Interpreting Tyler Perry

<p>Tyler Perry has become a significant figure in media due to his undeniable box office success led by his character Madea and popular TV sitcoms <i>House of Payne </i>and <i>Meet the Browns. </i>Perry built a multimedia empire based largely on his popularity among African American viewers and has become a prominent and dominant cultural storyteller. Along with Perry’s success has come scrutiny by some social critics and Hollywood well-knowns like Spike Lee who have started to deconstruct the images in Perry’s films and TV shows suggesting as Lee did that Perry has used his power to advance stereotypical depictions of African Americans. </p><p>The book provides a rich and thorough overview of Tyler Perry’s media works. In so doing contributors represent and approach their analyses of Perry’s work from a variety of theoretical and methodological angles. The main themes explored in the volume include the representation of (a) Black authenticity and cultural production (b) class religion and spirituality (c) gender and sexuality and (d) Black love romance and family. Perry’s critical acclaim is also explored.</p>