For Colored Girls

Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Not Enough

So, today, my roommates and I went to go see the movie 'For Colored Girls' today. I had heard a lot of criticism about the movie already, that it made black men look bad, etc etc. Just the fact that it was a Tyler Perry movie was cause for caution. But I really wanted to see the movie not only because I love plays, and this movie is based on one, but also because I am somewhat familiar with the play and I knew the complete title had something to do with suicide, a taboo word in the black community. Suicide is not something often associated with black women, let alone the black community. Black women are supposed to be full of strength, uplifting their families, their communities, and in their free time, themselves. So, like I said, I saw the movie. And I didn't hate it. And I say it that way because there is so much resistance to the movie from black youth. They complain about how it makes black men look bad. They complain about how other people will view the black community based off this movie. That they will think that black women are sorry, to say the least. My response to that is: SO WHAT. For me, the focus of this movie is not to document on how bad black men are or to show how weak black women are, but to document the struggle that some women go through in their daily lives and how uplifting black women can be to each other. We aren't living in a dream world. There are people that go through horrible struggles in life and have to find a way through it. Who are we to put down a production who sheds light on those people. Who are we to be so ashamed of ourselves and the struggles of our people that we cant appreciate a work of art that wants to document the stories of strong women who have been almost forced by their circumstance to go to a place that few of us have been. And movie didnt discriminate against class or socio-economic status. These are some problems that are facing the black community, why cant we stand up and face them? I understand why people thought the movie made black men look bad, in fact I may actually agree with that statement. But let us not forget this is a movie, which emphasizes and exaggerates real life happenings. Well, I dont want to give away the movie for those who havent seen it. But, yes, the majority of black men were portrayed in a bad light. But why are we letting that take away from the overall point of the movie. Its not about the men, it clearly reads "For Colored Girls." And to those who think that everyone is now going to look badly upon the black community after seeing this movie, get over it. If those people have negative impressions of black people based on this movie, they probably already had those ideas in the first place. And to those who complain about a lack of a clear uplifting message,( someone getting married, someone falling in love, a happy ending essentially): NOT EVERYTHING IN LIFE IS UPLIFTING! We all fall down, is it wrong to document the struggle of trying to get back up?

Now for my actual movie review: It was a Tyler Perry movie, so it was obviously it was full of melodrama and like i said previously, exaggeration. I didnt necessarily like every part of the movie. And despite my rant, I sympathize with those who are concerned about the message that its saying about black women and the black community. Some have argued that it made black women look weak, that they need to give up part of themselves to be with a man. But, I just want people to realize that this was based on a play, which had a positive message. A powering, and uplifting message. What this movie did most is made me wanna go read the play, so I can interpret what the original author of this play intended.

Everyone has every right to critique the movie, Tyler Perry's directing, the fact that it was all "too much", but the last thing I want people complaining about is that it wasnt "a feel good" movie.

So like I said before, I didn't hate it.