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The Boondocks is an animated series produced for Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming block, based on the comic strip of the same name. The show made its broadcast debut on November 6, 2005; it was originally set to premiere on October 2, but was pushed back for November sweeps. It is a production of Sony Pictures Television, executive produced by Aaron McGruder, the creator of the comic strip.
Overview
Like the comic strip, the television version of The Boondocks is a satirical situation comedy revolving around the
lives of the Freeman family. Elementary-school aged African American brothers Huey and Riley Freeman have been moved by their "granddad" Robert Freeman from inner city South Side Chicago, Illinois to the quiet and almost completely white suburb of Woodcrest. Because of the long turnaround time required for each episode,
The Boondocks cartoon avoids the topicality of its newspaper counterpart, and instead covers more long-standing issues
involving race relations and politics, including assimilation of black people into white culture, what would happen if Martin Luther King, Jr. never actually died, and the R. Kelly sex scandal controversy.
For the cartoon series, younger Freeman brother Riley was redesigned with cornrows, and the comic strip followed suit with a month-long story arc involving Riley growing cornrows. Uncle Ruckus, a self-hating
black man originally intended to have been introduced to the strip before 9-11, was introduced into the strip in late 2004 and is being primarily developed in the animated series. The Freemans' neighbors, the Duboises (Tom, Sarah, and their daughter
Jazmine), also appeared during the show's first season; Huey's best friend Michael Caesar is being withheld for later seasons.
The Boondocks series has attracted a great deal of controversy for its heavy use of the word "nigga"; a community group in Los Angeles led by Najee Ali plans to protest the series for this reason. Aaron McGruder defended the usage of the word, stating that its use made the show feel "more sincere", since the word is commonly used in
the everyday conversations of African Americans.[1] The show's premiere episode, "Garden Party", makes a joke of the long-standing controversy surrounding the word
"nigga":
- Granddad: ...and all I ask y'all to do is act like you got some class!
- Riley: [to Huey] Hey...what's "class"?
- Huey: It means, "don't act like niggas."
- Granddad: Now, now, see? That's what I'm talkin' about right there! We don't use the "n-word" in this house!
- Huey: Granddad, you used the word "nigga" 46 times yesterday. I counted!
- Granddad: Nigga, hush!
A running theme in the series is the concept of black unity. Even though Huey and others may disagree with the points of
view of characters like Tom Dubois, Uncle Ruckus, and even Old Stinkmeaner -- they still feel obligated to provide them with
support and respect.
According to an article in The Washington Post, references to Rosa Parks were removed from one of the series' completed episodes within a week of her death. [2] In the second episode, "The Trial of R. Kelly", Parks was originally outside the courtroom protesting Kelly.
McGruder and one-time collaborator Reginald Hudlin had originally piloted the show for the Fox Network, but found difficulty in making the series acceptable for broadcast television. Hudlin left the project after the Fox deal
fell through, although McGruder and Sony Television are contractually bound to continue to credit him as an executive producer
[3].
Characters
- Huey Freeman: The show's protagonist. Huey is a ten-year-old black radical, prone to conspiracy theories and other
subversive ideas such as that the U.S. Government is covering up the truth about the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks, that Jesus was black, and also that Ronald Reagan was Satan. He is portrayed as the voice of reason and a mouthpiece for contemporary Afrocentrism and morals. In spite of his usual level-headedness, Huey is sometimes irrational and overzealous, and doesn't see things
realistically. He is being stalked by "The White Shadow", a white Secret Service agent who watches his family's every move, although Huey believes he is a figment of his imagination, and Riley often makes
fun of him for it.
- Riley Freeman: Huey's eight-year-old little brother, who is subject to influence from gangsta rap culture. He is often easily swayed or caught up in the moment. He is representative of misguided black youth, and is portrayed
as Huey's polar opposite.
- Robert Jebediah "Granddad" Freeman: Huey and Riley's elderly grandfather, who is raising the boys. The fates of
the boys' parents has not yet been addressed in the series. He retired to the suburbs so that he could raise the boys in a
peaceful environment. He was part of the Civil Rights Movement, but was prone to certain faux pas (such as wearing rain gear in preparation for getting shot with a fire hose). Could be
representative of elderly black culture, he serves as another figure of reason in contrast to Huey, although his reason tends
to be more pragmatic.
- Tom Dubois: The Freemans' next-door neighbor. Tom Dubois is a rich African-American attorney. Tom Dubois strictly
adheres to the law and is a "do-gooder". He is often seen as a "race traitor" by other black characters, as he is seen as having turned his back on his black heritage to marry a white woman, have a
mixed-race-child, and become a prosecutor. His name is a play on both Uncle Tom and W.E.B. Dubois. Tom is also skittish and easily frightened. In one episode, Huey suggests that Tom's entire life of following the law and
being an attorney is the result of his fear of being anally raped in prison.
- Sarah Dubois: Tom Dubois' wife, who is white.
- Jazmine Dubois: Tom and Sarah's mulatto daughter. She can be extremely paranoid and a bit naive, and is an object of ridicule for Huey and Riley. Jazmine was shocked
by the September 11 attacks (which is why she didn't appear in the strip for the next two years) and by finding out that the tooth fairy isn't real. She also has her own religious take on Santa Claus, who she worships.
- Uncle Ruckus: An overweight man with a grotesque appearance who idolizes white culture. Ruckus is self-hating,
dissassociating himself from his African-American heritage as best as he can, and instead championing whatever small traces
of Native American and Irish ancestry he may have. His greatest wish is that black people were still enslaved, because he believes that they were better
off that way. He claims to have a mythical disease called "re-vitiligo" ("the reverse of what Michael Jackson has," he always retorts). His character is a hyperbolic parody of the self-hating black man, and is named after Uncle Remus from Song of the South.
- Ed Wuncler I: A rich realtor, whose family founded Woodcrest and have lived in the area for decades. The wealthy Wuncler owns the mortgage loan on Granddad's house, and is embarrased by his inept grandson, Ed III. He bears a surprising resemblance to the man who
voices him, Ed Asner.
- Ed Wuncler III: The grandson of Ed Wuncler I, who owns the Freeman's home. Ed III is a somewhat psychotic ex-soldier
portrayed as a representation of the "wigger" stereotype: a white person who acts like an exaggerated version of a young black
person. He has recently returned to America from Iraq, where he was serving military duty; he is also implied to be an alcoholic. His character, voiced by Charlie Murphy, could be seen as a parody of George W. Bush, painted in broad strokes -- an ineffectual former soldier, destined to be president on the strength of his family's wealth
and power, despite his sub-average intelligence.
- The White Shadow: A Secret Service agent that follows Huey and his family around, eavesdropping on them.
Voice cast
Opening song
The opening theme song was recorded by hip hop artist Asheru.
I am the stone that the building refused, I am the visual,
The inspiration that made ladies sing the blues.
I'm
the spark that makes ya idea bright,
The same spark that lights the dark
So that you can know ya left
from ya right.
I am the ballot in ya box, the bullet in the gun,
That inner glow that lets you know to call ya brotha "son."
The
story that just begun, the promise of what's to come,
And I'ma remain a soldier 'til the war is won.
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