The Importance of the Urban Chameleon…

a note from the editor

Having only started, Home of the Urban Chameleon a couple of months ago I am still having new revelations about the importance and intended purpose of this blog. We always encourage you to click on the link How The Urban Chameleon Came To Be, to get the back story of how it all started but I thought I would share my evolving perspective.

The other day my husband and I were having brunch with two friends, one of which is a working Black actor in the “business”. I find that actors of color often give some of the best perspective on being a person of color probably because they are cast in stories based on just that… color. The discussion was brought back to how after studying acting in college when it was time to graduate the white boys in the class couldn’t possibly begin to understand how significantly different their journey as an actor would be from a Black actor. White boys get to play an array of different types and even get to make films like Brazil, About Schmidt, Waiting for Guffman, A Clockwork Orange and have television shows like Seinfeld, a show about nothing. In fact casting directors may more often say to a white boy hmmm, he’s not good for the role of Jimmy but how about John, or Bob, wait have we explored him as Steve, how about Tim, okay maybe Roger?” A Black man or women may hear something closer to, “Oooh we’ve already cast that part.” Yes that one part.

Now don’t get me wrong, I can recognize progress that’s been made. For instance, the fact that Will Smith is the top Hollywood star and making films that traditionally would have not been given to a Black actor is remarkable. I will also be running to the theater to see the film Imagine That, this Friday, which stars Yara Shahidi (the young, gorgeous, Black and Persian actress) and Eddie Murphy; for anything that promotes a person of color having an imagination is like a no brainer for me I’m so there.

However, it’s still slim pickin’s for actors of color (and I’m especially not just talking about Black actors), which means it's slim pickin’s for the kinds of stories that reflect our lives, our diverse, dysfunctional, complex and amazing lives.

We encourage you to continue to e-mail your stories and thoughts and share your multiple perspectives so that we might be able to inspire more options than just that one part. The idea behind Home of The Urban Chameleon is that we are so colorful that we’re complex, and so complex that it is more than color that defines us.

Thanks for reading.

Your fellow Urban Chameleon.

Have your Urban Chameleon story featured by e-mailing tickles.tv@gmail.com

Click here for: How The Urban Chameleon Came To Be

Tyler Perry Chitlin or Progressive?

by today's Urban Chameleon contributor

I still don't know how I feel about Tyler Perry. I can't even lie that brotha pissed me and my husband off so badly with the release Dairy of a Mad Black Woman. Just at the point where home-girl Kimberly Elise pushes Steve Harris into the bathtub from his wheelchair as I think I recall it--we got up and walked out. We were done. To this day still can't tell you how that movie ends. Now it might have something to do with the fact that we are totally those snooty people that just because we have a BFA in acting, performed every Shakespeare, Molière, Tennessee Williams and August Wilson play and have mastered the following articulation exercises three times fast:

Which wrist watch is the Swiss wrist watch, this wrist watch is the Swiss wrist watch,

Three free thugs set three thugs free,

Cinnamon, aluminum, linoleum,

Girl gargoyle, guy gargoyle

uuuhm yea, we don't play. I guarantee that you're not just shooting these exercises off at the tongue all like that my friend. Ok so maybe we're a little deep but to go from this serious and intense kind of acting training to watching Black people draaaaaaaag each other across the floor--- we were really on some Tyler Perry you chiltin' m*thafucka.

Then about a few years later we found our selves at the movies with no other choices other than a white boy comedy, an under whelming drama about white people or a Tyler Perry movie (interestingly enough same choices years later)-- we opted to watch Black people just 'cause sometimes you need a break from alllllllll the stories about white people. The Tyler Perry movie at the time was Why Did I Get Married and we actually were pleasantly surprised on some, "Ok Tyler, Ok." But then two weeks ago he fucked our heads up again after Netflixing Meet the Browns starring a miscast Angela Basset and that horrible Latino sidekick. We were back on some Tyler you chitlin' m*thafucka! Now you might say to us- two out of three stop hatin' on this Black man and move on from him if it's not your cup of tea but WHAT OTHER OPTIONS DO WE HAVE!? All the progressive and emerging Black filmmakers from the 90ties have either gone chitlin' (cough cough Eddie Murphy) or AWOL after years on the battlefield trying to convince Hollywood that there are other kinds of Black people besides drug dealers and basketball players. Eddie come back to us honey! Boomerang?! Coming To America?!

But then Tyler Perry flipped it back on us with the other Netflix movie in our queue , The Family That Preys. We were thoroughly impressed and had to commend him on actually showcasing four Black women four different ways in the same movie. Not to mention extra brownie points for not overwhelming us with the presence of church (Black people do actually sometime solve problems with out prayer- although yes we are very spiritual). So the verdict on Tyler Perry movies is we are staying away from the ones with Madea-- can't handle her, oh god and this latest one that stars Rudy from the Cosby's looks like an atrocity. I saw one shot of her in the trailer playing what appeared to be a hooker/crack head and said, "No." But if this it to mean that a progressive movie is to follow then I say bring on the chitlin' grease that the masses seems to like to bake more of the chicken that people like us can digest.

Have your Urban Chameleon story featured by e-mailing tickles.tv@gmail.com

click here for: How the Urban Chameleon Came to Be