Analysis of Stereotypes About African Americans and Women in Madea's Family Reunion

American films have shown the black community in a stereotypical way. In every film with African American women, they are shown as loud, sassy and angry. The men are shown as someone who is in the streets selling drugs, mistreating their women and committing a crime. Madea's Family Reunion, a film made in 2006 produced by Tyler Perry, focuses on bringing an African American family together at a reunion and a well-known mother figure, Madea Simmons helping her family and a troubled foster child make improvements from day to day struggles. The film Madea’s Family Reunion reflects stereotypes about African Americans and women, showing how they are depending on males to take care of them and giving negative advice on why women should stay with a man who does not treat her right.

Although this paper will be explaining the use of stereotypes in Madea's Family Reunion, others say that the main message of the film surrounds family values and is the importance of religious belief. As discussed in Denis Maye-Davis and Tonya E. Perry ‘s article, 'Momma's Girl”, it is determined the majority of all age groups identified their mothers as someone who is most like a mother to them and some identified their grandmother as being their mother. In the film , Madea Simmons is a person every family member looks up to and makes her home available for anyone in need. She takes in a troubled foster child named Niki to avoid going to jail. As she takes in the troubled foster child, she learns that all the child needed was someone to discipline and encourage her to do better in life, and someone to teach her to not worry about what others think about her. Madea also has two nieces that she allows to come and stay with her. One of her nieces Vanessa lives with her and has two children by two different men. Neither of her children’s fathers are in their children’s lives. Vanessa on the other hand is having trouble loving a man named Frankie because of her past experiences. Madea explains to her that she needs to let Frankie love her and to stop giving him a hard time. The other niece Lisa is engaged to an abusive and controlling banker named Carlos. While she wants to get out of the engagement, her mother, Victoria encourages her to stay. After a few days have passed, Lisa goes to talk to her sister, Vanessa, while Vanessa calls on Madea for advice. When Madea gets to them, she tells Lisa to stand up against Carlos and to fight back. During these hard times, for Vanessa, Lisa and the troubled foster child Nikki, Madea helps them get through with everything that they are having a hard time accomplishing. Also Madea wants them to understand their personal values in life and that they have to accept who they are.

The opposing side makes some powerful points about the importance of family values in this film; but the presence of stereotypes against women and African Americans overshadow Perry's message of staying true to one’s family. In Cherise Harris and Keisha Tassie’s article “Cinematic Incarnation” argues that “the messages about gender are particularly problematic if accepted as accurate representations of black men and women and that in each Perry’s movie, women’s primary concern is getting and keeping a man”. People who view Perry’s films can agree that, Perry always shows his women in this way. As shown in the Madea’s Family Reunion a stereotype that is being presented in the film is women believe they have to get and keep a man because he is financially stable and he can take care of her. Also, it presents women having a hard time trusting men because of their past.

After viewing the film Madea’s Family Reunion, one of the theme stereotypes was women are letting men treat them any kind of way because the man is financially stable. In the film, Tyler Perry shows the use of a relationship between two sisters, Vanessa and Lisa, and their mother, Victoria. Vanessa is a single mother who was sexually abused by her stepfather and has developed a relationship with a local bus driver, while her sister Lisa, is engaged to Carlos who is an abusive banker. Their mother, Victoria, is forcing Lisa to go through with the engagement and to avoid doing things that will make Carlos upset or mad so he and Lisa can take care of Victoria (Madea). In everyday life, some women rely on men and their children to take care of them. Courtney Young argues that the movie features consistent messages to “be strong, but not too strong” to let a man be a man” and that “true fulfillment is found in the role of wife and/or mother” (Carey 999). This shows that Tyler Perry is trying to get his audience to recognize that women should not be too strong so the man feels like he is in control. Shown in the film, after Lisa confess that Carlos has been beating on her, she has a conversation with Madea and her Mother, and comes to the conclusion that she will either take her mother’s advice to listen and stay with Carlos for steady income or take Madea’s advice and get rid of Carlos by cooking a big pot of grits and throwing it on him beating him with a frying pan. On the other hand Vanessa was a child her mother used as an exchange to keep a man which made Vanessa have a hard time trusting every man that comes in to her life. As discussed in Cherise Harris and Keisha Tassie’s article “Take Your Place”, they argue that “when Vanessa was a little girl, her mother Victoria allowed her wealthy stepfather (and Lisa’s biological father) to rape her in exchange for continuing their marriage and living off of his wealth. Victoria says “if we were going to be comfortable, I had to make some hard, hard decisions”. Due to the way Victoria was raised, she grew up loveless and hopeless. The audience of this film is informed that Victoria allowed her spouse to rape her oldest daughter Vanessa so she could still have him take of her and her children (Madea). The way Victoria allowed her spouse to do that to her daughter forced her daughter to have a hard time trusting a man that comes into her life shown in the film. Also the audience of this film, learned that women are going to have some struggles but you do not have to let a man treat you any kind of way, just to be financially stable to maintain a healthy life. The significance of males achieving their dominance is becoming unpleasant for the African American female viewers who are dependent on a man because they now have to go against the stereotypes of depending on a man for everything.

Compared to family values, stereotypes of the black community are focused on more in Tyler Perry’s films as well as any other films made in America. Under Data and Methods in Harris, Cherise and Keisha Tassie’s article, “The Cinematic Incarnation,” decided to focus on three themes shown in films : “middle-class Blacks as materialistic (and/or status obsessed), middle-class Blacks as dysfunctional, and middle-class Blacks as disdainful of working- or lower-class Blacks”. Using these stereotypical views of the black community will stick into the younger generation minds causing them think it is okay for things to go the way as viewed in the these stereotypical films made by producers. These ways such as selling drugs, mistreating women, committing a crime, being loud, sassy and angry; makes the black community upset because they are shown in a way other races will view them as. For example, in the film Madea’s Family Reunion, during the reunion, there were a lot of black men and women dancing wild, fighting and drinking while kids were there. Seeing these things sends a bad representation to the younger generations who look up to the older generation for advice. But what also needs to be understood is that not every black person is bad and not every black person thinks the same as other black people.

Madea’s Family Reunion reflects stereotypes on African Americans and women, showing how they are depending on males to take care of them and giving negative advice on why women should stay with a man who does not treat her right. After viewing the film, it affects moviegoers and its social importance because people see these things in everyday life. These stereotypes become many people‘s reality. It could affect their children, the younger generations, causing them to think what they see in films is the truth of everyday life.

Works Cited

• Carey, Tamika L. 'Take Your Place: Rhetorical Healing And Black Womanhood in Tyler Perry's Films.' Signs: Journal Of Women In Culture & Society 39.4 (2014): 999-1021. Literary Reference Center. Web. 1 November 2016.
• Davis-Maye, Denise, and Tonya E. Perry. 'Momma's Girl: The Significance Of Maternal Figure Support In The Development Of Hope For African American Girls.' Journal Of Human Behavior In The Social Environment 15.2/3 (2007): 307-328. SocINDEX with Full Text. Web. 1 November 2016.
• Harris, Cherise, and Keisha Tassie. 'The Cinematic Incarnation Of Frazier's Black Bourgeoisie: Tyler Perry's Black Middle-Class.' Journal Of African American Studies 16.2 (2012): 321-344. Academic Search Complete. Web. 1 November 2016.
• Madea's Family Reunion. Dir. Tyler Perry. Perf. Tyler Perry, Blair Underwood, Lynn Whitfield. Lionsgate, 2006. Film.