The Diary Of A Black Woman Full Movie
Alma Wass
1
I am sitting in bed, surrounded by flu remedies. I am a cesspool of germs. I am trying to figure out whether to go and see a show or not. The show is called Mixed Brain, and in it, I believe that a young man of colour will be speaking about his experiences as a young man of colour in the UK. I am too sick to go to see this show, having vomited twice this afternoon. But I think of my show this afternoon, my show about my experiences as a black woman in the UK. I think of looking out into a white audience, and feeling horribly, horrifically alone, feeling like doing the show is going into battle. I do not want this to be the case for him. So I double my dosage of Day Nurse. I am determined to go, to sit in the front row, to be present, as other people of colour have been present for me.
I am livid. Livid. I am livid with her producers for putting her in that position. I am not flyering salt personally, very strategically, as an act of self-care, for the same reason I am not reading the comments beneath any reviews. This is, I know, a privileged position to be in.
6
I think of myself, three years ago. Very nave. Hurting. Not seeing any work by Artists of Colour. Not thinking to connect to any Artists of Colour. Of Ferguson spilling out of my phone, as Charlottesville spills out of it now. I think there are a lot of artists of colour now, compared to years before. Many other artists of colour that I speak to do not think this. I am inclined to think that they are right.
It is important to resist the idea of the tipping point, the idea that diversity has been done and now we can stop working. In 3,500 shows, less than 100 shows from artists of colour is not good enough. I have listed above the ones I could find with a quick search. There will have been more, and there is, of course, a series of strands of international work. But we stand out. And it is a gluey, sticky feeling. It is crushingly lonely.
A friend tells me that one of her best experiences of the festival is having Hot Brown Honey appear, en masse, in their yellow gold tracksuits to see her work. She recognises that this is an act of solidarity, that HBH embody the politics of their show as they move around the space of the festival. They remind me, always, of the power of the collective, of what can be achieved when we work together.
A space for People of Colour is often a charged one, because within this group there are privileges and clashing perspectives that are slightly harder to articulate and deal with. I leave the evening feeling pensive.
12
Every day I text Dawn Walton, my director, and the Artistic Director of Eclipse my show report. Her emotional support and care is one of my bedrocks of the festival, she anchors me.
13
I am proud to have been part of a year of artists of colour making extraordinary work, warrior work, loving work, clever, funny, beautifully crafted work. The Artist of Colour meet up ends with Nilaja Sun telling us about an epiphany she had as she performed her show Pike Street earlier that day. A reminder that to be an Artist of Colour is to be a manifestation of our ancestors dreams, is to be your full self, stretching out and taking up space. May we keep doing it. May we be supported properly as we do so. And may we support each other too.
I am an African-American man, and I've spent most of my life experiencing and fighting Racism. Racism in the mass media is particularly deadly and insidious. With that said, I must say that this current controversy over your review of this one film is ridiculous and encouraging at the same time.
It is absurd to accuse you or anyone of being "a racist," simply because you didn't like one film you considered to be flawed. The problems with the film that you've stated sound perfectly valid. And even as a Black man truly interested in Black and African history, I'm not convinced that you should have to have an intimate knowledge of our community in order to appreciate any Black film. You may get more inside jokes, but I wonder how much that should go toward determining whether you feel its a good film or not.
If you didn't like the movie, you didn't like the movie. How did your opinion harm the Black community? I didn't see you state your opinion in a way that disrespected our community or people. I don't get the impression your opinion harmed the box office receipts, since it took in around $22 Million last weekend.
It annoys and troubles me that SOME members of my community choose this situation to finally wake up and speak up about. The mass media spits in the faces of Black people every day, with racist news coverage... manipulative imagery in commercials... extremely negative and stereotypical lyrics in music... and both blatant and subtle racist images and messages in an endless stream of motion pictures and televisions programs. Yet NOW, masses of people decide to speak out, because they didn't like your review.
While this controversy is pathetic on one level, it does at least show that there's a segment of the Black population in Chicago that is willing to speak up about SOMETHING. Now we need those who complained to look within themselves, and learn a little more about Critical Thinking, so we can complain when someone actually DOES spit in our faces. It happens every day, and only the same handful of my fellow activists ever say a word. We need the defenders of Tyler Perry to pay more attention to the REAL media racism that gets heaped upon us every day, and do something about THAT.
I cannot believe you were called a racist for not liking "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" and its star, Madea. I am a 24-year-old black woman whom has never seen a Tyler Perry play because I am so not interested in watching a man parade around stage portraying some ghetto granny. Some may be amused by that type of humor but I find it simple-minded.
I guess I'm writing this letter to you because I get so embarrassed when some black people throw the term "racist" around so casually. Then we're looked at as a bunch of whiny brats who cry racism over the most petty things.
I can remember when you did a review of "Boyz N the Hood" years ago, giving it four stars, I believe. I can remember that so well because, as a naive teen, I was amazed that an older, white guy could appreciate and understand a lifestyle not his own. Ever since then, your reviews have been the only critiques I read. You don't need me to tell you this, but screw the haters who jumped you over Madea. I may be black, female and from the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago, but I too cannot stand that character. Angela HobbsChicago, IL
I just wanted to educate you on the man Tyler Perry. Mr. Perry has been around for a long time. It's no one's fault that you feel like you can't have an open mind about different things such as Black plays and movies. Mr. Perry has written and directed many plays and all have been successful, including the new installment "Madea Goes to Jail" that will make millions. Mr. Perry teaches you about life in a way everybody can relate. So before you try to criticize all his hard work, why don't you try attending one of his plays. In case you don't know "Madea Goes to Jail" starts March 8th at the Arie Crown Theatre. If you're not scared of all us black folks.Stefanie Kellom Chicago, IL
I just wanted you know that your review confirmed what I had believed about the movie "Diary of a Mad Black Woman." I saw a preview of the movie a few weeks ago in downstate Illinois. The first thing that I thought while watching the preview was that the movie was going to be of questionable quality the minute the Madea character appeared on the screen I was thinking -- is this a comedy or a drama?
As a black female, I know that some people 'don't get it' -- when it comes to race. But 'you' are not one of those people and the review is not racist. It looked like a lousy movie with a lousy actor playing a Grandma in Drag. I said the same thing about "White Chicks."
Good black movies exist -- like "Monster's Ball" -- that some parts of the black population resisted due to angry feeling over the interracial storyline. I have friends to this day that still refuse to watch "The Color Purple" because Steven Spielberg was the director.
People will continue to see this movie because the play was popular and Mr.Perry has a rags to riches story that resonates in the community. It also doesn't hurt that he is connected to T.D. Jakes and many churches promoted the movie as something that a 'Christian should see.'
We have a long way to go before we realistically deal with race in this country. If folks really really want to get angry over something, they should spend their time working on issues that are troublesome in our community.
Everyone at the theatre that I went to knew exactly what was going on and could relate. I can't relate to many White movies I see. I feel that they are "White people being White," but, at the same time, I am not trying to critique their actions. Madea is a very real person. If you have the opportunity, please go to a Black community and tell someone to take you to Madea, and I bet they will begin to lead you to her. Older Black Women tend to be much stronger than their weak white counter part. The grandmother you know with the hump back is not the one I saw growing up. Trust and believe that Madea does have a gun and she will shoot you if you get out of line.White people are so fascinating to me. You all walk around with Blinders on, thinking that your culture is the only one that exists. If a movie is not "White Washed," to you, it is not good, not funny, and unrealistic. To be a good critique, you must know what you are talking about when you watch a Black Film. You have to ask yourself, could this person be real; not in your white community, but in a black community. If you don't know, ask someone who is Black, and we can tell you. I have a family member that is a crack head. I have a Madea, I have been treated like the main character in the movie, and I know plenty of gold digging hood-rats. Listen to rap music, it is the story of a lot of our ghettos. That is a big problem with white people. You think if you don't see it and it is not happening to you, it is not trueDedra BrownSan Jose, CA
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