Whether or not you watched them on bootleg DVDs, snuck into the lounge whereas your mama laughed too loud, or caught a rerun on BET, these first Tyler Perry performs have been greater than leisure—they have been household reunions on stage. Diary of a Mad Black Girl, Madea’s Household Reunion, I Can Do Dangerous All By Myself—classics. Full cease. The wigs have been lopsided, and the lighting was typically questionable, however the storytelling was unmatched.
Madea wasn’t only a character—she was Large Mama, that one auntie with the slick mouth, and your grandma who stored a pistol in her purse, all rolled into one. She didn’t want good diction or fancy monologues to make her level. She gave you scripture, shade and a slap to the again of the top should you acted silly—and one way or the other, you felt seen.
These early performs didn’t want a sound stage or Hollywood price range to resonate. They have been uncooked, emotional, humorous and deeply acquainted. They spoke to our aunties who stayed in church however cursed out their dishonest husbands, to the cousin within the again row making an attempt to heal from childhood wounds, and to the ladies holding down whole households with nothing however religion and a paycheck.
Say what you need about the place Tyler Perry’s empire has gone, however again then? He gave Black people a stage after we didn’t have many. He wrote our struggles and joys into tales that packed theaters and residing rooms alike—with ache, reward breaks and punchlines that hit each single time.
Prefer it or not, these performs have been cultural resets. They reminded us that our tales mattered—even the messy, dramatic, holy, hilarious ones. And for that alone, these early Madea moments deserve their flowers.
