“I see that they put every black man in the movies in a dress at some point in his career.”
–Dave Chappelle on the “The Oprah Winfrey Show” 2005
That was comedian Dave Chappelle’s take on the state of black comedy, circa four years ago. Chappelle’s sentiment has been echoed many times prior to and since — usually when someone like Eddie Murphy or Martin Lawrence or, most recently, Tyler Perry dons a dress and wig for laughs.
While one can’t deny the history of black male emasculation in Western culture, one must further examine the accuracy of Chappelle’s statement. Of course, not every black man in movies has been “put” in a dress at some point. Many prominent black actors like Denzel Washington, Laurence Fishburne and Samuel L. Jackson have never performed in drag; nor has Morgan Freeman, the late Bernie Mac, Louis Gossett Jr. or Billy Dee Williams. Redd Foxx? Nope. Steve Harvey? Never. And the list goes on.
There are almost innumerable examples of comedians of all races and ethnicities dressing in drag for laughs, and one has to acknowledge the fact that, particularly in the last two decades, black actors are featured in more varied roles than in previous generations. Yet, all it seems to take is one Madea or Rasputia character to resurrect the resentment of the shuckin’ and jivin’ that so many black performers had to endure for the better part of the 20th century.
But we must be fair — and we must be honest. This month, as droves of fans flock to Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail,and message boards and blogs are inundated with irate, supposedly conscious folks railing against this latest affront to black masculinity, pause for a moment and put things in their proper perspective. Regardless of how you may feel about ‘Madea’ and her ilk, you must acknowledge that characters like her are no longer the definitive portrait of blacks in film. And drag comedy — white, black or Laotian — is as old as comedy itself.
–todd williams
