Darryl James, wrote an article entitled, ” The Bridge: Diary of A Mad Black Man”, in which he pointed out, that he was very angry about the image of  black men in the entertainment industry. Darryl argued that the image of black males in America, is once again under attack. The new stereotype of the black man in the U.S., according to Mr. James, is that of the black man, dressed as a Drag Queen. The major example, which he gave, is filmmaker and actor, Tyler Perry. Tyler Perry, in most of his movies, plays the role as Madea, a grandmother who is full of street wisdom and knowledge. Darryl argues that the black men dressed up as Drag Queens, are the new coons of our day, and, such projections of African American males, is comfortable for all those who may fear a strong black man. For whites he argues, that the stereotype, presents a non-threatening black male who won’t stand up to racism, and, other forms of discrimination. For the black woman who has had bad relationships with black men, such an image is comfortable, because, he won’t tell her what to do, and, she can run things and control him. However, for black men this image, projects a self-castrated clown.  Other examples that Darryl James gave of black men who dressed as Drag Queens, were Jami Fox, who played Wanda, Martin Lawrence, who played both Shena-na, and Big Mama, and, the late Flip Wilson, who played the role as Geraldine. He also pointed out how comedian, Dave Chappelle, recoiled when they came at him with a dress, in which he(Dave Chappelle) later acknowledged, that it is always a part of the plan for black men in the entertainment business, to dress up like  women. According to Darryl James, the entertainment industry, is engaging in the effeminization of black males, at one extreme is the image of the black man as a thug, and, the other extreme is, the black metro-sexual, who may or may not be gay, but he certainly is not a man’s man. Even though, I have seen a couple of Tyler Perry’s movies, I agree with Darryl’s analysis. I think that Mr. James, has gone beyond the routine exploration of the obvious extent, to a re-examination of the obvious, when dealing with the subject matter, of African American men in the entertainment world, and, I am glad that someone, has come forth and taken a stand on such an issue. Tyler Perry, no doubt, has been very successful as both a filmmaker and actor. Mr. Perry has moved from being a homeless person, to a multi-millionaire, and, this is a success story within itself, and, I commend him for that. But, African American men of influence, must always be careful of the type of images, that they are projecting, not only in the black community, but, in our society as a whole. But just for the record, African American men are not the the only ones who have dressed in drag. Actor Robin Williams, dressed in drag, in the movie, “Mrs. Doubtfire”. Patrick Swayze and John Leguizamo, dressed in drag, in, “ To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar”. John Travola, dressed in drag, in, “Hairspray”, Anthony Perkins dressed in drag, in Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller, ”Psycho”, and, the list could go on. I can truly see where Darryl James, is coming from,when expressing his views, concerning the images of black men in the movie industry,while at the same time commending Tyler Perry and others who have moved from rags to riches. Mr. Darryl James, definitely has a valid argument..

  The Bowtie Professor Speaks!

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