You’ve probably heard of his movies and television show, though you may not have seen them. That was the case for me when I first learned about a successful filmmaker whose plays, movies, and TV show feature distinctly Christian themes and content. They are not Christian films and shows. They are films and shows written by a Christian who is not ashamed to make his Christianity visible in his art. When I encountered Tyler Perry while reading an article about his newest movie, Meet the Browns, I decided I needed to see what I’d been missing.

Perry’s movies include Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Madea’s Family Reunion, Daddy’s Little Girl, and last fall’s Why Did I Get Married, a movie with a positive message about traditional marriage and family. His sitcom House of Payne airs on TBS. When the network first offered to produce a sitcom for Perry, it asked that he tone down his religious content, something he refused to do. Eventually Perry was able to produce the show on his own terms. Apart from his Christianity, Perry is also unique as a moviemaker whose success came first as a playwright and as a black man who made movies about African-American life that don’t center in clichÈ stories about drug dealers and gangs.

Perry tells stories about wealthy black professionals as well as poor black neighborhoods, about lawyers as well as drug addicts, about saints as well as sinners, and about the rich heritage of African-American music—jazz, blues, and gospel music—without a single rap or hip-hop song.

Several of Tyler Perry’s plays, recorded live, have been released on DVD. I enjoyed Madea Goes to Jail and Madea’s Class Reunion for their mix of humor, drama, soulful music—including some powerful gospel performances belted from the heart by some of the best singers Atlanta has to offer—and Christian answers to tough problems. The stories are not “happily” Christian. They deserve PG-13 ratings for mild language, drug use, and sexual humor (which isn’t crude but isn’t holy either). Madea smokes, carries a gun, and doesn’t go to church, though her friends tell her to all the time. But the plays are filled with struggling prayers, with faith in God to overcome obstacles, and with bold, even unpopular statements of Christian truth. To a young woman who is desperate to hold onto her husband and buy back his love, her mother replies, “If you could afford love, Jesus wouldn’t’ve had to go to Calvary” (Madea’s Class Reunion). In Madea Goes to Jail, Madea teaches her foster child that whatever she prays, she should “stamp it” with “in the name of Jesus” to be sure it gets there.

Perry’s favorite themes are family, overcoming urban problems (especially drugs), the heart broken black woman who, even if she’s financially well off, can’t find happiness if she can’t value herself and forgive those who have hurt her, and the tender black man who says no to sex before marriage and brings restoration to the woman’s heart. Diary of a Mad Black Woman is the most disturbing of the films I watched. It begins with a rich woman, Helen, being physically thrown out of her house while her husband’s girl friend and two children move in. Later in the film, she exacts disturbing revenge, but she learns she must forgive her ex-husband (Charles) for her sake as well as his. And when she tells her mother, “Charles was my everything,” her mother replies in no uncertain terms, “God is your everything. Don’t you know he’s a jealous God. He’ll have no man before him.” Other wonderful moments of truth in the film include when Madea proclaims that “love is stronger than any addiction . . . it is one,” and when the preacher at church, half preaching, half singing with the choir, says that it’s not Buddha or Muhammad they call on but “Jesus that they crave.”

Daddy’s Little Girls and Madea’s Family Reunion also begin with difficult circumstances but end just as positively as all of Tyler Perry’s stories and with just as much openness toward expressing Christian answers to life’s problems. Of all the movies and plays I got to see, I enjoyed Madea’s Family Reunion the most. I think you’ll find it the funniest of the bunch and the film best suited for your children (no younger than 12!) to watch. Personally I’m again pleased to see Christians making inroads in an industry where they can have a powerful effect on people. |L

Dr. Charlie Starr teaches English, Humanities, and Film at Kentucky Christian University in Grayson, Kentucky.

OTHER COLUMNS:
November 8, 2009 - Why I believe in God
October 25, 2009 - Commuting in days of evil
October 11, 2009 - Poets and don’t know it
September 27, 2009 - How Hollywood proves abortion is wrong
September 13, 2009 - Significance
August 30, 2009 - Dance alternatives
August 16, 2009 - Gluttons for gossip
August 2, 2009 - Truth from Twilight
July 19, 2009 - Visitor-friendly churches
July 5, 2009 - The Shack
June 21, 2009 - When forgiveness fails
June 7, 2009 - Re-imagining Education (Part Six)
May 24, 2009 - We are not alone
May 3, 2009 - Re-imagining education (part five)
April 26, 2009 - Conviction
April 12, 2009 - Re-imagining education (part four)
March 29, 2009 - An evangelistic proposal
March 15, 2009 - Re-imagining education (part three)
March 1, 2009 - He makes me sick
February 15, 2009 - Re-imagining education (Part Two)
February 1, 2009 - Spiritual insecurity
January 18, 2009 - Re-imagining education (part one)
January 4, 2009 - Church and politics
December 21, 2008 - Heaven’s music
December 7, 2008 - The church and marriage
November 23, 2008 - God and the president
November 9, 2008 - A time for courage
October 26, 2008 - Likes and dislikes: the Prince Caspian movie
October 12, 2008 - What’s that noise?
September 28, 2008 - Modesty matters (part two)
September 14, 2008 - All it takes is some TLC
August 31, 2008 - Modesty matters (part one)
August 17, 2008 - What would you fight for?
August 3, 2008 - Staying through the credits
July 20, 2008 - Honor to whom honor
June 22, 2008 - The peaceable kingdom
May 25, 2008 - Another generation grew up
May 25, 2008 - Technology and the Bible (part two)
May 11, 2008 - Technology and the Bible (part one)
April 27, 2008 - What is truth?
April 13, 2008 - And the geek shall inherit the earth
March 30, 2008 - A charactered God
March 16, 2008 - The college choice (part two)
March 2, 2008 - Good news can be hard to hear
February 17, 2008 - The college choice (part one)
February 5, 2008 - Ten suggestions for a godly standard of living
January 20, 2008 - Expelled: that “Bueller” guy’s pro-God movie
January 6, 2008 - Choosing a lifestyle
December 23, 2007 - Teachable TV?
December 9, 2007 - Owners or stewards?
November 25, 2007 - Christians teaching Christians to change TV and film
November 11, 2007 - My money is God’s business
October 28, 2007 - Navigating under the radar
October 14, 2007 - The things God values
September 30, 2007 - Movie moments
September 16, 2007 - God’s economics
September 2, 2007 - The best books to read
August 19, 2007 - There’s a rat in ‘separate’
August 5, 2007 - The art of reading
July 22, 2007 - Atheist chic
July 8, 2007 - Why books matter: the sequel
June 10, 2007 - Books: why they matter
June 3, 2007 - The non-impact of “The Lost Tomb of Jesus”
May 27, 2007 - The universal gospel
May 13, 2007 - Loving Muslims through culture
April 29, 2007 - Hope
April 15, 2007 - God in the dark
April 1, 2007 - The gospel goes to the movies
March 18, 2007 - What the Bible movies can teach us
March 4, 2007 - What will you hurt for?
February 18, 2007 - Why Heroes . . .
February 4, 2007 - Give peace a chance
January 21, 2007 - When fairy tales are true
January 7, 2007 - WYSIWYG lives
December 31, 2006 - What’s coming next?
December 17, 2006 - Mercy, mercy
December 3, 2006 - Proof of evolution!
November 19, 2006 - Hungering for God
November 5, 2006 - Violence and government, war and peace
October 22, 2006 - The mighty meek
October 8, 2006 - The Battlestar and the Bible
September 24, 2006 - Soap for the soul
September 10, 2006 - Right vs. cool
August 27, 2006 - The painful truth
August 13, 2006 - More Lies Hollywood Tells
July 30, 2006 - Christian counter culture
July 16, 2006 - The lies Hollywood tells