Over the weekend I decided to finally watch Tyler Perry's The Single Moms Club. In the spirit of full disclosure, I didn't have high expectations. Very seldom do I see single motherhood being portrayed with any degree of honest accuracy. The usual standard is to depict single motherhood as a caricature at the extreme end of the spectrum. The spectrum, according to media, is at one end, a single, black mother on welfare, who is struggling to overcome all manner of obstacles just to survive. On the other end of the spectrum you'll find a rich, white woman, who has a high paying executive job, a nanny of Hispanic ethnicity, and, bless her sweet heart, she has everything but the respect of her bratty, entitled kids. Not surprisingly, Tyler Perry's depiction of single motherhood fed into both of those stereotypical depictions with relish.
The movie revolves around the lives of 5 single mothers. Incidentally, I give it a thumbs up on being very diplomatic in regards to diversity. Two black women, two white women and one Hispanic woman- I guess Asian women didn't make the cut. All of these women follow a very predictable and stereotypical path.
There's the obligatory, fat, sassy black character named Lytia. Lytia is working the hard shift at the Waffle House, while trying to keep her youngest son out of jail and on the right path. Her problems are solved when she meets a rich, tall, handsome man.
The other black woman, named May, is a middle-class writer, who is supposedly "struggling" to raise her son and publish her book. Conveniently, her problems are solved when she meets Jan. She also finds herself a tall, handsome, hardworking man.
Jan, is one of the two wealthy and affluent white characters. She is a publishing executive that puts her work ahead of her daughter. Her problems are solved when she puts all of her wealth into starting her own publishing company. It's easy when you're rich. She too, finds herself a man.
Then, there is Hilliary. Poor Hilliary is divorcing her high-powered attorney husband, and is supposedly struggling because her spousal support has been lowered, Now that she can no longer afford her live-in maid. Hilliary's big, single-mom-dilemma, is that she has to stay at home- not that she had a job outside the home, in the first place- and take care of her own children. (Gasp! The HORRORS!) She, of course, finds her obligatory tall, handsome and helpful man, located just next door. How convenient.
Last, but not least is Esperanza. Esperanza is silently suffering because her daughter's father has afforded her a certain lifestyle, so long as she's willing to follow his rules. It's a problem that's easily solved for Esperanza, because, as it turns out, they have laws enforcing child support for a reason. She too, has a tall, handsome, new man all lined up, to help her transition out of being a single mom.
The common theme among all of the characters was that each of them found a hard working and good looking man to save the day. Turns out, that no matter what your socioeconomic background, no matter the color of your skin, if you can just find a good man, then this whole single mom problem can go away, and everything can go back to normal.
With almost 50% of all babies being born into single parent homes, Tyler Perry had an opportunity to write a movie that really spoke to the experience of a group of women who are quickly becoming the norm in America. That sort of approach might have lent some validity and depth to what instead turned out to be a superficial ploy to gain the viewer-ship of single mothers.
So, there you go, ladies. Tyler Perry just solved the plight of single mommies everywhere. All you need to do, is go find yourself a man. But not just any man. Oh, no. You need a nice, hard-working and extremely good looking man. Now why didn't we all think of that?
The movie revolves around the lives of 5 single mothers. Incidentally, I give it a thumbs up on being very diplomatic in regards to diversity. Two black women, two white women and one Hispanic woman- I guess Asian women didn't make the cut. All of these women follow a very predictable and stereotypical path.
There's the obligatory, fat, sassy black character named Lytia. Lytia is working the hard shift at the Waffle House, while trying to keep her youngest son out of jail and on the right path. Her problems are solved when she meets a rich, tall, handsome man.
The other black woman, named May, is a middle-class writer, who is supposedly "struggling" to raise her son and publish her book. Conveniently, her problems are solved when she meets Jan. She also finds herself a tall, handsome, hardworking man.
Jan, is one of the two wealthy and affluent white characters. She is a publishing executive that puts her work ahead of her daughter. Her problems are solved when she puts all of her wealth into starting her own publishing company. It's easy when you're rich. She too, finds herself a man.
Then, there is Hilliary. Poor Hilliary is divorcing her high-powered attorney husband, and is supposedly struggling because her spousal support has been lowered, Now that she can no longer afford her live-in maid. Hilliary's big, single-mom-dilemma, is that she has to stay at home- not that she had a job outside the home, in the first place- and take care of her own children. (Gasp! The HORRORS!) She, of course, finds her obligatory tall, handsome and helpful man, located just next door. How convenient.
Last, but not least is Esperanza. Esperanza is silently suffering because her daughter's father has afforded her a certain lifestyle, so long as she's willing to follow his rules. It's a problem that's easily solved for Esperanza, because, as it turns out, they have laws enforcing child support for a reason. She too, has a tall, handsome, new man all lined up, to help her transition out of being a single mom.
The common theme among all of the characters was that each of them found a hard working and good looking man to save the day. Turns out, that no matter what your socioeconomic background, no matter the color of your skin, if you can just find a good man, then this whole single mom problem can go away, and everything can go back to normal.
With almost 50% of all babies being born into single parent homes, Tyler Perry had an opportunity to write a movie that really spoke to the experience of a group of women who are quickly becoming the norm in America. That sort of approach might have lent some validity and depth to what instead turned out to be a superficial ploy to gain the viewer-ship of single mothers.
So, there you go, ladies. Tyler Perry just solved the plight of single mommies everywhere. All you need to do, is go find yourself a man. But not just any man. Oh, no. You need a nice, hard-working and extremely good looking man. Now why didn't we all think of that?