The Boondocks - I will remain a soldier until the war is won. RIP John Witherspoon RIP Ed Asner RIP Charlie Murphy

[Random Internet Person]

Created by Aaron McGruder, The Boondocks is probably the most brutal critique of a so called black culture since Carlton Banks said "Being black isn't what I'm trying to be, it's what I am". But first, let's rewind things. The Boondocks first started as a comic that graced the website hitlist.com in 1996. It would later grace the pages of the magazine The Source in 1997 and be syndicated nationwide in 1999.


That's the background. But that would be the opening act.

In 2005, The Boondocks premiered on Adult Swim, and over the course of four seasons and 55 episodes (the last of which didn't have Macgruder), the show would take no prisoners, taking shots at everything in black culture from the hood mentality to the idolizing of celebrities and everything in between.

The main players in the story of The Boondocks composed of the Freeman Family living in the city of Woodcrest, a predominately white, crime free suburb:

Huey Freeman: the main man and the voice of reason. The straight man that observes the world and has things bouncing off him. Despite being only ten years old, he's what'd you call an intellectual....and maybe a leftist. He hates the "mainstream" black culture as promoted by gangsta rap and BET and rappers like T.I. and anyone else who was big in the mid 2000s. However, he's usually ridiculed for expecting people to aim higher like he does. He also knows kung fu.

Riley Freeman: Huey's younger brother. Riley loves gangsta rap and sees their views of "fuck bitches, get money", as something to aim for emulate. Huey meanwhile....doesn't. And Riley often doesn't heed warnings about how his schemes and ideals could blow up in his face, and these warnings usually come from Huey.

Robert "Grandad" Freeman: The legal guardian of the Freeman kids. Before you ask, I'm not sure what happened to mom and dad because I never watched the show enough to know. While Huey is the straight man of The Boondocks, Grandad is also one that can be driven crazy, even though he has his moments of insanity, namely when it comes to him going into the dating game. He's also not afraid to bring out the belt for an ass whooping.

While the Freemans run the show, no conversation of The Boondocks is complete without mentioning the one and only Uncle Ruckus. The best way to describe Uncle Ruckus is that he's like Eric Cartman: he's so racist and bigoted but his antics and lines are so over the top and ridiculous that they loop back around to be some of the funniest aspects of the show. Uncle Ruckus is to be blunt...a hardcore racist that could even put the likes of the KKK and the Aryan Brotherhood to shame, as in "wanting to see blacks back in slavery". If Huey is taking aims at blacks with a katana and doing the "anime one strike", Uncle Ruckus is going at blacks with a flamethrower and then a shotgun while blindfolded for good measure.


Perhaps one of the best ways to explain Uncle Ruckus (and maybe the show in general) is this clip.

And for fun, try watching it twice nce on mute, and once on audio. See how differently they hit.

Since the show finished in 2014, the show's gained a pretty nice following, or at the very least, I've seen people speak highly of it on this website. And after all the years, in 2019 HBO Max announced a reboot of The Boondocks to be on the streaming service. John Witherspoon, the voice of Granddad, was said to be attached to the project and reprise his role before the death of the actor that October. Despite the sad news, the show looks like it's going on, with two seasons of 12 episodes each, premiering with a 50 minute special, scheduled to start in 2022. In addition, the original Adult Swim run was also made available on the service.

(UPDATE: So word has got out that the reboot has been canceled. I’m pretty upset since I was at least interested to see how things would turn out. At least there’s some reason for a Boondocks reboot to get my attention.)

Overall, I don't think there'll be another show like The Boondocks again, at least as it was in its original run by virtue of everyone having a stick up their ass. I mean, what're they gonna do with Uncle Ruckus? Will they get the point of him? I'm not sure what to expect with the reboot, but at least I got to live long enough to see the original run finish.

 

[MarvinTheParanoidAndroid]

My favorite episode is the flashback documentary of Robert during the 60's and when he gets roped into a protest he didn't want any part of.

 

[DontEatThat]

One of my favorite arguments that this show gave was how destructive modern black culture was to black people in general. They even twisted the knife further insuiating that they wouldnt fucking understand the meaning and would just buy merch and get into the media hype. American Black culture is self destructive and yet here we are now. Not a God damn lesson learned.

 

[Exigent Circumcisions]

Haha blacks be so dumb that you've gotta make an anime to teach them something.

 

[Drag-on Knight 91873]

Robert "Grandad" Freeman: The legal guardian of the Freeman kids. Before you ask, I'm not sure what happened to mom and dad because I never watched the show enough to know. While Huey is the straight man of The Boondocks, Grandad is also one that can be driven crazy, even though he has his moments of insanity, namely when it comes to him going into the dating game. He's also not afraid to bring out the belt for an ass whooping.

Overall, I don't think there'll be another show like The Boondocks again, at least as it was in its original run by virtue of everyone having a stick up their ass. I mean, what're they gonna do with Uncle Ruckus? Will they get the point of him? I'm not sure what to expect with the reboot, but at least I got to live long enough to see the original run finish.

In the first episode, Robert said that he spent the inheritance on the new house in Woodcrest, implying that the parents are dead.

In general, the original show started off incredible and then got diminishing returns season by season.
For the record, I am only counting the first three seasons. Sony ousted McGruder from his position and cut the budget. These changes were so drastic that the fourth season is the biggest flanderization of a show I've ever seen. Still, the show had pretty bad shelf-life to begin with because they sidelined Huey Freeman as a character in the second and third seasons. I'm pretty sure it's because Robert and Riley are easier characters to write for as they are comic relief while Huey is the straight man.

To elaborate on what I mean, Huey feels the most like the author's self-insert. I don't mean it in a derogatory way because Huey is not a Gary Stu; he's sharp and insightful, but also bitter, angry, and aloof. No one likes him and his plans fail because no one will help him or in the Christmas play episode, he abuses anyone who could help him for the sake of his artistic vision. His arc throughout the seasons is him gradually losing hope in reform of any kind, which is why in later seasons, he says he's a retired domestic terrorist. It also doesn't help that plot threads that involve him like the White Shadow don't go anywhere because he's a hard character to write for in a comedy. Which is why after he Morgan Spurlock'd BET, he becomes an ancillary character used either for Blaxploitation purposes (every Kung Fu scene) or to get ignored when giving advice.

McGruder, unwittingly or not, killed the redeemable elements of Black culture by sidelining Huey Freeman. Later seasons consist of Riley or Robert engaging in some short-sighted hedonistic venture that blows up in their faces. Riley, for all his artistic talent, squanders it for edgy gangbanger culture and while episodes starring him insist that he's the protagonist, the problems created are of his own doing AND his arrogance prevents him from becoming a tragic character. How can that be? Because he lacks remorse for his own actions and doesn't learn from them. Robert is milder and closer to being a tragic figure himself, but again, he's also a flat character. His goal is to engage in hook-up culture and engage in get-rich quick schemes. Uncle Ruckus is consistently insane, but he was always meant to not be redeemable in the first place regardless of whatever tragic backstory he got.

The show is ultimately the Black pill for Black people. Nothing gets better, partially due to Wuncler Sr.'s corporate greed, but mainly because Black people can't engage in low-time preference behaviors like saving money, not getting into pointless fights, and studying. Wuncler Sr. takes advantage of them sure, but he's not to blame for their problems.

 

[Pokemonquistador2]

This is probably my favorite clip from the show:

 

[ReeferRoach]

Excuse the essay but I think the common view on Riley is surprisingly very reductive. While he does incapsulate the major aspects of being a rap fan and even regurgitates a lot of the talking points, Riley often drops nuggets of wisdom similarly to Ruckus (Though in a very black way). A prime example of this is when Grandad is dating a hooker Riley simply proposes if men are required to pay for meals and other expenses what separates them from paid escorts who literally want the same thing. It's not subtle but it definitely makes you think, which i think was the point of Rileys' character; a barrage of seemingly easily disproven parables, yet they reflect on tiny aspect of life like the minutia of relationships.

 

[The Last Stand]

That's the joy of The Boondocks. Each main character represents an aspect of Black culture; while the side characters are satires of American culture.

Excuse the essay but I think the common view on Riley is surprisingly very reductive. While he does incapsulate the major aspects of being a rap fan and even regurgitates a lot of the talking points, Riley often drops nuggets of wisdom similarly to Ruckus (Though in a very black way). A prime example of this is when Grandad is dating a hooker Riley simply proposes if men are required to pay for meals and other expenses what separates them from paid escorts who literally want the same thing. It's not subtle but it definitely makes you think, which i think was the point of Rileys' character; a barrage of seemingly easily disproven parables, yet they reflect on tiny aspect of life like the minutia of relationships.

You could say that Riley is a product of his environment. He's impressionable, "street smart" so to say. There aren't many Riley centric episodes, but they show how Riley reacts to reality around him.

The Lamilton episode is one good example. Riley befriends a sociopath whose grandma coddles him. Over time, the hijinks turn serious to where Riley gets spooked. Lamilton is an example of children not being disciplined or raised properly. Over time, they become uncontrollable.

 

[soy_king]

I think the first two seasons were the peak of the show and it's insightful commentary. the third season was okay and although it was overly goofy still had its moments, but Season 4 is absolutely irredeemable.

Season 3 is interesting because it shows how powerful Tyler Perry is. Making fun of AL Sharpton and Jesse Jackson all you want, but call Tyler Perry a gay cross dresser and your ass is cancelled.

incidentally, has anyone ever seen Coonskin? it's a pretty good movie and talks about many of the issues with black culture that the boondocks does, although it does so much more sympathetically.

 

[R00T]

The episode where MLK came back is one of my personal favorites. Just an episode that makes you think.

 

[Notgoodwithusernames]

should I watch season 4 ive heard not so great things about it

I think the first two seasons were the peak of the show and it's insightful commentary. the third season was okay and although it was overly goofy still had its moments, but Season 4 is absolutely irredeemable.

Season 3 is interesting because it shows how powerful Tyler Perry is. Making fun of AL Sharpton and Jesse Jackson all you want, but call Tyler Perry a gay cross dresser and your ass is cancelled.

incidentally, has anyone ever seen Coonskin? it's a pretty good movie and talks about many of the issues with black culture that the boondocks does, although it does so much more sympathetically.

Is tyler perry a gay crossdresser. Because his reaction to that episode seems to hint that it struck a nerve

 

[Random Internet Person]

This is probably my favorite clip from the show:

I think the best part is how the voice changes when the woman gets the belt. I've heard the same effect be achieved through using sandals.

The episode where MLK came back is one of my personal favorites. Just an episode that makes you think.

I think this is actually the first clip of the show I watched.

 

[Doctor of Autism]

should I watch season 4 ive heard not so great things about it

Season 4 is complete garbage where it is clear the show runner for the season doesn’t understand the show and it feels more like a shitty adult cartoon more than The Boondocks especially with the over reliance on pop culture that serves no point and just referencing things for the sake of being trendy.

Unrelated note but man I really hope the reboot is good and if I were to give rankings by season for me it would be:

3 > 1 > 2 >>>>>>>>>Complete Dogshit>>>>>>>>>CWC’s taint>>>>>>>>4

 

[The Last Stand]

Season 3 is interesting because it shows how powerful Tyler Perry is. Making fun of AL Sharpton and Jesse Jackson all you want, but call Tyler Perry a gay cross dresser and your ass is cancelled.

Black people HATE it when you critique their lifestyle, especially from other Black people.

Basically, Tyler Perry went full Karen and threatened to pull his two shows off of Turner if they didn't take action. The controversy is funnier than the episode.

 

[KillThemCrackasBabies]

Excuse the essay but I think the common view on Riley is surprisingly very reductive. While he does incapsulate the major aspects of being a rap fan and even regurgitates a lot of the talking points, Riley often drops nuggets of wisdom similarly to Ruckus (Though in a very black way). A prime example of this is when Grandad is dating a hooker Riley simply proposes if men are required to pay for meals and other expenses what separates them from paid escorts who literally want the same thing. It's not subtle but it definitely makes you think, which i think was the point of Rileys' character; a barrage of seemingly easily disproven parables, yet they reflect on tiny aspect of life like the minutia of relationships.

Riley is supposed to be a "smart" character who takes away the wrong lessons because of the culture around him. A lot of the stupider things he says are reflections of the shit he sees other, what he thinks cooler people are saying and doing and going from there. He's a Heuy that doesn't care about anything and takes most of what he's seeing at face value.

 

[Jason Wynn]

Love the episode where Ruckus develops a man crush on that country singer supposed to be a parody of Johnny Rebel. Should go back and watch the series again sometime soon. It hit that sweet spot of being funny and having smart social commentary

 

[The Last Stand]

This is one of my favorite scenes from Season 1 (2?). It greatly applies today. All it takes ONE to cause a ruckus, no pun intended.

"I bet you don't even have to HIT anybody with the chair! And niggas STILL be wilding out!"

 

[starborn427614]

Don't look at Quincy Jones! Quincy Jones ain't gonna help you!

 

[Random Internet Person]

Should go back and watch the series again sometime soon. It hit that sweet spot of being funny and having smart social commentary

I think I've heard that same thing be said about South Park.

 

[Secret Asshole]

One of the best things about 'The Boondocks' is that it isn't animated like purile shit like 99.9999% of the Western 'adult animation' shows. Its actually well animated, which adds to the humor and commentary.