In an recent interview, Spike Lee refers to Tyler Perry's sitcoms Meet the Browns and House of Payne as "coonery and buffoonery." Do you agree with Spike Lee's comment?

My thought: I don't necessarily agree with Mr. Lee's comment, but I do think that we do not see enough balance in the black film industry. Tyler Perry makes comedy for us, by us. However, I don't think there is enough diversity in black film to counter balance this image. The thing is, there are great black films out there, but do we, as a community, support them? Spike Lee's last film, Miracle at St. Anna, was a moving account of four African-American soldiers trapped in a Tuscan village during WWII. This film was very well-done, but unfortunately it did not receive a lot of attention. Do we support these kinds of films? It is our responsibility to support non-comedic black films so that there can be a balance as well as diversity in what we see. I think that we offer so much more than just comedy. It is up to us to be at the forefront in pushing these complexities in the film industry.

-Sophia