TV/Movie Analysis
(Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns)

Introduction
Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns is an American sitcom created and produced by playwright, director, and producer Tyler Perry. It is made in the model of his play and film of the same name. The show stars David Mann and Tamela Mann, who starred in the earlier stage play and motion picture. The main premise of this program is to reflect the lifestyle and culture of the African-American family and shows the different relationships that the family cultivate during many challenging times and oppositions. It also revolves around a senior family living under one roof in Decatur, Georgia led by patriarch Mr. Brown and his daughter Cora Simmons.(‘Meet The Browns' – 2008-08-26, Broadcasting & Cable".)
Show Attributes
Who are the main characters? The show revolves around the misadventures of the multi-generational Brown family. They live in suburban Atlanta, Georgia. All main cast members are credited only for the episodes in which they appear. It is a comedy sitcom that consists of a total of 9 main characters that makes up the show with all having a very vital role displaying to the audience of a family oriented lifestyle that faces many everyday life challenge where they seek ways to overcome. David Mann in the sitcom plays as Leroy S. Brown: The show's main protagonist, Mr. Brown is a church deacon who's very proud about being saved. He is 79 years old, making him 74 during the first season and 76 during the last season. He has one brother, Larry “L.B.” Brown and a sister named Vera. He was married years ago, but his wife died; in the original Tyler Perry play, they had a daughter, but the character was never mentioned in the films and only shown in the Family Reunion play. Recently he has learned that he has a daughter, Cora Simmons, the result of a prom-night escapade with Mabel "Madea" Simmons. Brown isn't over bright (mentally, that is; the word more aptly describes his outrageous dress sense) and he has the wise guy role, making fun of characters like Edna and Reggie; but he is a nice, caring, giving man. He works part-time as a hospital janitor and also as a school enforcement officer. Tamela Mann stars as Cora Jean Simmons-Brown: Cora Simmons is Brown’s daughter with Madea. She is a teacher and a praying woman who is very active in her church, but when angered, she shows aspects of her mother, Madea. A childless widow, she later becomes engaged to Reggie Brooks, the football coach at her school who lives with his mother. Lamman Rucker stars as William "Will" Brown, MD: Will is Brown’s nephew, a doctor who loves his uncle so much that he provides free medical services to the retirement-home residents. He and his wife Sasha have become adoptive parents to Brianna and Joaquin Ortiz, and Will never met his father; Vera, his alcoholic mother, met his father while she was drunk. Denise Boutte stars as Sasha Brown, RN: Sasha, Will's wife, is a nurse who decides to work for Brown helping to look after the retirement-home residents. Sasha and Will start their family by adopting Brianna and Joaquin Ortiz. In one episode Sasha becomes pregnant, and then miscarries. She is also very good at giving advice. Tony Vaughn stars as Colonel Cleophus Jackson: The Colonel is a former military man who still lives as if he’s in the military. He’s a much disciplined, very formal, and very official man, but underneath that hard exterior is a soft heart. His wife died several years ago and he's estranged from their only child, daughter Karen, but later becomes engaged to Edna Barnes. Juanita Jennings stars as Edna Wright Barnes Grey Foster Jackson: she is a 69-year-old childless widow who has always wanted to be a singer but has never actually pursued the dream. Most of her close friends and relatives have passed away and she's extremely in touch with her sexuality. Brianne Gould stars as Brianna Janae Ortiz: Brianna is a foster child who comes from a broken home and an unsafe foster environment. At age 16, she knows the foster care system too well. She's very bright, but has anger problems that stem from her tragic childhood. The only relationship she nurtures is with her brother Joaquin; she feels like they are alone in the world. Gunnar Washington stars as Joaquin Ortiz: Joaquin is Brianna’s 12-year-old brother. As the siblings are veterans of the foster care system, Joaquin in particular is very anxious to find a good home and feel settled. He and Brianna have their moments of discord, but mainly they look after each other. Overall, he just wants to be loved. Last but not least, Terry J. Vaughn stars as Renee LaToya Smith: A nurse at the hospital where Will, Sasha, Brown, and she claim to have four kids. These are the many characters, faces, personalities, and lifestyles that are brought collectively together to make up the setting of “Meet the Browns”.
Why do you watch this program? My initial reason for watching this program is because it mainly depicts everyday life challenges that I believe the African American culture in general can relate to in reference to what they face on a norm such as adoption, misfortune, single parenting, divorce, relationship issues and much more. Watching these episodes gives the viewers a way or avenue on how to survive many of these challenges that can in some way also give the viewer a sense of hope. Although the episodes are indeed fictional, they still deal exclusively with the factual events that happen to occur on a day-to-day basis in life throughout so many families and homes. This program also brings about the camaraderie with my family as we are able to sit around the family room as a whole enjoying light snacks, the company of each other, while sharing laughs on some of the humorous acts and comments that are also displayed through the characters. It happens to deal with some of the distinct concepts that are mentioned throughout this course ranging from the modes of expression, stereotypes of women/men at work, content/relationship level, demand withdrawn pattern just to name a few in which will be furthered discussed throughout the analysis of the paper.
What are the plots of the episodes you viewed?

In the first episode that was watched is entitled “Meet the dangerous and Deadline”, Sasha’s past comes back to haunt her when an old abusive boyfriend, Teddy, is released from prison and comes to see her. When she rejects him, he abducts her, and Teddy underestimates Cora, not knowing that she's Madea’s daughter, after all carrying the same characteristics that her mom possess. The distinct concept that was noted in this particular scene was the demand-withdraw pattern ; whereas Sasha has completely withdrawn from Teddy and sought to end or avoid discussion from some years ago, and he is presented as the demander that wants to seek change, or provide a resolution to their previous relationship hoping that matters could resolve so that they can eventually begin a fresh start which will not likely be the case. We also can conclude that the content/relationship level and the cyclical pattern of violence are also being displayed in this episode as well, we see that Teddy initiates aggression and fails to recognize that there is and have been no effective communication between him and Sasha since his incarceration, and he not wanting to accept the fact that she has since then moved on with her life. Meanwhile, London loses Brown’s winning raffle ticket for a Couples' Cruise to the Bahamas, leaving him until midnight to find it. Brown enlists or I would say uses the concept of (mentoring ), a way of motivating everyone to help him find the ticket by wooing the residents in hopes to be chosen to go on the cruise with him if they find it. I believe that Teddy would have assumed Sasha to be portrayed as a weak, vulnerable, soft spoken open minded person that would accept him back all because they have history together. Sasha on the other hand presented and ego boundary by feeling safe and remain true to who she has become (a happily married woman) without not restraints. Teddy can be portrayed as a person who feels that he can surprisingly pop up into someone’s life and make all kinds of crazy demands that will not ever come to pass, but it eventually leads him back in trouble all over again; thus causing his life to be in a revolving cycle.
In the second episode that was watched is entitled, “Meet the Truth”, Brianna has been acting out at school and is suspended for threatening some kids who were bullying Joaquin. Sasha, Will, and Carmen try to find out what is bothering her. Will and Carmen aren’t successful, but Sasha finally uncovers Brianna’s secret: she was sexually abused by her mother’s boyfriend. From this episode it’s noted that Brianna is dealing with the modes of expressing affection, having to deal with the trauma and flashbacks of being sexually assaulted, her way of venting without making it known to her foster parents comes out through her constantly being in trouble or taking her frustration out on other kids at the school. She also seems to deals with the demand-withdraw concept because she is not willing to discuss the matters with Will and Sasha who are trying to seek an effective parental modeling approach. They have given her different ways and methods on trying to reach out to her (i.e. one on one, girl time) with an opportunity to open up about the past situations that are currently recycling in her mind. We also can see that the instrumentality approach (showing care/concern) was best used in this scene because they want to be able to provide a safe haven where they can be able to talk about anything with Briann without fear of retaliation or being in danger for opening up. Meanwhile, Russell asks Cora out, but the date backfires when Edna and London convince Cora to dress too sexily--Russell liked the real, down-to-earth Cora just fine, and they agree to try again. From this particular scene the concept of the women as sex objects were being displayed. This was brought about since Cora appeared to not be good enough for Russell; hoping to gain his acceptance when in fact she was perfectly fine. Often times, I believe when you struggle with and identity crises of not knowing who you are it can lead to many areas that will not be profitable to them individual themselves. We have to understand that if a person cannot accept you for who you are, then that person is not the one that is specifically designed for you.
For the 3rd episode, Cora and Russell have gone on several more dates and she's smitten with him. London, Daisy and Edna spy on Cora and Russell whenever he comes over. Brown becomes afraid that Cora will fall in love with Russell and move away, leaving him alone. Brown interrogates Russell, scaring him away. This scene shows that Cora and Russell are now expressing their true modes of affection for one another by spending quality time with each other, more date nights and the relationship is becoming more intense were they believe they are ready to take it to the next level. Mr. Brown displays the role of gender intimidation , by harassing or bullying Russell, hoping that he would eventually persuade Russell to leave so that he will not marry Cora causing her to leave Mr. Brown all by himself.
In episode 4, Will and Sasha are caught off-guard when Carmen Martinez announces that a former foster family of Brianna and Joaquin’s has decided to adopt them. Sasha and Will are shocked; they've grown close to the kids. At first the kids are excited about moving to a fancy new house, having their own rooms, etc., but they realize how close they've grown to Will, Sasha, Brown, Cora, and the residents, and they don't want to leave. We can grasp that the demand-withdraw pattern and the content/relationship level can be best described as well because the kids are now faced with not wanting to leave since they have built up a pure and authentic relationship, and love for Sasha, Will along with all others, not knowing if they will receive the same kind of T.L.C. from the new foster parents. As the episode ends with Carmen taking them to their new family, Will tells Sasha that they will try to get them back, which prompts them to present the parental modeling, by taking the initiative, and consistent drive to fight for the children to keep them in the home with all the love that they are used to receiving and eventually remain a happy family.
Conclusion

Throughout these episodes that I have watched, and from the concepts that have been used in this class, I would say that for the world of communication men and women can be portrayed in so many ways and on many different levels. I believe that a person is entitled to what they want to believe about another, but their opinion is not absolute. So many women have been portrayed in society from the sweetest to the cruelest when it comes to relationships. We can perceive someone to be aggressive, silent, meek, soft spoken, etc. Overall, we cannot underestimate anyone’s potential to of what we think that they should be. Throughout my life experiences and based on the knowledge gained from this class, I could relate and see myself displaying some of those concepts throughout the many different relationships that I have encountered. Furthermore, the human being can communicate in various ways to gain the attention, respect and love from others depending on how the message is being conveyed