Diary of a mad black columnist

In the films, The Nutty Professor and The Nutty Professor 2: The Klumps, African-American comedian, Eddie Murphy introduced us to an outlandish and overweight black family. The movies were successes and Murphy's versatility was applauded, along with his talent for comedic timing.

But similar character archetypes from other black actors have infiltrated the big screen leading one to wonder how much is harmless comedy and how much is reinforcing stereotypes in an already racially-sensitive nation.

In 2000, around the same time the second Nutty Professor movie was released, a film starring Martin Lawrence came out titled Big Momma's House. This film featured, yet again, an African-American comedian adorned in thick makeup and a fat suit portraying a rude, obnoxious, loud, impulsive, black stereotype who insists on "telling-it-like-it-is."

Lack of shame and creativity aside, Martin Lawrence, as Eddie Murphy did twice before, essentially profited on the ignorant portrayal of his own race. Some would argue that these two men were simply creating unique caricatures and not necessarily alluding to any familiar racial stereotypes. I would have accepted that explanation had the decade not continued on. In 2005, Tyler Perry began his foray into the prostitution of African-American stereotypes when he released the offensively-titled Diary of a Mad Black Woman. This movie featured the now infamous Madea character which was, yet again, a black actor in a fat suit portraying a rude, obnoxious, loud, impulsive, black woman who insists on "telling-it-like-it-is."

The identical and shameful likeness was constantly repeated in Perry's films including Madea Goes To Jail and I Can Do Bad All By Myself. To make things worse, the 2006 sequel to Big Momma's House did tragically well at the box office.

In 2007, Eddie Murphy felt it was time to revisit the phenomena he essentially ignited with the critical failure, Norbit. In his most realistic fat suit ever, Murphy plays Rasputia, a wildly-disrespectful, loud, ignorant, overweight black woman. It's almost as if there are no lengths to which he, and the aforementioned actors, will go to make money, even if it means releasing a poorly-made film that, at its core, is demeaning an entire demographic.

Though ironically-demeaning media put out by African-American comedians, musicians, and entertainers is nothing new. This newfound focus on emphasizing the fat, mad, black woman is just too blaring to ignore. If perpetuating an ignorant stereotype isn't enough to stop these comedians, then at the very least, they should do it for the sake of creativity. This character model has been done to death. A little inspiration could do wonders, not only for comedy, but for the fight against racial misunderstanding.

Step it up, Tyler Perry. You could help save the nation.

longjonbanks@gmail.com