The Boondocks debate..
So The Boondocks DVD dropped a week ago today and we have yet to discuss Aaron McGruder’s intelligent comic-strip turned controversial cartoon in the Blackademic forum. So here are the issues: Some intellectuals such as John McWhorter think that The Boondocks (cartoon) is a juvenile, counter-productive program in which McGruder simply “shows (his) behind.” Reverend Al Sharpton was infuriated by the cartoon, stating that he was “totally offended by the continuous use of the n-word” in the show. Yet journalists like USA Today’s DeWayne Wickham praise Arron McGruder both as a “creative genius” and the “most dangerous black man in America” (the two often go hand in hand).
I personally love the show. I think The Boondocks raises some very important issues in a hilarious and relevant context. Furthermore, though I don’t always agree with his politics, I praise the aggressive manner in which McGruder tackles issues that many people tip-toe around. However, one of the main critiques I hear from my boys is that the show puts black people’s s%!t out in the street. They don’t want outsiders to laugh at our jokes and misunderstand the context. But I look at The Boondocks like I look at Chapelle’s show; it’s funny, I can relate to it and though I am (at times) offended by it, at the end of the day it does not define my perspectives on race, it only helps me laugh at them.
Published on August 1, 2006 at 1:27 pm.
14 Comments.
Filed under black culture, television, entertainment.
