Tyler Perry Reads Scripture

Abstract

Popular media forms may be considered biblical in that they include veiled or explicit references to biblical texts, characters, and images. Yet, such usage is often understood as referring to biblical values that are necessarily reflected in biblical content. Tyler Perry’s film Madea’s Big Happy Family (2010) [MBHF] would seem to have little in common with the New Testament Epistles. The film explores the complex relationship dynamics of a contemporary African American extended family in crisis, while the Epistles provide instruction and advice to nascent Christian communities in the first and second centuries CE. No obvious linkage between this film and these texts exists. Yet, like MBHF, the New Testament Epistles, particularly the household codes, exhibit concerns regarding proper order within a patriarchal family structure, especially for women and children within the household. This chapter examines this film in light of the household codes. It illustrates how this film reflects and reinforces conservative, “Bible-based” notions of family and demonstrates how it upholds the stereotype of the strong black woman who takes on what is regarded as an inappropriate leadership role in the family.