I just had an @NPRnews "Driveway Moment" - with Tyler Perry?!

So, on my way home from the grocery, I had NPR's All Things Considered on, and I had a "Driveway Moment," while listening to a segment on Tyler Perry.

Yes, that Tyler Perry. You know, Madea.

I'm the first one to reach for the remote if "Tyler Perry's Anything" comes on the boobtoob, but this piece captured my interest, mainly because @NPRnews interviewed people with whom I agree:

Filmmaker Spike Lee used racially loaded words to describe Perry's TV shows: "coonery and buffoonery." Melvin Peters, a professor of African-American literature at Eastern Michigan University, says Lee has a point.

"Black women slapping a man upside the head, telling jokes about the crackhead woman character ... You're on perilous ground when you present these things as humorous," Peters says. "What crack has done to the African-American community and women in particular — these are troubling things."

Then came the Driveway Moment.

Perry has most definitely moved away from Madea, He was one of the executive producers of Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire. Mo'Nique won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Precious' abusive mother. Now, Perry is tackling other serious work:

Written by playwright Ntozake Shange, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf ran on Broadway and was filmed for public television decades ago.

The play lyrically delves into different aspects of black womanhood through a chorus of seven actresses, colorfully identified as Lady in Red, the Lady in Yellow, the Lady in Blue.

Wow! The segment--and Perry--totally captivated me, finally cracking me up at the end:

Perhaps Perry can guide the play to a new generation of young women, says Peters, the professor of African-American literature. "As long as he doesn't play one of the roles, OK?"

Go have a listen.

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