Ugh..I didn't like it. Especially after the Rocky Horror scene

Aaron actually is paying attention to Tyler Perry's films and reason for existing and that's what made the episode so entertaining.

I thought it was pretty right on. And hilarious. Tyler Perry is black Micheal Bay and should be seen and treated as such. That's just me, though.

Except for the usual gay bashing, this episode displays EXACTLY what I've been saying for YEARS. I'm an advocate for gay rights, but I'm NOT an advocate for cock blocking, anti interracial, sacrilegious, porn for snobby “all i wants is me some black man, to hell with white bitches… in the name of JEEEZOUSS” ebony female/under cover gay men.
“Excuse me, i'mma get me some kool-aid” Priceless

Maybe I'm terribly naive but I've never thought about Tyler Perry as gay. Even with all the dress wearing, i never thought it was hiding some inner desire…unless that desire was to continually harm the image of blackness in society. Tyler's sexual preference is irrelevant to me. I care much more about his seemingly deliberate attempt at skewing public perception about blackness in American society. All that money and dude won't try to change the conversation. It bugs me personally…

I thought it was spot on. The Rocky Horror scene was genius! I didn't think that it was so much about gay bashing or christian bashing as it was amplifying the themes that already exist in Tyler Perry's works and highlighting the contradiction of promoting “good, christian entertainment” while dressing in drag.

Have you not seen his spots for his shows on (insert cable station here)? When he says “TBS(or tnt, I forget), Very funny.” I keep expecting him to give 2 snaps up. Again, it have nothing against gays, but I always thought he was plotting against black women so he can get all the black men or himself. The sweater he puts on jesus in the show, to me, is a metaphor for him covering up his intentions for his master plan.
*Glenn Beck Voice* Don't you see? It's all connected.

I'm not arguing whether or not Mr. Perry is in fact gay or injecting things subconsciously. In all honesty I don't think I'd be so anti-him if that was it. A guy in entertainment who doesn't feel comfortable with exposing himself to the worlds ridicule isn't reason to attack-a-negro. I'd say that's something that the LGBT community might want to discuss and figure out whether it hurts or hinders their cause. It's the flat out mockery of what “Blackness” is that makes my teeth grate. I get what the Boondocks was doing and I'm not hating on them, but my personal opinion is that by going so hard at the gay aspect of things they may have clouded the harm that Tyler Perry actually causes.

And, am I the only one who is made incredibly uncomfortable when the Boondocks addresses sexuality? The representations and the ways that fans take them up (like people quoting Riley calling everything gay) always feel more like reveling in rather than critiquing homophobia.

I saw it as cheap myself. We learn on the play ground that calling a dude a “fag” is THE biggest and brightest insult available (One can sugar coat and tap dance all day long but that was the sitcom equivalent of Aaron McGruder calling Tyler Perry a fag for half an hour.) As a queer progressive of course I was not amused. As a spiritual gnostic Tyler Perry's works don't appeal to me in the least and I've definitely turned my nose up in the past. However, I go t a place where I just don't judge him anymore. There is VERY little in mainstream black entertainment that appeals to me and his is the entertainment of the churchy Black person. This is a common type of Black person but it's just a different stroke for different folk. Gay men = predators and All women = life support for vag…. It's like Aaron's early comics were written by a totally different person altogether. Welp I'll always have “Fresh for '01 You Suckas”

I totally agree with your reading of the episode. As Angry and Yellow points out, Tyler Perry's work always champions a very specific, narrow heteronormative romantic relationship that is tied to traditional “Christian” values (I use quotes because I don't want to imply that there is any incompatibility between Christianity and queerness, or drag for that matter. ). So, I could see the critiques that would be possible in “queering” Perry to some degree. But, that's not what happened. It was just “ha ha, Tyler Perry likes dudes…” Same with Riley saying that stupid phrase “no homo” over and over. It could have been a critique of homophobia… but it made a joke out of it instead. As both a fan of a lot of McGruger's earlier work and someone raised by a gay man, I was disappointed.

I think there are 2 things to keep in mind when watching this episode.
1. The show is primarily a comedy. As such, getting the laugh is the priority. The gay jokes were an easy laugh.
2. What is the creator's issue with tyler perry? You take issue with the way Tyler portrays/generalizes black people. I think aaron's issue is more with Tyler's audience and how they go all out for his movies and plays despite their seemingly unchristian elements. Like “hmm, i want to see a play with good christian values. oh, let's go see the one created and produced by a man in drag!”.

I don't think this was about homosexuality or gay bashing (which has been covered in other episodes featuring ganstalicious) and was more about contradiction that exists with tyler perry's audience. also, his plays/movies are terrible…

Tyler Perry's success has everything to do with reinforcing those stereotypes and skewing the public's perception about blackness in American society. I read the “no homo” and all the rest as reflective of the general homophobia in the black community.

Loved it! The ending could have been a little stronger, but great work as always.
I don't judge TP or AM, I just check it and wish them well.

This comment was spot on!

I think ya'll missed the point. It wasn't so much about undercover brothers or what Perry stereotypes in society, (comedy is stereotypes; the idea of an uplifting comedy is a oxymoron and a shitty standard to hold up to any comedy.)

This episode was about Perry himself and how he manipulates those around him for his own personal gain. He takes people's values and exploits it, then wraps it up with old stock jokes and has a lucrative business. Sell Jesus, make money.

The other aspects of making fun of homophobia was just funny. Explaining the logic of “No homo” is ridiculous in itself. You can't believe that he was putting down Perry but then supporting ignorant homophobia in another breath? True they could have done it better, but it was still great.

I agree with Elon. I actually had never thought about him being gay, I think the more obvious issues at hand are that (1) Tyler Perry has built an empire on the back of stereotypical Black entertainment thinly veiled in (2) a warm Christian message. I think it is hilarious to say that those movies have anything of “Christian” value aside from the little black girl singing at the end of every screenplay. The part of the episode that I thought was perfect was the re-enactment of the plays where “Marduk” or whatever was doing the running man, walking in the building and shooting, rubbing the young good looking black man's face in her breasts, etc. I've long said that every single play and movie of Tyler Perry's is the exact same thing: A Black man in power is demonized, because apparently if you're a Black man in power you beat your wife and are insanely greedy; there is some backstory of the family coming together over the embarrassing crackhead who shows up asking for money; everyone doing the effing electric slide; and inevitably a little talented Black child singing at the one church scene in the movie. Am I missing something, or is the entire Black race being mocked and still going to see this B.S.?

I personally didn't see the homophobia as such an issue in the episode. After all, Riley is always the character who is the most naive and falls into the stereotypes so easily. Of course he would think it was acceptable to say “pause” anytime he thought something could be construed as gay.

As far as Tyler Perry being gay, I'm not sure if he is, but I think the embarrassment he causes to Black people all the time is a more pressing issue, and McGruder could have done so much more with that premise. I think the Rocky Horror bit was spot on because of the cross-dressing, but I didn't see that as a huge jab at his sexuality there. I think the episode really shined when granddad had to keep explaining to his kids that he couldn't come home because of the cult. Or the fat black lady kept talking about how she'd worked with him for years, but always ended with “I gotta get some kool aid.” I think McGruder's comics have just progressed with the issues of the times. The first season came out when we were all still suffering under George W. Bush. Of course now he has more ammo to go after Black people than just political issues. Tyler Perry is making billions, but at what cost?

I completely agree with you, however Riley's character is QUITE homophobic. Al the characters in the boondocks seem to be metaphors of different aspects of black culture, and him, as well as grandad seems to mirror how black people feel about gay culture. You would think we'd have solidarity with that whole “civil rights” movement and all. (smile.. then serious face )
But that aside, I've said Tyler perry does feel like a disease that festers from the inside out, offering a solution to #coonery like blood letting to cure the plague.I also wish that more of a light was shined on this, but gay jokes are easier to make, and in Tyler's case, more apparent.

If the characters in the boondocks were just singular people representative of how Arron M. feels about Tyler Perry, then you are spot on, and make perfect sense.
However, I think that the characters are more than just one person, but individual aspects of black culture like George Orwell's animal farm. So, i don't think it's Aaron's feelings of homophobia that made him write this as much as it's his feeling of how black culture deals with it's own prevalent homophobia, in which I can't fault him cause prop 8 STILL leaves a bad taste in my mouth ( #nohomo )
I agree 100% with everything else, however

I laughed so hard cause you know that what people think about him.

Tyler Perry's comedies vs Hollywood Shuffle a viewing of stereotypes by both but one critiques and the other reinforces. Perry's products ensures that a more gifted and talented writer won't be able to get their stuff greenlit unless their work is like his. This isn't going to move us forward.

Spot on.

When are Black people going to learn? Tyler Perry is not the enemy. He's not even a villain. He's a Black man with a specific vision of Black life and a specific “voice” in expressing that in film and TV. Maybe you appreciate his work, maybe you don't. But the fact of the matter is that he deserves to express himself and, like it or not, if that self expression brings him success then that means he's earned it.

In the same way that many people of color rally together to take music artists to task for creating music that they find to be less than an ideal representation of us, the fact is rarely addressed that there is an entertainment “system” in place that picks and chooses artists and their work for wide distribution. This system says “yes, you get a greenlight to be mass produced”… “no, you aren't 'marketable', so you don't”. At any given moment there could be 100 Spike Lees, 100 Oscar Micheauxs, 100 Lee Danielses… but if the movie distribution channels (much like the record labels) only pick two or three people of color to put into theaters then that becomes our ONLY representation on screen!

Then add to that the fact that he CONSISTENTLY brings home the loot because we (Black people) eat his movies up so voraciously (in part because we're starving for Black-created, Black-starring, Black-related entertainment), then OF COURSE he's going to not only be successful, but (unfairly) saddled with representing all of us the way we all want to be represented.

But what if that isn't his vision?

He's being true to himself. He's also said that he's creating work for the audience that put him where he is… the churchgoing, mostly-female, lighthearted comedy enjoying crowd (a.k.a. the “chitlin” circuit). So in reality what he's doing is being TRUE to himself AND not forgetting where he comes from – what we (apparently falsely) demand of our most successful!

What we need isn't to constantly down Tyler Perry or any other artist for simply having a different Black experience or viewpoint than we think they should. What we need is more Black filmmakers in the spotlight expressing alternate voices and varied experiences. Viewed through that lens, Tyler Perry becomes simply an addition to the many threads of Black expression in film instead of being saddled with satisfying everyone as he is now. It's one of the reasons I would have expected Spike Lee to know better when he went at him. Spike wore that saddle for many years. But in the end its all of US who keep falling for that old trick of letting one or two people of color at a time sit atop the mountain to represent ALL of us.

And let's face the fact that it's not white people, Mexicans, Chinese or anyone else buying the BULK of those Tyler Perry tickets. It's US!!!

From the time I first saw Diary of a Mad Black Woman (had to force myself to sit through the whole thing) I realized straight off that the man was not only obviously gay – which is totally fine with me – but a deeply scarred gay dude with some serious daddy issues. I knew absolutely nothing about the man's history but that much was quite clear, not because he was in drag (Wesley Snipes is as straight as they come) but because of the content of the film which he played the key role in creating and shaping. The fact that he refuses to answer yes or no when asked about his sexuality is a de facto admission that he is indeed gay. Again, that in and of itself is fine. I absolutely agree with those on here who have issues with his making a career out of promoting mostly negative racial stereotypes about black people, and black men in particular. I personally think the man is bad for our people and we should kick him out of the culture and no longer claim him like we don't claim Clarence Thomas, or Condi or Tiger. But what really pisses me off is that he can put all that poison out there for the whole world to see and profit immensely from it, but he is afraid to come out and say he is gay because it wouldn't square with his Christian base. He is therefore either a self-hating black/gay coward, or he is indeed merely a cold-blooded opportunist who wants to take over over Hollywood and get some ass in the process like the Boondocks episode so wonderfully pegged him as. Aaron McGruder really hit a home run with that one and it's about time someone within the industry put TP on blast and called him out.

Really? You guys don't go to clubs huh? Even Flip Wilson didn't like Geraldine THAT much. But that's not the problem. The problem is he has the LIfetime apporach to EVERY scenario a Blackperson can experience. The middle class working brunette is the heroine, skinny women are evil, men are always trying to kill you and the submissive effeminate man is the ultimate saviour. How about something new? Cosby had the ball going, even The Wire had a more realism to it where everything wasn't black and white. I hate Blacksploitation movies, my wife loves them. But I see the effect of those movies on women when they have to make their own decisions. And Christianity or any belief should not be a topping to sprinkle on a shoddy plot to enhance delivery to the public. But as Badda mentioned, he couldn't be that successful if Black people didn't shout for more.

Thank you! I've been trying to assess especially Riley's character. The Boondocks is an EXTREMELY popular show among the black community, and I seriously worry whether everyone is understanding (what I hope is) is the satirical nature of McGruder's depictions of sexuality. From “no homo” to “pause,” and now to the more recent “jail rape” episode (which, I am still mulling over in my head – obviously, rape is something to be feared, but it's hard not bring the man-to-man aspect into our perceptions), it's becoming harder to discern the satire. You begin to question, “Wait, is McGruder actually serious?” And these are the people who understood it previously!! I guarantee you there are MANY a black person walking around being homophobic, in part thanks to The Boondocks.

If anything, I think this is where McGruder really stands to improve on his work. Who knows, maybe there's an upcoming episode that clears it all up.

To quote huey, “meh.” I think Aaron could have done so much more instead of focusing heavily on the homoerotic aspect of Tyler Perry playing a woman. I'm as confused with Tyler's tendency to dress in Drag as the next man. The cult joke was a in poor taste as well, and may have been reaching in my opinion. All-in-all I just expect so much more from McGruder in his last season, a uncle ruckus appearance would have been funnier and their wasn't enough enough emphasis placed on the shitty writing and musical numbers that camouflage that piss poor writing.

wow, i completely agree with you!

Agreed. Mainly what you stated here…….

we (Black people) eat his movies up so voraciously (in part because we're starving for Black-created, Black-starring, Black-related entertainment),

…..has been the key to Tyler Perry”s success coupled with the fact that Hollywood likes to milk lucrative “concepts” (whether or not we agree with the concept) just like they milked the “race film” period after Oscar Micheaux succcess and the “Blaxploitation” period after Melvin Van Peeples' success. It's part of the reason why Perry & Co sticks to the same formula and keeps making the same movie over and over again with a different title…

I agree with you but Tyler Perry did not become as successful as he has because of Black people alone. 13% of a population cannot make him this popular. White people are supporting him just as much. It's the same with rap music. If every Black person bought a Snoop Dogg CD, he would not be as popular as he is now. The support of all racess is needed to become as successful as these men have become.

actually, he can be that popular with Blacks alone, or more urban people, have you ever gone to see a TP Movie, I have not seen a white in the audience and the fact that he opens on 2100 screens may mean he is only being shown in black/urban neighborhoods, 13% of 300 million is 39 million for a movie to make 100 million you only need about 10-12 million tickets sold, and being that his movies are shown in urban areas where the movie tickets sale for about $10 it is safe to say, that mostly Blacks and a small amount of latinos, go to see his movies, the numbers are there, in music, who do you think by the music, for the popular guys, yeah it is white kids in the mix, but you really think they buying Young Jeezy

I really think that white kids are buying Young Jeezy. Especially after Michael Phelps told the world that he listens to Young Jeezy before a match to get pumped up.

http://highbridnation.com/2008/08/25/michael-ph…

I agree. The parody of the play at the beginning was the best part of the episode. Tyler Perry really does write the same material over and over.

The plays and movies seem to be very well taken in the South. The superficiality and the sap is Perry's fault for sure but for some of the audience I see here it's the first time they've ever seen their life reflected back in mass entertainment. Not the specifics of the plot, but the culture and the cultural values.

I've met a lot of white Southerners who say Madea and her kin are exactly like their family (“they ARE my family”) and that the themes are “universal”. What they saw was not a minstrel show (with the intent to mock and deride) but rather human beings that they related to and identified with. (White and Black Southern cultures are distinct but do share a great deal in common.)

I wouldn't be too quick to dismiss Perry because he certainly hit a nerve with his audience, but yes, he and his oeuvre are ripe for satire. Perry never rises above shlock because he stereotypes his characters as an easy storytelling trick (they're either good or evil, basically), shies away from even more of human nature and reality in his quest to be “uplifting” and beat women about the head with “Bible morality” (your man never do right but you need to suck it up and be submissive to him), and always tells the same (old) yarn about the unhappy protagonist who goes through trials and ends with a wedding (but Jane Austen did it better).

I think the Christianity is more than skin deep and that's a lot of the problem. Delusion and black and white thinking (by which I mean hard absolutes–what did you think I meant? *smile*) are shot through his plays. He simultaneously empathizes with what women go through in their lives, and judges them harshly.

I feel like it was reflective of the homophobia in the rap community. “It would really mean a lot to me, Grandad,” Riley whines, while Huey ridicules him and Grandad rejects the idea as being silly.

Grandad doesn't say it until he's been taken well out of his comfort zone (in the form of the totally inappropriate, creepy come-on behind closed doors).

Granted, on-stage kissing took him out of his comfort zone, but it was above-board and with fame fantasies dancing before his eyes.

I like that term, “chitlin circuit”. Today's Borscht belt…

Actually, we do have other Black-produced, Black-centered movies out there. Boondocks makes reference to this when Tyler Perry forces Grandad to renounce Ice Cube and all his works.

“Friday” was out there before Tyler Perry.

You mean you have to out-Tyler Perry Tyler Perry?

I'm skeptical. Tyler Perry is churning out buckets of this stuff, but not everybody likes it. Looks to me like there are a lot of intelligent, thought-provoking movies coming out every year if you look for them.

Just because Disney's making money selling formulaic cartoon movies . . . I mean, when Disney was the machine (mid 20th century), the other houses didn't even try to compete with them. Other cartoon movies that did come out were cheaply made–because it wasn't worth it. The competition sought other niches. Do your own thing.

This is true of all satire. Ignorant people with inflexible minds (the sort that laugh at slapstick… and only slapstick, because other forms of humor don't compute) have always had trouble perceiving satire.

“All in the Family” was supposed to be a satire, but millions of Archie Bunker types–the network discovered later–weren't laughing. They agreed with him.

It was found in 2006 that some conservatives thought that Stephen Colbert was secretly conservative, unable to discern that he was mocking them. They knew it was on Comedy Central but thought that he was some sort of mole.

I'm sure some people thought Jonathan Swift was for real about eating Irish babies, too. (If you find that hard to believe, just think about what some people have been saying lately about Mexicans. Or Afghanis. Or Palestinians, depending on your circle.)

There are probably some whites watching Boondocks reruns right now laughing at Uncle Ruckus because he confirms their prejudices.

Woo, I think the episode hit a nerve for you.

I'm gay, and the episode did not really hit me that way. They were pretty careful not to say anything hateful about gay people. I was cringing because they were dancing on that line.

There are multiple undercurrents of sexuality in Tyler Perry's work that were begging to be taken down.

I think you missed the fact that Aaron McGruder was quite insightful by making the character a closeted homosexual. Tyler Perry may or may not be . . . but the analogy holds. By being in the closet, he invents odder and more elaborate rationalizations for his behavior. Tyler Perry is not “real” with his audience. Maybe his fans want to be lied to, but the issue with there, and Christianity becomes the cover.

So, whether or not the subterfuge is covering up Mr. Perry's sexuality, the psychology is the same.

The irony of this episode is that it (rather effectively) takes down Perry's work for being too facile and stereotyped, but then (perhaps due to a rushed or cramped writing process) falls in the trap of being facile (okay, so it's a comedy) and stereotyped itself.

One of Perry's big problems is that his characters are either good or evil. You relate to the joys and sufferings of the “good” characters, but aren't invited to sympathize or even understand the “evil” ones. (He might throw out a “she wasn't always this way”, which is a mighty tiny bikini bottom to cover that taint.)

Soooooo, McGruder casts Perry as the classic cartoon villain. Lame.

The animated reincarnation of Boondocks is but a ghost of the insightful against the grain social commentary of Aaron McGruder’s comic strips. Aaron used Huey and Riley to express perspectives not only of the African-American community, but in America and the world stage in a blunt unapologetic rhetoric that consequently lead to banning of the strip in major newspapers nationwide. Although some saw him as someone who was fighting against his own in the mockery of the “African-American culture”. (I put that in “” because to a great extent we were sold a lot of the personae he mocked, but I digress) ,some as I did/do saw it as an ingenious way to voice the questions “Why” in an open forum that organically created conversation and hopefully change if not in action then in mind-set of the audience. Some episodes do shadow the comic strip’s infamy in a tongue and cheek fashion though lacks the fervor that the comic strip has/have/had.

This is one of them by mocking Tyler Perry’s creation of Madea, a mammie like character that glorifies the ghetto mentality under the guise of “Christian entertainment”. (If you find it hard to define ghetto please read Ghetto Nation by Cora Daniels, a fabulous book… again I digress) The first time I ever watched a Tyler Perry play I was a both fascinated and put off. The talents in these plays were superb the voices of these men and women, most better stronger and clearer that you hear on the radio, sung and acted from their hearts there is/was something deeply endearing and genuine in their performance . I have always has a place in my heart for theatre and for this reason I never shunned Tyler Perry completely. But as many have pointed out- the messages in Tyler Perry’s plays are not only demoralizing to men (African-American men in particular), but perpetuates negative stereotypes of and against women (again African-American woman is my main focus of consideration).

So here are some questions that this Boondocks episode generated and or reminded me of. When did “drag” become an accepted and if you want to look at revenue as a form of success celebrated form of Christian entertainment? Why are we bringing back the Mammie persona with a foul mouth and a gun (and while you’re at it the unarticulated comically dressed Uncle Remus in the form of Mr. Brown)? Why are we still indoctrinating woman that they can do bad by themselves instead of with the correct discernment, respect and of course love you can be awesome with someone. When will the African-American male be exalted to a place of respect in our society? Because it is art that imitates life, we must be willing to honestly look at where we are as culture as see where this is generating from. I don’t care if Tyler Perry is gay or not. I don’t know if he is Christian or not and really those facts do not change the questions at hand. The issues are that he has created a mass following of “Christian” plays without strong Christian morals and holds a good amount of stock in African-American Theatre without a clear and constant positive portal of both the male and female counterparts.

Everybody has a right to display their version of blackness. I don’t have to agree with it but just because I don’t like it don’t make it true. I’ve never taken his view of men as bad. For every good one there’s a bad one. He never tells women to suck it up and stay. The storyline may be surface at best and the plot line worn but whats new about that? I wish we all could be Huey but we know Riley. I wish we didn’t have abusive men or women but we all know them. We all know someone who fits in the Madea cookie cutter as well as the Ruckus mindset. We know gay black men, in the closet, out the closet and setting the closet on fire. They are all expressions of us. And if you don’t like it don’t watch it but don’t downgrade those who do. Tyler Perry is light entertainment. Appreciate it for what it is. The christian values are around family working things through, marriage rather than just sex friends and shacking(living together), anti tolerant of domestic abuse and to let sistas know there are good men out there regardless of their economic status.(last one not a christian value but a good point none the less.) I personally am not a great Tyler Perry fan. I’ve watched his plays and movies for a good minute of escapism and know the plot before I sit down. But for a few minutes just like with any other movie I suspend my REAL life and indulge in someone else version. I love the boondocks as well but the endless profanity gets on my nerves. Sometimes they do things that get on my nerves but that’s to be expected and if I don’t like it I turn the channel. Yeah and one other thing. Why is it that a man who is considerate and desires/knows how to treat or please his woman so she can desire him is seen as effeminate and emasculated. It doesn’t make you a *ussy just to have the wisdom to handle and reason with your lady. It takes more control to use your words more so than your volume to persuade someone.

This clip emphasized Jesus more than Tyler Perry does in the play or live interviews. At least he is subtle in his message. This is over kill.