Why Some Fans Are Upset With Tyler Perry’s New Film
Tyler Perry made history in 2018 when he became the first African American to own a film studio. He celebrated in grand fashion with an opening gala at his Atlanta studio property that was attended by every major star in Black Hollywood. Perry ended the year on a high note when he received his own star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.
With his new studio, he continues to push out original content. He also has a major contract with BET digital, where he released two new series at the end of last year. While his new projects are garnering major ratings at BET, his latest film, A Fall From Grace, has fans split on how they feel about the movie’s portrayal of Black women.
Tyler Perry to release new film, ‘A Fall From Grace’
In addition to his deal with BET, Perry also inked a deal with Netflix. In November 2018, Deadline reported that Perry was taking his talents to the streaming service after he tweeted that a new thriller, A Fall From Grace, would be released in the new year.
The film is part of Netflix’s Strong Black Lead category, who also tweeted about the project, writing, “The drama will be “centered around a divorced woman who feels restored by a new romance, secrets soon start to erode her short-lived joy.”
The film stars Crystal Fox with Phylicia Rashad, Mechad Brooks, Bresha Webb, Cicely Tyson, and Perry. It navigates viewers through a murder mystery where Fox, who plays the title role, may or may not have murdered her young husband, (Brooks) who she discovered preyed on her vulnerability to steal her identity.
Fans react to Tyler Perry’s trailer for his upcoming Netflix movie, ‘A Fall From Grace’
Perry tweeted the trailer to A Fall From Grace on Jan. 3. “Ok, here you go! This is the full trailer for my new movie, A Fall From Grace. Check it out. Only on @Netflix. January 17th,” he wrote with the hashtag, #AFallFromGrace.
While the tweet seemed innocent, many fans were not pleased with what they watched. Perry has been heavily criticized in the past for featuring black female characters as flat and one dimensional in his portrayal. Many fans feel he depicts black women as bitter, abused, broken and downtrodden, who ultimately are saved by a strong black male – or who experience unnecessarily painful and difficult struggles before reaching their peak.
Perry has stood by his content time and time again. He addressed critics more recently during his speech at his opening gala for his new studio.
“For every critic that said how horrible my films were, and typically they weren’t black, I got thousands of letters from people telling me how much the work was literally changing their lives,” he said. “Had I focused on the criticism, I wouldn’t own this studio today. I could not have gotten here without Madea.”
According to many reactions on Twitter, A Fall From Grace reverts back to the narrative Perry’s accused of using.
“What if Tyler Perry just loves to tell a black woman’s story instead of thinking he’s obsessed with seeing black women battered and abused with the plot(s) of his movies,” wrote one commentator.
“No one: —- Tyler Perry: “Black women’s lives are inherently ultra traumatic, dark skin men are the spawn of Satan, and here’s movie 197 about it,” wrote another.
Other Twitter users came to Perry’s defense.
“If Tyler Perry had told the fairy tale you want him to, he would still get dragged for pushing a false narrative,” one wrote. “If you’re not getting entertained, look away and find entertainment somewhere else…of course black women can be happy too. In the end, it’s his story.”
“As a film maker, Tyler Perry knows his work, his style and he’s not stopping anytime soon regardless of the backslash he gets concerning his consistent style of storytelling. Indeed, man is really creating and building his own TABLE,” another fan wrote.
Viewers can make their own judgments when the film is available for streaming on Netflix on Jan. 17.
