Blacks In Soaps or How To Be On a Daytime Drama For Years and Never Have a Real Storyline

[All My Shadows]

Thanks for typing/posting this, Carl. SOD would never print an article like this today.

Nah, Emmitt can keep his preachy ass plays and movies. One step in the right direction is canceled out by one giant step in the wrong direction. And Shonda can keep her [!@#$%^&*] too simply because it's stale and boring and it sucks.

I see no reason why white people can't write realistic black people. TPTB researches (or used to research) everything else they write about -- murderers, rapists, drug addictions, medical calamities, legal procedures, etc -- why can't they simply consult their actors and actresses on how to realistically write three-dimensional black characters? Which, really, three-dimensional black characters aren't entirely different from three-dimensional white people.

[marceline]

THANK YOU!!

White people can write black people.

Black people can write white people.

Asians can write Latinos.

Latinos can write Asians.

Men can write women.

Women can write men.

Gay can write straight.

Straight can write gay.

It's not about DNA, it's about talent, empathy and experience. Off the top of my head I can think of two white men who wrote phenomenally for minority characters although not in soaps: screenwriter/director Craig Brewer (Hustle & Flow, Black Snake Moan) and novelist Robert B. Parker (Spencer mystery series). Wasn't Memoirs of a Geisha written by a white man? Armisted Maupin who wrote Tales of the City was a gay man who wrote wonderful straight female characters.

I think that soaps would've benefited from more diversity behind the scenes but not because people can only write for their own kind but because it would reflect the real world and THAT's where the drama is.

[DeeeDee]

Production, distribution, control, artistic integrity, etc.

There are any number of minority writers/producers/actors that have projects they would like to have greenlit but it doesn't work that way which is why characterizing them as whiners and/or lazy is offensive.

The bottom line is regardless of how "liberal" & "money obsessed" Hollywood is said to be it isn't.

The default in Hollywood is that White is, was & always will be the primary narrative.

Actually Oprah is much more established producer than Tyler (at least as it stands now).

Oprah has been producing movies/tv projects for almost 25 years.

Tyler is just getting started (with help FROM Oprah & others). lol

A LOT (in various levels & mediums).

[alphanguy74]

I think the hesitation is because no matter what you do, you get kicked in the balls. Tyler Perry and the millions that love him, and you can't stand him because he's "preachy". No matter what you do, you're gonna get burned. A particular black writer also proposed a colorism SL, but I can tell you right now, as intersting and cutting edge as it would be for daytime, it would probably go over like a lead balloon.

[DeeeDee]

LMAO

+1.

There should always be a good mix of writers (race/gender/age/class/sexual orientation) so as to provide a much more accurately balanced & fully realized product.

[DeeeDee]

Black Snake Moan was horrible.

And while you make very valid points about talent, empathy & experience there also needs to be balance where those OF various cultures are allowed to present their stories without always having White Heterosexual Males in control behind the scenes just to get their projects made.

[DeeeDee]

Which is why greater representation for ALL minorities is crucial.

So that there's room for the Good (Joy Luck Club), the Bad (Romeo Must Die) & the Tyler.

And so that one or two projects don't bear the whole weight of representing entire cultures.

[Dr Neil Curtis]

I agree, I would like to see an african-american writer LIKE those two. U didn't say those two persay but like those two. Tyler may be preachy but he get his point across in his plays and movies, that sells out! The family that preys is proof he can write soapy.

[marceline]

I prefer to think of it as "flawed." But I willingly admit that I probably like it more because I listened to Brewer's commentary on the DVD. He grew up in surrounded by people who didn't look like him so he brings that consciousness to his work. To many people in the business think that Michael Douglas is the quintessential man. Brewer makes movies where it's Samuel L. Jackson or Terrance Howard. What would ABC look like if Frankie Hubbard were just as powerful as Sonny Corinthos?

ITA. I'm just tired of hearing how minorities are to blame for not taking control. I'm also not going to let these people off the hook. If they want to sell my eyes to their advertisers, then they need to show me something I want to see.

[All My Shadows]

I understand what you're saying, but my dislike of TP's movies and plays (ironically, I don't mind his sitcoms, which are almost universally panned) doesn't have anything to do with how he represents black people. I mean, considering his upbringing, where he's from, what he grew up around, he's really putting out there his experiences and what he knows, which I think is an A+ for any writer. But I just can't stand the fact that they're all the same...preachy, churchy, highly melodramatic, formulaic, etc. He's hilarious as Madea, and Brown/Cora are comic gold together on their sitcom, but I can't sit through the movies/plays, and as a black person in the south, I've been forced to at countless parties/family get-togethers.

[ChiTownBoi03]

Thank you for emphasizing I said *LIKE*. I wasn't saying white people can't write for black people. I'm saying there are great black writers who can write period, all you see in daytime are white writers and that doesn't seem very balanced to me.

[MontyB]

Agreed! He can write soapy.

TP is someone didn't sit back and wait for anyone to do anything. He said if they're not going to do it, I'll do it myself and it paid off.

[xtr]

This is true. You can have people of different races/groups write (or direct/produce movies/tv shows) well for other races/groups of people. I think that Shonda Rimes overall does a decent job of writing/developing characters of different races and groups.

Her storylines for them aren't always good, but I think that overall she does a decent job of writing for diverse casts of people on her shows. Ang Lee is someone who has done a good job directing a variety of movies about different types of people.

I have noticed that Kelsey Grammer has been an executive producers for shows like Girlfriends and The Game. Even though I admit I don't care a whole lot for those two shows particulary Girlfriends ( a bit too raunchy for me)

Also you can have projects that are created/written well for people that are apart of the same group of people they are writing for. I think that Everybody Hates Chris is a really good show. I remember watching it a little when it first came out. And now I have seen a lot of episodes in syndication, on the net, and I love the show.

It's like a nice blend of Good Times and Everybody loves Raymond. (Though definitely not as sad as Good Times could be) There were a lot of funny moments on the show like there was on Raymond but it's still a pretty family friendly show. I wish it would have lasted longer.

[DeeeDee]

I think Brewer is a pretty solid director & look forward to his future projects.

But Black Snake Moan was terrible & all parties (Jackson, Brewer & Ricci) were all SO much better than that.

Exactly.

The reason why cable programming is so successful is because there's something for everyone (to an extent).

[xtr]

The first time I heard of Tyler Perry was probably about 6/7 years ago, when my brother and sister-in-law, was telling me about how they had went to see some of his plays. They seemed to really like him and his plays. I did watch some of his plays on DVD and I didn't really care for them. A lot of them do seem to be pretty similar to each other.

As far as his movies, go, I haven't seen that many of them. From the ones I've seen I like "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" the most. That's the type of movie I would watch (and have seen more than once).I think that it's a nice feel good movie and I enjoyed seeing Shemar Moore in it. I didn't care as much for "Daddy's Little Girls". And I haven't seen some of the other ones like "Why did I get married" and "The family that Preys". I don't know if I would end up liking those or not, but I do appreciate him for making a name for himself in the movie industry and putting out films that have opened #1 at the Box Office.

I've heard about some of his sitcoms, but I haven't seen of them.