Back in December of 2010 my husband and I went to see Tyler Perry's "For Colored Girls." Usually I don't bother seeing anything by Tyler Perry, however, this was the only late movie playing. When I saw the loud crowd that I would be sharing a theater with, I started to get a refund and come back on a nice quiet Tuesday afternoon. I am so glad that I stayed.As a poetry lover and a woman, the movie captivated me from the very beginning. First of all, it is based on the stage play "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf" by Ntozake Shange. The poetic approach to the film gave me goosebumps.
The movie features seven very different women with seven very different problems. Each woman is represented by a different color. These women had to overcome obstacles that may have possibly drove any person to the brink of insanity. For me, these women represented the strength that should lie in all of us. Although I have never been in any of the situations that these women were faced with, however, as a woman, I could easily imagine being in their shoes.
Many critics argued that the men in this movie were portrayed in a negative manner and perhaps they are correct. My husband definitely left the theater feeling a little disappointed in the film's male roles. However, I felt that the focus was meant to be on the women in the film and their emotional journeys.
Lastly, there is Tyler Perry's wonderful casting choices. The women that were casted in this movie were excellent in that they were believable in their roles. I wanted to know these strong women. I felt that I could learn from them. The film really spoke to the woman that I am. Not only was my ten dollars well spent but now I also own the movie. By: Tamika R. Huff
It is easy for someone to keep exposing things that make a community look bad and make money off of it. Tyler Perry's For Colored Girls does just that as it focuses on sensitive issues in the american community and transforms it into a African American issue. It is true that many black women deal with these struggles, but many WOMEN in general deal with these issues also. Tyler Perry is on a platform in which an eclectic audience can see him. Since that is the case, Tyler Perry, be a black man and a prominent member of the black community, exhibits these issues as if they were "black only" issues. For colored girls, in all actuality, does the complete opposite of what it was intended to do.
-Ryan Anthony Gates
While it may be true, as Mr. Gates states, that the issues presented in Tyler Perry's "For Colored Girls" are, in fact, women's issues, as Ms. Huff pointed out, the film is based on the stage play of a similar title, which specifically focuses on black women's issues. Perry attempts to stay true to the intent of the play, not minimize the importance of the issues to non-blacks. -V. D. Poole
ReplyDeleteWhile Ryan Gates claims that “For colored girls does the complete opposite of what it was intended to do,” it is actually true that Tyler Perry’s film shows the true strength of the African American woman. Many members of the African American community fail to own up to the realities of our people. However, I do agree that the men in the movie could have been represented better. -V.R.Poole (Victoria)
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