Les Boondocks

the boondocks comic strip, which appeared in April of '99 was a thought inspiring strip, which more times than once, was pulled for it's raunchy messages.

the strip has garnered so much attention that it has become a TV show Broadcasted on Adult Swim. the story centers around the lives of two comical children. the older brother, Huey freeman, is a leftist revolutionary open to racial conspiracy theories. the younger brother is a thug-in-training, whom gravitates towards cliché ghetto-thuggish subjects. both view things differently but makes for much hilarity. the show is a fountain of subtle messages, gushing out through scenes, flashbacks and commentary. so far, in my opinion, the boondocks is a catalyst for debate and discussion(whether you like it or not).

Having read and watched both the print and televised versions of the Boondocks I can honestly say, to me it was a diamond in the rough...until now. The antics and sometime semantics of the lead characters Huey, Riley and Grandpa are enough to keep ones funny bone in stitches while at the same time sending a message to the viewer loud and clear. The message is that no matter what color, no matter what creed or race....everyone is F'ed UP! I know the brothas and sistas will be jammin on how Huey is sticking it to the white man and so on, but that is only one side of the equation for the story often shows the illogic and humor of how African Americans view life. A stinging indictment on how the gov't seeks to obstruct and keep down the black man gives way to portrayals of black men stereotyping one another with colorful and racial epithets. The mocking vision of white males acting like black gansta rappers melts into the savage humor of hoes and pimps and black men and gun play. Its the long stretch and cleansing breath of the soul the racial landscape of America has needed for a long time. No one is perfect and this show is unafraid to show that no matter what color or ideology , that you have a bullseye on your back when Huey and Riley come around!

This is Adult Swim's most socially conscious and possibly most clever show. It's loaded with parallels to real world events. (A convenience store robbery works as a perfect metaphor for the early stages of Iraqi Freedom.) There are also heavy doses of Eastern influences, with references to Japanese cinema (Zatoichi, specifically) and action scenes comparable to what you'd normally only see in anime. The heavy dosage of quality hip hop is also refreshing. Aaron McGruder is man with good tastes, and they help to make his material so brilliant.

And yes, it is damn funny. John Witherspoon is incredible, and Regina King's voice grows on you after an episode. Also, frequent appearances by Samuel L. Jackson and Charlie Murphy as a couple of rich white boy gangstas lend an unequaled comic value to the show.

Now, onto the controversy factor.

Not to sound like a broken record, but this show is not racist. It does not lampoon black people, nor does it lampoon white people. This show specifically makes fun of just plain ignorant folks. Regardless of race. If you are a viewer who gets offended by the show, or thinks it's just an excuse for Adult Swim to prominently feature the "n-word," then you are exactly who this show is making fun of. (That's not to say that you have to like the show. If you are not offended but still do not like the show, that's your own prerogative.) I always thought that any show that always has to include a moral message must be a crappy family sitcom or kid's show. Not so in the case of Boondocks. Not to sound to preachy, but racial tensions still exist, even if the most common result is a white person being awkward and overly friendly when meeting a black person, saying things like "So, you hear the new Jay-Z?See the new Spike Lee?" This show is just what society needs. ***** out of *****

Aaron McGruder is an admitted militant liberal, and his comic strip has provided quite an insight into his world view on politics and the lack of political tactfulness. But the television show has effectively upped up the ante, making even starker commentary on society and the racist ills that have fallen on it.

Some may attack McGruder for attacking African American culture by using the profane language and in his depiction of Riley, but what he has effectively provided is a sensible argument toward the ills of all cultural settings. He's effectively illustrating what people EXPECT from black culture.

McGruder has always been very critical of the "hip-hop" culture, calling it feminine and useless. In my opinion, McGruder's commentary is almost as powerful as Spike Lee's "Bamboozled," where he basically states hip-hop culture is just another form of black-face to entertain suburban white people. While the television seems to border more along the lines of cultural inequities and absurdities as opposed to the full-on political commentary of the strip, he still hammers home a lot of good points. Years from now, people will look at this show as a daring look at junk cultural paradigms and laugh at the absurdity of it all.

I waited for this comic strip to be made into a cartoon. We all have read the comic strips unless your town is 1 of 350 people to pull the cartoon, and know how Aaron speaks his mind following the Declaration of Independence. Huey is that educated future black panther leader that every republican fears, and Riley is what my Mom probably fears me bringing home seeing that he's a wanna-be hardcore rapper. Granddad is just, to hilarious. He's that man who's lived through the time when blacks had to go through racism and the unfair treatment to get the rights that we have today, although he missed out on one of the marches since he went to get his raincoat so he wouldn't get wet. Now he's welling to please every white person that comes around him just so he'll be in good when he has troubles. He's even figured out that the white man has a weakness for guess what................cheese! If you don't like this show something is wrong with you, but we are able to have our own opinions. So freedom to the American man. And the creator of the show is so cute because he looks like Huey. So heres to a healthy run of the best cartoon.