Tyler Perry’s Crack Mothers

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Tyler Perry’s Crack Mothers


Charles M. Blow

Mo’Nique is a favorite to win an Oscar next Sunday for her powerful and disturbing portrayal of an abusive mother in the movie “Precious.”

If she wins, I may grit my teeth at the depraved depiction, but at least her character is merely juxtaposed with the crack scourge and isn't in fact an addict. That's heartening since the crack-addicted black mother has recently made a curious comeback.

There was a time when this character was more relevant: in the 1980s and 1990s when the crack epidemic plunged whole communities into violence, fear and chaos. (To be fair, “Precious” is set in the 1980s.) But this character now feels like a refugee of time — and discordant with the facts on the ground.

In the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan pushed the crack-baby myth. In 1991, “Boyz in the Hood” and “New Jack City” were released. In 1995, the late Tupac Shakur released “Dear Mama” in which he rapped: “Even as a crack fiend, mama/You always was a black queen, mama.” Part of its poetry was that it was impossible to tell if this was an address or a lament.

And then there was Whitney Houston’s breathtaking decline, and her infamous 2002 “crack is whack,” “I want to see the receipts” interview with Diane Sawyer. Receipts for crack, Whitney? Poor thing.

That seemed a sort of cultural end cap, and data suggest that it was with good reason.

A National Survey on Drug Use and Health, a report released last week, found that young black adults ages 18 to 25 years old were less likely to use illicit drugs than the national average. (For those doing the math, you’re right. Those are the children born during the crack epidemic.)

Also, a 2007 study of college undergraduates published in the Journal of Ethnicity and Substance Abuse found that young blacks’ rates of illicit drug use was substantially lower than their counterparts, with black women having the lowest rates of all.

Furthermore, data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration revealed that of the total admissions to treatment services for crack use, blacks outpaced whites in 1996, but whites outpaced blacks in 2005 for those under 30 years old.

Then came Tyler Perry with his inexplicable fascination with this cliché, and his almost single-handed revival of it.

In the last five years, he has featured a crack-addicted black mother who leaves her children in two of his films and on his very popular sitcom, “House of Payne.” (In one of the films, the character is referred to but never seen.) In another film, a main character is a drug-addicted prostitute. And in yet another, a mother leaves her family for the drug dealer.

It should be noted that “Precious” is “co-presented” by Perry.

Let it go, Mr. Perry. These never-ending portrayals perpetuate the modern mythology that little has changed when much has. Even for Whitney.

There are two points here, both of them about racial stereotypes.  The first point is that young black Americans are using crack cocaine less than other Americans in their age groups.  The second point is that the media still emphasize the stereotype of the young black crack mom.  Are you surprised that the myth does not match the reality?  Does this editorial change any of your thinking on this subject?  What do you think of the movie Precious?

[muchacho de mierda]

yea he uses crack moms alot but thats his thing. hes making money and people really enjoy his movies and shows. noone really pays attention to the crack mom thing becuz the shows to damned funny.

[LeftShoe6692]

       Well that's no surprise. The only reason crack became such a big thing in the hood is due to it being cheaper than real cocaine, and who lives in the hood besides poor minorities (Black and Spanish) and unwed mothers. Now, I'm not trying to to say that some stereotypes are true, but look around you. But, that's not really the point, the government is perpetuating this social stigma because they don't want young blacks and co. to rise up. It's the same thing they did with the Tuskegee airmen. They (the government) go under the guise of something helpful like trying to vaccinate the airmen, when in actuality they are inoculating our troops with syphilis to see what effects the disease has on the human body. Then when something goes wrong, like the troops reacting horribly, the gov. spouts a whole bunch of propaganda and covers their tracks. It's all the same thing, whether it be drugs, AIDS, or putting us on the first line to die in battle. "Ask not what you can do for your government, but what your government can do for you..." Don't make me laugh...

[skull splitting intellegence]

nobody forced you to watch tyler perry movies so stop watching and criticizing

[CbunnyHop718]

I BELIEVE THAT DRUGS SHOULD BE BANNED U KNOW ITS SAD THAT PEOPLE stereotype BLACKS AND WHITES. BUT TO BE HONEST I THINK THAT NO ONE SHOULD BE OFFENDED WHEN PEOPLE STEREOTYPE BLACKS OR WHITES BECAUSE TO BE HONEST THE THINGS THAT ARE SAID ARE TRUE FOR THOSE PEOPLE WHO ALREADY PUT THEMSELVES IN THAT SPOTLIGHT PEOPLE MAY SAY ALL BLACK PEOPLE THIS AND ALL WHITE PEOPLE THAT BUT TO BE HONEST SOME PEOPLE JUST CANT HANDLE THE TRUTH

[That Girl over there.]

America likes to place their flaws on minorities. It's as simple as that.

It's sad that Tyler Perry keeps pushing this crack thing, because in actual reality, most black people won't even touch it. You can barely even find black drug dealers who are willing to sell it.

But blaming it on minorities is an easy way for America to attribute their shortcomings to a particular situation.
It's also a way to keep the population separated.

All black people are lazy, welfare check getting drug dealers/pushers/thieves.

All Puerto Ricans are lazy

All Jews are cheap/thieves.

I could do this all day.... But I won't.


And the sad thing is, some people, inside the groups and out, live by these stereotypes. And the ones who refuse to live by it suffer the most.


That being said, I think Tyler Perry is disgusting. Some people think he is doing justice to the black community, but he isn't.

It's almost always about some downtrodden black woman who has to do something unthinkable to survive or been abused. And the black woman is always bitter. And her demeanor only changes when she gets a man. Not to perpetuate the whole "I don't need a man to be happy" stereo type here, but he basically makes it as though no black woman can survive without a man.


And the man is almost always portrayed as physically, emotionally or sexually abusive and a loser.

Dear goodness, Tyler Perry. Get a life.

[That Girl over there.]

I BELIEVE THAT DRUGS SHOULD BE BANNED U KNOW ITS SAD THAT PEOPLE stereotype BLACKS AND WHITES. BUT TO BE HONEST I THINK THAT NO ONE SHOULD BE OFFENDED WHEN PEOPLE STEREOTYPE BLACKS OR WHITES BECAUSE TO BE HONEST THE THINGS THAT ARE SAID ARE TRUE FOR THOSE PEOPLE WHO ALREADY PUT THEMSELVES IN THAT SPOTLIGHT PEOPLE MAY SAY ALL BLACK PEOPLE THIS AND ALL WHITE PEOPLE THAT BUT TO BE HONEST SOME PEOPLE JUST CANT HANDLE THE TRUTH

Why shouldn't I be offended when someone stereotypes me?

I'm Black/Spanish and I'm from Trinidad. And people are so surprised when they find out that I:

*Graduated at the top of my class

*Speak proper English.

*Know who my biological father is. And he took care of me/ paid child support and is still paying for me to go to college.

*Have never done a drug in my life

And other things to.

I'm sick of people saying things like, "You're smart for a black girl" or "You act like a white girl".

No.

I am NOT just "smart for a black girl" . I'm Smart. Period.

And I don't "act" like a white girl. I act like a girl with class.

Don't get it mixed up, and don't push your negative stereotypes on to me.

[Fame]

No and I have seen the movie but do not remember it quit well I see it sometime again.

[summerskin]

I BELIEVE THAT DRUGS SHOULD BE BANNED U KNOW ITS SAD THAT PEOPLE stereotype BLACKS AND WHITES. BUT TO BE HONEST I THINK THAT NO ONE SHOULD BE OFFENDED WHEN PEOPLE STEREOTYPE BLACKS OR WHITES BECAUSE TO BE HONEST THE THINGS THAT ARE SAID ARE TRUE FOR THOSE PEOPLE WHO ALREADY PUT THEMSELVES IN THAT SPOTLIGHT PEOPLE MAY SAY ALL BLACK PEOPLE THIS AND ALL WHITE PEOPLE THAT BUT TO BE HONEST SOME PEOPLE JUST CANT HANDLE THE TRUTH

Why shouldn't I be offended when someone stereotypes me?

I'm Black/Spanish and I'm from Trinidad. And people are so surprised when they find out that I:

*Graduated at the top of my class

*Speak proper English.

*Know who my biological father is. And he took care of me/ paid child support and is still paying for me to go to college.

And other things to.

I'm sick of people saying things like, "You're smart for a black girl" or "You act like a white girl".

No.

I am NOT just "smart for a black girl" . I'm Smart. Period.

And I don't "act" like a white girl. I act like a girl with class.

Don't get it mixed up, and don't push your negative stereotypes on to me.

*Have never done a drug in my life

Haha I love this girl!

[KaramelSkinBeautii5]

smh tyler perry makes good shows and movies with a positive message behind them..... alot of other directors make different  shows  with the same  >:message or  story line so why dont yu juss call them all out instead of one? 

[LeftShoe6692]

I BELIEVE THAT DRUGS SHOULD BE BANNED U KNOW ITS SAD THAT PEOPLE stereotype BLACKS AND WHITES. BUT TO BE HONEST I THINK THAT NO ONE SHOULD BE OFFENDED WHEN PEOPLE STEREOTYPE BLACKS OR WHITES BECAUSE TO BE HONEST THE THINGS THAT ARE SAID ARE TRUE FOR THOSE PEOPLE WHO ALREADY PUT THEMSELVES IN THAT SPOTLIGHT PEOPLE MAY SAY ALL BLACK PEOPLE THIS AND ALL WHITE PEOPLE THAT BUT TO BE HONEST SOME PEOPLE JUST CANT HANDLE THE TRUTH

Why shouldn't I be offended when someone stereotypes me?

I'm Black/Spanish and I'm from Trinidad. And people are so surprised when they find out that I:

*Graduated at the top of my class

*Speak proper English.

*Know who my biological father is. And he took care of me/ paid child support and is still paying for me to go to college.

*Have never done a drug in my life

And other things to.

I'm sick of people saying things like, "You're smart for a black girl" or "You act like a white girl".

No.

I am NOT just "smart for a black girl" . I'm Smart. Period.

And I don't "act" like a white girl. I act like a girl with class.

Don't get it mixed up, and don't push your negative stereotypes on to me.

Don't you friggen hate that, "Oh, you act so white..." So because I'm smart I can't be black? Props to you Tiger Lilly and congrats to graduating top of the class!

[Chupalo]

Why shouldn't I be offended when someone stereotypes me?

I'm Black/Spanish and I'm from Trinidad. And people are so surprised when they find out that I:

*Graduated at the top of my class

*Speak proper English.

*Know who my biological father is. And he took care of me/ paid child support and is still paying for me to go to college.

*Have never done a drug in my life

And other things to.

I'm sick of people saying things like, "You're smart for a black girl" or "You act like a white girl".

No.

I am NOT just "smart for a black girl" . I'm Smart. Period.

And I don't "act" like a white girl. I act like a girl with class.

Don't get it mixed up, and don't push your negative stereotypes on to me.

hahahah shes great.

[.brown.eyes.]

honestly anyone is just as likely as the next person to be a crackhead or crack baby mama.
there are always stereotypes and some of them may be true for some people but not all
tyler perry merely makes black movies that have all different problems that any family can face not just  black.
him making the movies that way doesnt mean he is saying  its more likely to happen to blacks.
hes just making movies about black family because theres mad caucasian movies and he can do that
stereotypes arent something to pass judement on some one with.

[Youuu Tiiight!]

Well i personally love Tyler Perry movies and there really an eye opener to how bad life can be

[captian cknuckles]