![]() And then there’s Ed Wuncler III and Gin Rummy, two white men so enamored with Black culture that they’re voiced by Charlie Murphy and Samuel L. There’s self-hating Uncle Ruckus, a Black man with a glass eye who insults Black people and reveres whiteness with hilarious intensity. Some of the characters are timeless icons of satire. It’s arguably more ridiculous than King coming back to life, but it puts the onus of BET’s issues exactly where it belongs: With the corporate (and white-owned) overlords who really pull the strings. The Boondocks skewers BET with edge and thoughtfulness in “The Hunger Strike,” which depicts the heads of BET corporate offices as conniving buffoons - particularly then-CEO Debra Lee, who’s retrofitted into a parody of Dr. It became a recurring theme throughout the series’ initial lifespan, even resulting in two season 2 episodes - “The Hunger Strike” and “The Uncle Ruckus Reality Show” - getting banned from the airwaves in fear of lawsuits. McGruder was no exception, as both The Boondocks comic and TV show took several swipes at the network. This made the station and spiritually similar content like Soul Plane the perfect scapegoat for anyone looking to place the blame somewhere. The show is a fish-out-of-water concept that comments on contemporary Black culture in the 2000s, BET, the fallout of Hurricane Katrina, colorism, and the legacy of the 2004 film Soul Plane.īET, which was founded in 1980, had come under fire for portraying negative stereotypes of Black people in the late ‘90s and early 2000s. The Boondocks, based on the comic strip of the same name first published in 1996, follows the Freeman family as they move to the fictional suburbs of Woodcrest after years of living in Chicago: 10-year-old Black radical Huey, 8-year-old faux-gangsta Riley, and Granddad. Its attempts at smuggling snarky commentary on Black culture that boomerang on themselves relies on the same stereotype-riddled images used to oppress Black people for centuries. While a lot of the show is still genuinely funny and thought-provoking, The Boondocks has plenty of misfires. What started as a fairly edgy joke in its infancy evolved into an antiquated idea that doesn’t pass the smell test over a decade later. It’s a broad swipe at what people consider to be “ignorant” behavior, implying that simple pastimes like drinking cognac or smoking a specific brand of cigarette can somehow corrupt someone on a moral level. Like most of the show’s jokes, it wraps a cultural dog whistle in a familiar sitcom plot. But today it leaves a sour taste for a few reasons. That kind of satirical lens being focused on Black entertainment felt edgy and fresh in 2010. The revelation was funny in the moment because it’s coming from a character who’s a stand-in for archetypes of a previous generation of Black comedy. That’s why we drink Hennessy, that’s why we smoke menthols. A brief monologue from character George Pissedofferson near the episode’s end sums up the show’s, and McGruder’s, stance on what exactly a “nigga” is: “We don’t need a reason to fuck shit up. The only thing that can end a Nigga Moment for good? Jail. The episode introduces the idea of “nigga synthesis,” where Black people create bonds with each other over shared ignorance. ![]() Is the joke punching up at white (and non-Black) perceptions of Black Americans through satire? Or punching down at the perceived toxicity of “ignorant” Black people with backhanded humor? I found my answer when watching the third episode of the show’s third season, “Stinkmeaner 3: The Hateocracy,” which builds on the Nigga Moment lore by including some extra caveats. ![]() Rewatching this episode nearly 15 years later, I became stuck on what Boondocks creator and head writer Aaron McGruder’s idea of a “nigga” is. Ī “Nigga Moment,” as described by character Huey Freeman during the first season of the Adult Swim series The Boondocks, is when “ignorance overwhelms the mind of an otherwise logical Negro male, causing him to act, well, like a nigga.” At face value, it was a simple and funny premise when first introduced in the 2005 episode “Granddad’s Fight,” as barbed commentary wrapped in wry observational humor. ![]() What was the world like when you first considered this piece of culture, and what’s changed? Does it hold up as timeless, or is it better left to the past? Pitch us at. Hits Different is a new series that takes a second look at a TV show, song, album, episode, movie, scene, or clip from the past that, in our current context, just hits different. ![]()
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