Madea is the creation of Tyler Perry, who made her debut in the 1999 stage play I Can Do Bad All By Myself. Since then, there have been countless films, live-action and animated television series and recorded plays including the character.
We’re not going to talk about everything to do with Tyler Perry’s creation of Madea, as it will take too long as there is so much stuff. However, we will go over the basics.
Tyler Perry started simply like Eddie Murphy did with the Nutty Professor remakes. He introduced Madea in the aforementioned stage play. He then expanded the character out into other avenues.
Madea Projects
Recommended Madea projects include:
- Diary of Mad Black Woman
- Madea’s Family Reunion
- A Madea Christmas
- Boo! A Madea Halloween
- Boo 2!
- House of Payne
- The Paynes
This is just a sample of the projects the character appeared in. There is even a book Tyler Perry wrote in the character’s voice.
The Character Hasn’t Always Received A Positive Reception By Fellow Black Creatives
Tyler Perry has been accused of Minstrelsy by black creatives, mostly Spike Lee, who accused Perry of using the character of Madea to enforce black stereotypes, even though it is supposed to be satire and comedy.
Not A Linear Continuity
The Madea franchise is not a linear continuity. The character’s age changes between projects, and family members are added or subtracted. For instance, Madea has a brother named Joe, who only appears in the films and nowhere else.
