I laid in the plush cover of my lavender bedspread, surrounded by periwinkle poetry doodled walls and read For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf. Shange's poetry fascinated my 14 year old mind. My own poetry was just an exercise before then. Her poetry inspired me to go deeper into my poetic self, to find the color and the music instead of just the pain. I was "Lady in Purple".
I appreciate Tyler Perry's attempt to offer this most important work to the masses. Writing the screenplay could not have been an easy feat, for Shange's poetry is so full that one must stand completely still while reading it and read over and over and over just to press it all in. The actors chosen for the movie did their best with what they were given. Some characters were outstandingly portrayed and some were painfully flat. Anika Noni Rose deserves some recognition for the rape piece. She gave from her gut.
Now, as I find myself on the journey of "finding God in myself and loving her fiercely" and spreading my healed wings, my eyes and spirit are open to Universal cues. Tyler Perry's movie rendition of the Shange's book/play spoke to me in ways that may or may not have touched others. Sure, I stayed present in my seat, eyes and ears focused on the picture he was painting with her words, camera shots, use of lighting and sound. But, I also became acutely aware of the reactions from the audience of all Black women ranging in ages. It was the late night show and purposely chosen so I could rock my daughter to sleep first, as well as avoid the crowd I ran into for the movie Precious.
My sistahs sat sparsely all through the movie theater in small tribes. Some laughed in the wrong places, but most were silent in the right ones. I know some tears were shed, although none by me. Reading the book had more effect on me at 14, than the movie did at 36. The movie tried hard, but didn't get at the essence, at the Colored Girls core.
After seeing posts on Facebook about what others had experienced as far as audience reaction, I realize what I must learn from my experience last night. The true tragedy is the depth of artistry, pain and emotion being lost from the book to the screen to the audience. Unfortunately, most of the problem does not lie in Tyler Perry's work, as much as it does in the intellectual and emotional capacity of the audience: my sistahs. The experience last night proves to me that any social commentary on the state of Black women-- if it is to reach the masses of us to transform us in some real way-- must be CLEARLY stated.
Poetry has been my love and a major component of my soul in this lifetime. Shange's poetry is a treat especially because of its complex mixture of freedom and storytelling. I know important parts were lost as they fell on deaf, dumb and blind ears. They laughed at the plight of "Lady in Orange", just like they laughed at Precious when she was being beaten. They openly commented that Janet Jackson's character deserved what she got. They knew "Lady in Green" was going back to that man, and that Whoopi Goldberg's character was crazy. I think they missed the important bit; the 'Sistah, my pain is your pain' bit.
As an advocate for Black women, my focus is finding ways to help my sistahs, especially my young lil' sistahs, realize their inner beauty, talents and worth before the world beats it out of them. Attempts like the movie last night which try to bring to life books like Push and For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf may be hitting some sistahs hard, but I'm not sure if the average lil sistah got "it". And I knows she's getting the propaganda she hears on the radio, sees in music videos, on "The Game" and in the rest of Tyler Perry's movies!
As artists, poets, sages, teachers, storytellers and advocates, we have to make it plain if we want them to get it! Sure, we can make it colorful and artistic, but we MUST speak to their souls in their own language! They can't hear us when we preach, and they can't hear us when we are too deep. It is not that they are shallow, they just have not been taught to think critically and to think esoterically. Garbage is spoon fed to them, and we don't need to think deeply about garbage.
In an effort to not be a critic of Tyler Perry's work, but to look deeply at my own work, I feel empowered. My personal mission is to reach as many young Black women as I can to help them empower themselves. My poetry and my hip hop can get real deep, but I won't let it. It has been and will be easily accessible art for those who partake. They won't have to decipher or get a dictionary to get it. All they have to do is listen...
listen to "Who You Are" @ http://www.reverbnation.com/#!/fiyahlikeayanna and support True Love Movement! (www.truelovemovement.com)
MANTRA: I will find my purpose in every thing I experience. The Universe speaks volumes if I pay attention.
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