A Message from Tyler Perry

As noted above, on his website, Perry posts messages to fans, which they can also receive directly via email. He posts at least two messages a month.357 As noted above, on his website, Perry posts messages to fans, which they can also receive directly via email. He posts at least two messages a month.358 As discussed earlier in the chapter, it impossible to know if Perry ac- tually wrote these messages. However, these messages are constructed as if he is sending his

354 _{Cori Murray, "Oh, What a Night!," Essence, December 2008; Parekh. Perry was acknowledged as the}

first movie and television studio owned by an African American. Oprah Winfrey has a television studio but not a film studio. Harpo Studios is only for TV productions. Harpo Films is only a production company. Tim Reid used investors to build his New Millennium Studios in Virginia in 1997.

355 _{Svetkey, Watson, and Wheat.}

356 _{Tim Stack, "Tyler on Top," Entertainment Weekly, October 26 2007. Also see Felicia Lee, "Talking the}

Dream, Growing the Brand," New York Times, June 6 2007.

357 _{The exception to this occurred in spring 2008. Perry did not post a message to fans for three months. In}

April 2008, he revealed to fans that he was unable to send messages to fans because he had been dealing with a stalker.

358 _{The exception to this occurred in spring 2008. Perry did not post a message to fans for three months. In}

April 2008, he revealed to fans that he was unable to send messages to fans because he had been dealing with a stalker.

fans a direct and personal message, which reinforces his persona as a public creative figure in control. In interviews and in messages sent to fans, Perry claims that he reads all of the messag- es that fans post on his website and their feedback is more important than any critic or execu- tive.359 In most of his messages, he thanks fans for their loyalty and mentions that he reads their messages. In his messages about HOP, he tells fans to tune in because of the storylines. For ex- ample, on 5 August 2008, he warned fans about the intensity of the upcoming 100th episode: ―You‘ll be blowing up the message boards. I know it. I‘ll be online tomorrow as I‘m watching to see what you have to say about it.‖360

Perry makes sure his fans know that he is appreciative of their loyalty and he continues to deliver projects for them. For example, Perry wrote to fans before the release of Madea Goes to Jail (2009):

Everyone who has seen this says it‘s the best ―Madea‖ movie I‘ve done. I‘ll let you be the judge of that. I‘m sure you will be on the message board letting me know what you thought . . . Because you all have showed up in record numbers on the first weekend [of previous Perry releases], I have been able to keep making movies our way- - the way we want to see them.361

Perry makes his fans feel as if they are part of the Tyler Perry team by using the words ―we‖ and ―our.‖ When Perry‘s The Family That Preys came out in September 2008, he told his fans:

So, I‘ll see you at the movies this weekend. All my seniors, I know you all go out for the matinees. So, I‘ll look to hear from your first on the message board. All my other folks, just drop me a line after you see it. I can‘t wait to hear what you think. Also check your ticket stubs, you know how that goes. Make sure it‘s for our film so we can get credit. Remember, you‘re my critics not anybody else.362

359

Hirshey, "Tyler Perry's Brand New Day."; Mabrey and Harris; Stack, "Rocking the 'House'."; Svetkey, Watson, and Wheat.

360 _{The number of messages Perry sends to his fans also increases for major occasions such as before and}

during the release of a film, opening of a play, etc. Tyler Perry, "A Message from Tyler Perry August 5, 2008," (2008).

361 _{Tyler Perry, "A Message from Tyler Perry February 18, 2009," (2009).} 362 _{Tyler Perry, "A Message from Tyler Perry September 12, 2008," (2008).}

The emphasis Perry places on reading his messages reinforces his image. He knows his fans have made him a success, which provided him with the resources to be a key creative figure with control. Perry emphasizes that he is the one reading his messages because his fans are too important to assign the task to an assistant or employee, which reinforces his persona as public creative figure. He talks about the loyalty of his audience, and he repays that loyalty by treating them as important people in his life in interviews and in messages on his website. He closes messages with phrases such as ―Yo Boy,‖ ―Love ya,‖ ―Thanks again,‖ ―Talk to you soon,‖ and ―You know how to get me.‖363

He signs most emails with ―TP‖ or ―Tyler.‖

Perry continues this intimacy and informality throughout all of the personal messages that he sends directly to his fans. He claims he sends such notes in order to show how he is like them. Perry has overcome personal, emotional, physical, and financial challenges in his life. He uses these stories throughout his discourse to show that it is possible to overcome obstacles. For Perry, he has been able to thrive and succeed because of his faith in God. He uses his plays, films, television shows, and messages to fans to demonstrate his faith. For Perry, he has been a successful public creative figure because of his faith and his fans who also share similar religious beliefs.

Perry started a Twitter account in August 2009, but most of the posts on Twitter refer to messages on his website or for posting information about upcoming radio and television inter- views. However, he has slowly started to use Twitter to make more connections with his fans. For example, in September 2009, Perry was in New York promoting his film I Can Do Bad All By Myself. He asked his Twitter followers where to eat:

Where can I get a good Italian meal in NYC?

363 _{For examples see Tyler Perry, "A Message from Tyler Perry August 20, 2008," (2008); Tyler Perry, "A}

Message from Tyler Perry May 4, 2009," (2009); Tyler Perry, "Tour/Haiti/New Movie! A Message from Tyler Perry February 2, 2010," (2010).

Ok everybody seems to be suggesting Carmine‘s. Thanks for the recommenda- tions.

The food was amazing at Carmine‘s! Too much for one person to eat. If I‘m bloated tomorrow, it‘s your fault. LOL. Thx.364

Twitter provides fans with immediate access to Perry. This points to the limitations of his message board. Although fans know he constantly reads messages posted on the board, they do not know when or what time he will post. Also, although they can post messages, they cannot post replies to specific messages posted. As of September 2012, 1,747, 761 people have posted messages to Perry.365 Yet Perry continuously emphasizes in his discourse as public creative fig- ure that he reads all of the messages posted on his website. He uses Twitter as an outlet to rein- force this as part of his persona: ―I‘ve been reading all of my messages. I‘m glad you all love the movie! I do too.‖366

Twitter provides Perry with the capability to send short quick messages to fans to let them know personal details about his life (going to the gym or feeling ill) as well as information about his plays, television shows, and movies.

Tyler Perry embodies a neo-racial discourse in his image as public creative figure by openly discussing the challenges for African Americans working in the media industries. For Perry, his journey from theater to film and television demonstrates that we are not in a post-racial society in which race has become insignificant. Race was a major factor in his transition to film and television. He had television and film executives tell him that black Christian women (his

364

Tyler Perry, "The Food Was Amazing at Carmine‘s! Too Much for One Person to Eat. If I‘m Bloated Tomorrow, It‘s Your Fault. Lol. Thx. ," (2009). http://www.twitter.com/#!/tylerperry (accessed September 9, 2009); Tyler Perry, "Ok Everybody Seems to Be Suggesting Carmine‘s. Thanks for the Recommendations.," (2009). http://www.twitter.com/#!/tylerperry (accessed September 9, 2009); Tyler Perry, "Where Can I Get a Good Italian Meal in NYC?," (2009). http://www.twitter.com/#!/tylerperry (accessed September 9, 2009).

365 _{For more information see http:www.tylerperry.com/talk. As of this writing, I have been unsuccessful in}

finding out how many people subscribe to Perry‘s emailing list. The site administrator has not responded to my emails. However, in March 2005, Perry had 400,000 email subscribers. Gregory Kirschling, "Mad Props," Entertainment Weekly, March 11 2005.

366 _{Tyler Perry, "I've Been Reading All My Messages. I'm Glad You All Love the Movie! I Do Too.,"}

plays‘ primary demographic) do not go to the movies or watch a lot of television.367

Perry has been successful because his works connect with this underserved demographic. Yet his contin- ued success also means that Perry has broadened his audience.368 In addition to increasing Afri- can American representation onscreen, Perry has been successful in adding diversity off-screen. Tyler Perry Studios has over 300 employees and according to Perry, ―A lot of them are African American and people who haven't been able to get jobs in Hollywood. They've been able to come here and make a great living, so it's really fantastic.‖369

The discourse surrounding Perry as a public creative figure emphasizes a man in creative control of all of his works. Perry makes sure that in the interviews he provides or messages he sends to his fans reinforce he is the one in charge. The same cannot be said for Tyra Banks, who must separate her image as a model from her new identity as a public creative figure. Unlike Perry, Banks‘s image centers around proving that she is the woman in charge behind the scenes on America‟s Next Top Model.