I was about to pack up my tweets and go on Friday afternoon until a tweet about Tyler Perry from one of my favorite "tweeters" caught my eye:
@drgoddess Not to keep harping on the issue, but I think TP's storylines aren't meant to teach the educated. If you know what I mean...
So I
@WriterChanelle @drgoddess *overreading* Good point Chanelle. Educated thinks TP's Captain Obviousing, but it's eye-opening for his audience
And just like that, I was sucked into yet another conversation about Tyler Perry. Why this man is such a controversial figure within the black community is a mystery to me. Ok, I'm lying. This is not a mystery. He really does represent the cultural divides within the larger African-American community. We literally project onto him our views of "culture" (including what is and what is not "cultured" entertainment). He also figuratively embodies a myriad of contradictions within our culture: originated from notoriously bourgie/gutter New Orleans yet relocated to traditional/upwardly mobile Deep South Atlanta; physically imposing yet dresses like a woman; was homeless yet now enjoys the lap of luxury; professes to be on a spiritual mission yet mass markets his practical wisdom via religion and bawdy humor.
In other words, there are a lot of contradictions for us to sink our collective teeth into here - enough for endless debate.
But that's not the purpose of this post.
The purpose of this post is to bookmark my epiphany for why some can't stand the sight of this man and some see him as the savior of black entertainment.
Throughout all of the conversations about Tyler Perry that I have witnessed or participated in, one aspect always seems to be missing: discussion of differences in senses of humor. As my Madea is forever reminding me: keep it simple. If we boil Tyler Perry down to his most basic appeal, it's humor. Yes, he's imparting wisdom (debatable how sage it is) and some spiritual messages, but mostly he's selling us a good time. Now whether or not you have a good time watching Tyler Perry's creations really comes down to do you think what he's doing is funny?
I paused my participation in the conversation with DrGoddess and WriterChanelle to research the genesis of (this incarnation of) their conversation, which may be this tweet:
Basic. RT @blacksnob: Tyler is just so obvious. His depictions of good v. evil; religious v. secular are so over-the-top in their construct.
What I find interesting about this is that I wrote the following tweet BEFORE having read the one above:
@WriterChanelle @drgoddess *overreading* Good point Chanelle. Educated thinks TP's Captain Obviousing, but it's eye-opening for his audience
Temporarily putting aside all of the cultural ramifications of Tyler Perry's work, the "obviousness" of his humor is really what I think is the difference between those who can appreciate him and those who can't/don't/won't.
Now, while all of this was going on, I was also having a side conversation with another person about our planetary placements. I assume he's somewhat new to astrology because we're discussing the interpretations for our Sun and Moon combinations. As he was telling me about the parts of his personality that AREN'T covered in the Sun/Moon description, I thought about the part of my Sun/Moon interpretation that doesn't fit me: "You are not the idealist, but rather are attracted to the practical dollars and cents issues and personal worldly ambitions." Well, actually I am an idealist. But if you're just looking at my Sun/Moon combo, you wouldn't be able to tell. This inspired me to think about what does make me an idealist...and how that is represented symbolically in my chart.
Don't worry, I won't be analyzing my entire chart here - just pointing out some key aspects that I think are relevant to the discussion.
Sagittarius was rising at the time of my birth, making this sign my Ascendant. So this is the filter with which I view the world. Sagittarius is often described as: over-the-top, bawdy, contradictory, religious, spiritual, secular, idealistic, philosophical, expansive (i.e. think/dream/act/talk big), theoretical, humorous, generous, prone to generalizing.
To make this more clear, the comedian Mo'Nique is a quintessential Sagittarius. Not only is she physically taking up a lot of space but her mouth is big, her voice is booming, her jokes are obnoxious and she's always dreaming big.
Why do I bring up Mo'Nique? Because the same words that Tyler Perry's critics use about him are the same words that I often hear used to describe Mo'Nique.
Now...as you can see, the person who made the first comment is a self-described "black snob". I don't know this person's chart, but I'm going to speculate that Sagittarius is not strongly represented there. Sagittarius is the sign of the "every man". This sign is notorious for mixing it up with all types of people and being culturally unsnobby. A person who is strongly-influenced by Sagittarius (and it's ruler Jupiter) is all about embracing differences, recognizing patterns between people and concepts, and then generalizing to form umbrella theories (read: this is how stereotypes are born).
So we have that going on in my chart in the 1st house of identity. This is my worldview. I naturally see people from an aerial point of view and focus on what we have in common rather than how we differ.
Moving on...
My Rising (or Ascendant) is trine my chart ruler, Jupiter, which is in Leo. Leo is the sign of warm-hearted drama. Jupiter represents my ideals, ethics, how I relate to the world, how I enjoy socializing, my generosity, etc. Hopefully, this is beginning to paint a picture for you: my idea of fun is learning about different cultures and if those lessons are presented to me in an "over-the-top", dramatic fashion using broad strokes, then I'm all for it! Add to this picture that my Mercury (thought processes, communication style) is also in Leo and is united with Jupiter in Leo. So think of what I just wrote and multiply that by at least two since Jupiter expands everything it touches.
Now let's add in some more things that my Sagittarius Ascendant touches: Mars in Gemini in the 6th/7th house ("hey, if others are entertaining and make practical sense, then they're alright with me!"), Saturn in Virgo in the 9th house ("I'm interested in fact-checking other people's beliefs/principles because this helps me form/test my own beliefs/principles.") and North Node in Virgo ("My purpose in life is to find my inspiration and then inspire others. I must do this as a service to humanity.").
How does this apply to my view of Tyler Perry's work? I see the message/purpose in his work. I see that, in his exaggerated performances, he is also living out his Sun in Virgo purpose, which is to purify the world through information. In the middle of his Sagittarian "cooning" and "buffoonery", he throws his Virgo curveballs - advice based on wisdom that he has gathered from his personal experiences, people around him and people that precede him (see his real-life "Madea"). And his advice, while given with humor, always makes good practical sense (earthy Virgo!).
With my Neptune in Sagittarius in my 1st house, I'm very familiar with people projecting their internal concepts onto my "blank screen". To them, I become whatever they imagine me to be - wise truth-seeker with an old soul, intellectual snob full of broad generalizations, austere, all play and no work, etc. All of these are true and, yet, none of them are true. (One look at the descriptions that people have of me on Twitter demonstrates what I mean about people's vastly different perceptions of me - some of them far removed from reality.)
Some people who know me from limited interactions are shocked to find out that I enjoy Tyler Perry's work.
I can only guess as to why this would shock them...To my mind, the way I live my life is not that of a snob. Am I intellectually proud? Yes! (How can I not be with Mercury-Jupiter conjunction in Leo?). But I am not one to perch myself up on a pedestal away from people (for too long). Being separate from people is not my idea of fun (see my social planets in Gemini, Sagittarius and Leo).
As we can see from the tweet above, self-described snobs do not enjoy Tyler Perry productions.
This is a lightbulb moment for me because I used to just cover all (or most) of Tyler Perry's critics with the same "hater" blanket (hello Sagittarius Rising!). Even when they protested that it's a simple matter of taste, I called bullshiggity on that defense/explanation. While I do still think that many struggling creative types are jealous of Tyler Perry's financial, if not critical, success, I now see that some people really just don't find a 6'5'' man in a dress waving around a pistol as funny. They desire more nuance in the characters, plots, songs, etc. Never mind that Tyler Perry's background is in theatre, a format that is characterized by exaggerated performances. What he's doing is translating and transferring that background to other "smaller" formats (film, TV) without making many adjustments. Hence, the cartoonish vibe.
I write that to illustrate that I do understand his critics' point of view. However, I also understand exactly where Tyler Perry is coming from with his over-the-top self.
Mental tangent: I wonder if he also has a Sagittarius Asc. He certainly looks the part: tall, attractive in a goofy way (see Will Smith and his ears), loves to make people laugh, fondness for exaggerated humor, always smiling or finding humor in situations that aren't necessarily funny, etc.
I suspect that those who can't see the humor in Tyler Perry's works have either a.) strong Capricorn or b.) strong Saturn in their birth charts:
"Why can't he take a more serious approach to these issues?"
"Does it have to be so damn silly?"
"He can't say the same thing wearing man's clothes?"
"Why not just get a woman to play the part of Madea? Black men have enough to worry about without this fool running around in a dress!"
Sounds pretty Saturnian to me.
Anyone care to help me test this hypothesis (so I can turn it into a nice, broad Sagittarian theory about humanity :-P)?
To all of this, I say use Tyler as an example of how to relaaaaax, stop fussing over the details (Sun in Virgo style) and enjoy the big picture - Sagittarius style.
*Sagittarius AstroFact: Your favorite comedian probably has their Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus or Mars in Sagittarius. Examples: Richard Pryor, Jon Stewart, Woody Allen, Margaret Cho, Sarah Silverman. Think of what they all have in common: unafraid to speak their truths, offensive humor.
**Side-note: Ok, people, after finishing this post, I researched Tyler Perry's birth info and...he has Mars in Sagittarius. Ding Ding! I don't know his birth time but I'd love to see if my musings about his Asc. are true. Interesting tidbit: His business partner, Oprah Winfrey, has her Moon in Sagittarius, which partially explains her "every woman" appeal and Tyler Perry's work appealing to her funny bone and fetish for inspirational messages. Oprah no doubt encourages Tyler not to limit himself with small thinking (Virgo), to reach higher, imagine more, stretch his boundaries. With Oprah, Tyler decided to go out of his comfort zone (Virgo) and try producing someone else's work (Lee Daniels' Precious). Considering the excellent box office, critical success, Oscar nominations, and Golden Globe award win, I'd say this big gamble (Sagittarius) paid off for everyone involved. Also of note, they both have trouble controlling their waistlines (a very Sagittarian-Jupiter issue).
New to astrology? Find out where your Mercury, Mars and Jupiter are located here.
In case you're interested in the conversation that sparked this post, see here.
Leave it to a Sagittarius to go from one extreme to the other in terms of giving dramatic performances. Compare Monique's stand-up comedy with her Golden Globe award-winning performance in "Precious" (Hmm, I wonder what attracted Oprah and Tyler to Mo'Nique??). She's loud but I'm laughing.
Warning: turn down your volume & graphic language
(I need a proofreader.)
