Singleton: Comedies Stereotype Black Men
Director/Producer Says Most Comedies Featuring African-American Stars Are "Coon Shows"
15Aug. 21, 2007 | by Judy Faber
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Martin Lawrence, left, as the title character in "Big Momma's House 2" and Eddie Murphy in drag for a scene in "Norbit." (AP GraphicsBank)
(CBS) Producer and director John Singleton says he's been questioned about his use of violence in films like "Baby Boy" or "Shaft." But, he wonders why journalists aren't asking about a different kind of portrayal of black men in films like "Norbit" and "Big Momma's House."
"Nobody who has ever asked me about that has ever complained about the successful movies that are coming out that feature men with dresses on," he tells EURWeb.com in a recent interview. "I applaud Tyler Perry for his independence, but when it's Tyler Perry, Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence and nobody is telling them anything bad about it or telling young boys 'you know that this is just a joke' and they call those movies 'family movies.'"
"Most of the movies that are comedies are coon shows," he adds.
Singleton says there are exceptions, like the recently released "Talk To Me" starring Don Cheadle. But he believes those films aren't getting the exposure they deserve.
"'Talk To Me' was a great comedy. I'm not attacking either film because we are all in the family, and I wish them success, but I just think that it is a shame that 'Who's Your Caddy?' got a thousand screens and 'Talk To Me' only got 50. People are hungering for a great movie," he said.
As far as the violence in his own films, Singleton says that he's drawing as much inspiration from the classic tragedies as he is from the 'hood.Photos: Eddie Murphy
"You watch 'Baby Boy,' and that film is real ghetto but the way that I'm doing it, unless you had a background in literature, you wouldn't know that there's Greek tragedy in there," he said.
A rep for Eddie Murphy told The ShowBuzz, "we have no comment."
Singleton's latest work as a producer is the thriller "Illegal Tender" starring Rick Gonzalez and Wanda de Jesus. It opens Aug. 24. He's also set to direct Halle Berry in "Tulia" and is working on the comic book adaptation "Luke Cage."
By Judy Faber
© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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Eddie Murphy has done some decent work since his SNL days but I don''t think you can point to a movie of his that was consistently funny. (A
non-stand up movie anyway. His first concert film was great.) Bits of his movies are funny. Some are bombs: "Pluto Nash." When he dresses up to play another character, he''s funny. Very talented. Problem is the lousy quality of scripts. Eddie was funnier on SNL but then it''s a lot easier to make a 5-minute skit funny than a 2-hour movie. Of course you can''t stay on SNL forever.
The British have a long tradition of their comedians dressing up as women: "Monty Python,"
"Benny Hill," etc.
Funny is funny. If you''re worried all the time about hurting someone''s feelings then you better get out of comedy. But that''s the way we seem to be headed in this country. (Concerned citizens trying to take the "n" word out of "Huckleberry Finn" because it might cause lasting damage to the "students of color" in the class.)
You can''t beat stand-up when it''s good. I''d rather watch that than 95% of comedies made today that are stale, predictable & dull.
Maybe it''s because I''m not a teenager. Saw a stand-up concert with comedian Patton Oswalt ("King of Queens") that had me laughing so hard I started coughing.
Posted by Extremophil
Beg to differ, there have been many broad based comedies on TV and in movies, the Marx Brothers, "Rowan and Martin''s Laugh In", "Carol Burnette", "I love Lucy", and if you had access, Monty Python''s Flying Circus", Spike Milligan''s "the Goon Show", and "Fawlty Towers", that had no need to rely on stereotypes for humor.
But when Richard Pryor was given a slot, the media controllers decided he was too "controversial" because he dared reflect humorously on real life, instead of the expected stereotypes, so his Emmy winning show was cancelled. Eddie Murphy''s "Harlem Nights" was universally panned by white critics, but still stands as one of the US''s finest comedy movies, post Marx Brothers...
Posted by Keithle1
There is no doubt.
Posted by thisandthat1
With money, distribution, and promotion from WHITE MEN, who only accept that which perpetuates the stereotypes.