Tyler Perry and His Message of Forgiveness

Movies from One Celebrity that Inspire Others to Release Past Hurts

Jul 23, 2009 Ellen Abragar

Tyler Perry is a man with a message. The overall theme that he tries to communicate in most of his movies is the importance of forgiveness.

Forgiveness plays a major role in Perry’s work because no matter how difficult life gets for his characters, forgiveness is ultimately the only thing that can free them and allow them to move forward toward happiness. Forgiveness does not necessarily have to have a religious connotation to it. Simply accepting someone’s apology or releasing a grudge against a person is an act of forgiveness. Without forgiveness, people become victims of their own bitterness because they are unable to let go of past hurts. Their resentment eats away inside of them. As a result, they are only hurting themselves. The people they aren’t willing to forgive are simply going on with their lives.

The characters in Perry’s movies experience much adversity and their willingness to forgive is often challenged. Just as it is in real life, forgiving someone who caused hurt, pain, betrayal, and tragedy is sometimes the most difficult thing to do. Perry’s characters exhibit the emotional struggle that many go through before reaching the stage of forgiveness. Here are two examples of Perry’s movies that show this:

Diary of a Mad Black Woman

Helen and Charles (played by Kimberly Elise and Steve Harris) had what looked like a wonderful marriage, at least that’s what the public saw. Without warning, Charles decides that he wants a divorce and throws Helen out of the house. Helen is left to pick up the pieces of what is left of her dignity and is forced to start all over, alone and on her own. It is not until she meets a man who brings hope and happiness to her life. However, she is unable to commit to him after she finds out that a bullet paralyzes Charles. She rushes to take care of Charles and realizes that she can’t move on until she deals with the issues with her soon-to-be ex-husband. After dutifully assisting Charles on his road to recovery, Helen learns to forgive him for the hurt he caused her. Although Charles is a new man because of Helen, she decides that she is ready to close the door on that chapter and move on to the man she loves. Forgiving Charles released her from her pain.

Why Did I Get Married?

This entire movie is based on the premise of forgiveness. It is about four couples who attend a retreat every year to talk about marriage and life. It is not until secrets are revealed that the couples realize that their marriages are based on secrets and lies. One such couple’s marriage, Sheila and Mike (played by Jill Scott and Richard T. Jones), falls apart when Mike reveals that he is having an affair with Sheila’s friend and wants a divorce. After years of ridicule by Mike about her weight, like Helen in Diary, Sheila is alone and forced to begin a new life without a husband. But she befriends a man, Sheriff Troy (Lamman Rucker), and he helps Sheila find hope and strength. In the end, Sheila learns to forgive Mike after realizing that her bitterness would only hurt her relationship with Troy. She becomes a new woman because she let go of her resentment toward Mike.

These are just two examples of Tyler Perry’s message of forgiveness. Although his work communicates much more than that, forgiveness is one of the major themes. And it is an important one for the audience to capture. As a writer/producer/director, Perry uses his knowledge, experience, and passion to become a positive influence in today’s society. His impact has changed many lives because of the strong and powerful significance his work conveys.

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Tyler Perry