Of Tyler Perry and black stereotypes.
I’m just going to go straight to the point and declare that despite being listed by Forbes as the highest paid man in entertainment, earning $130 million USD between May 2010 and 2011 with a net worth of $600 million (2017) [Wikipedia], I do not usually enjoy Tyler Perry movies.
Now before the #TylerArmy come at me and label me “hater”, let me also state that chief amongst the reason for my apathy is the stereotyping.
It makes me cringe that in Tyler’s world, all black men are good looking, athletically built, regardless of their social standing while most black women are either successful (career-wise), unsuccessful, mad and angry or all of the above.
Let’s leave that to review his latest body of work, titled Acrimony, a 2018 psychological thriller, is primarily the story of Melinda Moore (Taraji P. Henson) and Robert Gayle, an engineer pursuing a launch of his invention.
Couldn’t find a better plot summary than this one from Hollywood Reporter:
“The story flashes back to the early days of her relationship with Robert (Antonio Madison, playing the younger version of the character), whom she meets when they’re both in college. The young Melinda (Aijona Alexus, who seems to be making a career out of playing Henson’s younger self, as she assumes the same responsibility in Empire) quickly falls for the handsome and charming Robert, although she resents him taking her virginity while she’s still grieving the death of her mother. But she finds it hard to resist, especially when he puts on a record by Nina Simone and tells her, “Her voice is like going to church.”
The couple’s relationship hits a considerable speed bump when Melinda catches Robert cheating on her and she retaliates by ramming his RV with her car. But it’s Melinda who comes out the worse for wear, suffering injuries that leave her unable to bear children.
Despite the loud objections of her sisters who accuse Robert of being a shameless gold digger, Melinda agrees to marry him even though he’s impoverished. She works two jobs to support them as he works endlessly on his design of a rechargeable battery that he says will revolutionize technology. When it’s finished, he assures her, he’ll buy her a diamond ring, a yacht and everything else she desires.
Cut to years later, when the older Robert (Lyriq Bent) is unable to even get a meeting with Prescott Industries, apparently the only company in the world that might be interested in such an invention. Melinda becomes increasingly angry and frustrated over their living conditions. She finally asks him for a divorce, but only after a series of plot machinations so patently ridiculous that even relating them feels onerous.
Not long after, Robert strikes it rich and, as icing on the poisonous cake, gets back together with Diana (Crystle Stewart), the woman with whom he had his dalliance years earlier and who now happens to be, you guessed it, working for Prescott Industries. And that’s when Melinda goes seriously crazy. We’re talking crazy to a degree that would make Glenn Close’s Alex in Fatal Attraction go, “Too much.”
The movie has expectedly divided opinion. I personally felt the plot was contrived, the acting could use some work and the story lost its way at some point .
It’s okay to not agree with me but I sampled a few reviews here and here.
Little wonder the movie has received generally unfavorable reviews from critics and has grossed only $46 million worldwide, according to Wikipedia. Frank Scheck of Hollywood Reporter actually takes the words right out of my mouth, when he writes “It may be hard to believe, but Tyler Perry’s dramatic movies are actually worse than his comedies.” and that “Perry has directed more than 20 films in his amazingly successful career, and yet seems incapable of improving.” Ouch!
That said, even I must admit that there was a silver lining after all, albeit hidden, which again contributed to my grouse i.e. “Why make the most important message of the movie so inconsequential”?
Enter Borderline Personality.
I credit my dear friend, Chris Ogunlowo for bringing the condition to my consciousness over a year ago. Borderline Personality is one of 10 types of personality disorders.
According to Verywellmind.com, “Women are far more likely to be diagnosed with BPD than men. In fact, about 75% of people diagnosed with BPD are women; that’s a ratio of 3 women to 1 man diagnosed with BPD”.
One study found a positive link between the severity of BPD symptoms and marital violence and distress. This means that the more severe a person’s BPD symptoms are (for example, fear of abandonment or intense and frequent mood changes) the more likely there is violence, in addition to overall trouble in the marriage.
In another study, we’ve been told “that people with BPD symptoms tend to marry partners who also report BPD symptoms — a phenomenon called assortative mating.”
Furthermore, with a reported “More than 1.5 million cases per year (Nigeria)”, could there be a link to this phenomenon and the growing cases of domestic violence across Nigeria homes?
I am no expert in psychology but I think it is time to campaign that more Africans, especially women and their partners, begin to pay more attention to their mental state of mind and not discredit the role of therapy as they grapple with a myriad of challenges in the ‘modern’ world.
Indeed, hell hath no fury than a woman scorned.
