Tyler Perry is one of the highest-paid creatives in Hollywood. His films have grossed millions and he is highly regarded both within and outside the Christian and artistic communities to which he belongs. One of the reasons his stories evoke such strong responses is because he writes from a core of humanity, informed by past pain.
Perry revealed a more serious side of himself than his Medea fans are used to seeing this week, after having seen a screening of “Precious”, the movie about child abuse he co-produced with Oprah Winfrey. While it wasn’t the first time he had spoken of his abuse at the hands of his father, seeing the movie brought out the old painful memories so strongly that he has been more forthcoming about exactly what he endured as a child.
It’s not for this blog to reveal Perry’s memories; you can read them on his site yourself. But if it’s possible to take the long view, as Perry himself has, then we have a clear mandate here, both to ourselves and to our kids. Whatever we may have gone through ourselves, may we be strong enough not to visit it upon our children. While that might seem like obvious advice, we don’t always know what’s inside us, hidden from the light, waiting for the worst moment to pop out and surprise us. Or we may think that we’re evolved enough to simply suppress the negative emotions. But like it or not, the past will always be a part of us, and if we don’t haul it out and deal with it, it will quietly poison our lives like radiation. Tyler Perry understands this, and it’s time we all followed suit.
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