even like to discuss my thoughts on the matter with certain people because they don’t want to see both sides of the coin.  It’s like politics!  They either STAN for this guy [because "he shows films that uplift black women / he's not afraid to talk about God / he touches on 'real' issues / etc."], or they have a seething hate for all that he does [because "his films are full of coonery / he hates Black men / he puts out a poor image of Black people/ etc."].  I’m somewhere in the middle.  I’m a TP non-partisan.

At the end of the day, dude has an audience.  I don’t particularly care for his work, but obviously a lot of other people do.  Will I ever see FCG?  Prolly so.  Am I expecting to be blown away?  Likely not.  Here’s part of a comment I left on a post over at The Grio about TP that pretty much sums up my sentiments:

If you like his movies, by all means, continue to support.  But a Black person should not have to automatically support a Black film if they don’t think it’s quality. Period. #endofsentence Just because the message is a positive one, it does not equate to the film being good. There’s an art to film-making, which he hasn’t yet mastered. *shrugs*

But, again, kudos to him. I wish him further success & better storytelling.

And there’s my .02 on that.

#2 – Natural Hair

I’m a little… shall I say… weary on this natural hair discussion.  See, a lot of women are “going natural” now and, hey, that’s wassup in my book.  I’ve been a natural since ’04, so this isn’t new to me.  Hell, I WISH there were as many blogs & youtube videos to go to for advice & support when I transitioned.

But, what I’m getting sick of [well, have been sick of for a while] is the discussion around the natural hair discussion.

Makes sense, yes?

No?

Okay, lemme ‘splain.  Black women, it seems, are transitioning in droves these days.  With that, you have some of the OG naturals who have become Natural Hair Nazis and say all these new transitioners are doing it because now it’s a “fad.”  Or you have the naturals who think that they’re now so much better & “blacker than thou” because they have natural hair & you don’t.

O_O

*sigh*

Y’all… that isht get’s on my damb nerves.

I was out with my sister one time… she’s natural too, but on this particular day she flat ironed it.  We’re at a house party & this girl [who I could only assume was a new natural] was talking about how she was looking for products because she couldn’t tame her hair with all the humidity & moisture this & youtube that & so on.  My sister said something like, “yeah, I know what you mean.  My hair acts a fool when it’s humid, too.”  And ol’ girl responds with, “But still, I’m natural so you probably don’t know what I’m talking about.”

O_O

Look.  I’m so glad you’re proud & you’re free to be you & are all “natural hair don’t care” and what not, but please… let’s not feel ourselves too much.

Now, I STAN for gorgeous big hair.  I love the different styling options, etc.  I am not a fan of perms or weaves for ME.  And that’s my prerogative.  But if somebody else chooses to do what they do with their hair, by all means let ‘em do it.  Take the chip off.  If you’re a new natural, don’t treat your permed friends like you’ve “seen the light” and they’re lost in permed darkness.

If you’re an OG natural, why resent those who may be going natural as a “fad?”  Who cares?  They’ll probably switch it up again when the natural “fad” passes.  Get over yourself.  Let people do what’s right for them WHEN it’s right for ‘em.

My final .02 cents.

Thank you & goodnight.