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Did Tyler Perry Kill Black TV?

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IanCogneto
Nov 29, 2009 06:06 PM




Lately there has been a huge shift in current black
television sit-coms. Basically, they don?t seem to exist anymore. What
happened? I thought it might have just been me noticing this strange new
phenomenon but when my kid brought it up I realized I wasn?t hallucinating. She
used to watch the Disney Channel and mentioned that once ?That?s So Raven?
ended there were no more Disney shows with a black cast. ?Corey in the House?
lasted a minute but then that was gone. Now she feels they are ONLY catering to
White kids. The result? she doesn?t watch the Disney Channel anymore. I noticed
that same trend on other stations. Black TV shows appeared to be going the way
of the Dodo bird. Now before you say? Oh here goes another Black person
complaining about Hollywood, the system, or racism, or whatever? just do me
one favor and list five (5) currently produced, in-season African American or
urban based television shows. Take your time. I?ll wait. (Tick-Tock-Tick-Tock) Can?t
do it? Can ya? Don?t feel bad. Neither could we. I only came up with three (four if you count Lincoln Heights on ABC
Family) and two on this list are from Tyler Perry?s camp, but that?s it.



Now I am a big fan of Tyler Perry?s work, especially the
Madea movies, and I admire what he?s been able to accomplish, but what I have
noticed is that aside from the new show ?Brothers? on Fox, with Daryl Chill Mitchell
& Michael Strahan, there are no African American based prime time shows
other than House of Payne and Meet the Browns. However, there is a ton of
everything else on the air. Have the television production Gods that sit on the
mount of the ?Holly-Land? forsaken an entire market or are they putting the
pimp hand down as a message to all those who may even think about doing an end
run around the Hollywood machine and taking the Tyler Perry route to get theirs.
Is it Haterism? Is it punishment to the black production industry because one
slave got free? Or? is it something completely different?



Now don?t get me wrong. There are still black people in TV
shows and movies, but what happened to Black TV? No? not Negrovision. I?m talking
about Black shows White people were watching too. From the mid 80?s through maybe
a year ago we held a lot of program slots, both current and in syn***ation. Now
it seems we?re mainly in syn***ation and even that?s dwindling. Let?s take a quick
look back:



Then: The Cosby Show, In Living Color, A Different
World, Family Matters, Martin, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, The Jamie Foxx
Show, In The House (LL Cool J), The Hughley?s, Eve, Showtime at the Apollo, The
Steve Harvey Show, Moesha, The Parkers, Sister-Sister, Smart Guy, Living
Single, Half & Half, One on One, All of Us, NY Undercover, Girlfriends,
Soul Food, Roc, The Wayans Brothers, Malcolm & Eddie, My Wife & Kids,
Everybody Hates Chris, That?s so Raven, Corey in the House, Just Jordan, The
Game, etc.

**I know he?s not
Black TV but I have to include The George Lopez show in this line up as well.



Now: Tyler
Perry?s House of Payne, Tyler Perry?s Meet the Browns, Brothers, and Lincoln
Heights.



Sad! Just Sad!!!




And before any of you say? ?Why is he blaming
Tyler Perry?? I?m not. I?m just noting the strange coincidence in the timing between
TP?s coming to power, which was done outside of the Hollywood grip and the recent
TV show abandonment by the powers that be, of a market that has been consistently
on fire for over the last 20 years. But as I said earlier, what if it isn?t the
God?s on the mount of the ?Holly-Land?. What if it?s us? Have we changed, as
viewers? as writers? as producers? I don?t know but America as a whole has gone
through a generational shift. I?m in my 30?s and we grew up with a completely
different view of life, sets of values, and we actually gave a damn about
something. Keeping it real was more than just a catch phrase. It was reflected
in our music, our TV shows, and in our lifestyle, Black, White, Latino, and
otherwise. This new ?Sugar Rush? generation is growing up heavy on adrenaline.
Just take a random kids show or cartoon, for example. It?s all sizzle and no steak.
No lessons. No real messages. And most are actually not funny. The characters
are always angry, always screaming, and they all have attitudes but no
personality. Is this what the public wants? Is this the memo that Hollywood is
getting? Is this mindset part of the demise of Black TV programming? I?m still
looking for the answer, but like being at a restaurant, if this isn?t what I
ordered, I?m sending it back.
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Thebasics2120
Jul 11, 2010 03:37 PM
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KEMETSTRY
Jul 11, 2010 03:50 PM
This has nothing to do with Perry. When Redd Fox did a show on TV, it would go #1. He would then ask for #1 pay. Suddenly, he was off the air. The only reason Cosby got paid, was because he litterally saved NBC.

When blacks start asking for fair payment, they get shut out. The more production studios, Oprah, Perry, Spike Lee we own, the more decisions we get to make. The problem will come from the next generation. If there are no more Oprahs or Spike Lees, then we are lost






...ultimately the man you are sleeping with is a direct reflection of your character... ...You can lead a fool to knowledge but you can not make them think..... Some women spend more time shopping at Nordstroms for the right thing to wear to the club than they do trying to find a decent brother to be the father of their child... SAY NO TO MOOKIE!!!!!!!!!
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