Boondocks Perspective

Boondocks Perspective

            The Boondocks is an animated series, which intends to bring awareness to social or

political issues in a comic frame. The setting, and how the characters react to issues regarding the law, parenting, self hatred, and capitalism, will be examined with Kenneth Burke’s perspective of incongruity through the comic frame.  The Boondocks makes fun of both sides of the issues, and then offers a solution to the problem. The show is very crude and obscene when presenting the issue, but the statements and actions of the characters are taken from popular culture. The Boondocks goes out of its way to present the views of people in an over the top manner.

The setting is in Woodcrest which happens to be a predominantly white neighborhood.

There is no back story as to why the Freeman’s have moved to Woodcrest from Chicago. The

only thing the audience knows is that Ed Wuncler approved the loan for the home. The setting

deals with credit approval between black home owners and white bank owners. In the first

episode The Garden Party, Robert has to meet with Ed Wuncler in regards to the loan on his

home. Robert is scared that Ed Wuncler might find away to keep him from owning his home. So

Robert thinks the only way he can save his home is by offering Ed Wuncler cheese. The tragedy

is that people are denied home loans based on their lifestyle and not ability to pay back the loan.

The comedy is that Robert was able to find a common ground with Ed Wuncler with his

stereotypical view of white people liking cheese. Therefore, Robert is able to save his home

because of his stereotypical view.

The Boondocks uses present day examples to show flaws in the law. Then, it also shows

how the race card is abused by people who are guilty of their crimes. An example would be The

Trial of R. Kelly episode where the singer is charged with having sex with a minor. The

supporters of R. Kelly protest for his freedom because they love his music. They believe he did

not commit the crime of urinating on a girl, and if he did she just happened to be in the way.

Riley is a supporter of R. Kelly and does not want to see him guilty of the crime, because he

wants R. Kelly to produce another album. The evidence is heavily stacked against R. Kelly

because in the video it clearly shows that he has committed the crime. R. Kelly is talking on the

phone in the video verifying his information such as his social security number. The defense

attorney of R. Kelly attacks the prosecutor Tom Dubois with a racial attack telling the jurors he

has a white wife. Huey tries to reason with the court claiming that people are falsely imprisoned

for crimes they did not commit. R. Kelly should be counseled instead of being allowed to roam

free among the public. His statement is interrupted by his brother Riley who tells him to sit

down, and his statement is not remembered by the jury. The result is that R. Kelly wins the case

because of Tom’s wife, and his singing abilities when he performs for the court.  The tragedy in

this situation is that person can get away with having sex with a child. The comedy in this

situation is that people, will allow a person to get away with a crime based on irrelevant

statements against the prosecution, and a performance mockery of the court.

In the episode A Date with the Health Inspector the character Tom Dubois is falsely

accused of murder. This episode shows how an innocent person can be convicted of a crime

based on the color of their skin. Tom is pressured by the police to admit he killed someone. The

police promise him that he will not go to jail, to face his fear of anal rape. The offer is very

enticing to Tom and he almost signs the confession document. Until the real killer is found hours

later and Tom is allowed to go free. The tragic part of the episode is that people are accused of

crimes they did not commit on a daily basis. They are tricked into signing confessions, because

they are offered false promises of freedom. The comedy part of the episode is that Tom is a

district attorney that almost falls for the deal, until the real killer is found. Tom’s fear of anal

rape is a phobia which is unusual for a law abiding citizen. Tom’s character is the symbol of the

Uncle Tom character, who is submissive to white people and is referred to as a sellout among the black community.

Another part in the episode A Date with the Health Inspector the characters Ed Wuncler

the II and Gin Rummy are asked to look for the real killer to help free Tom Dubois. They end up

in a gun fight at a gas station owned by Middle Eastern people, because they were trying to steal beer from them. After the gun fight the Middle Eastern people are arrested an accused of

terrorism making Ed and Gin national heroes. While it is clear that they were trying to steal the

beer from the store owners. The tragic part of the episode is fact many Middle Eastern people are accused of terrorism. Some people are innocent but still face consequences due to false

accusations. The comedy part of the episode is the ignorance of people, who use patriotism as a defense for committing a crime. The Boondocks clearly makes fun patriotism by calling it a form of racism, because when Ed and Gin are applauded for their efforts. They are seen by the crowd loading the alcohol in the trunk of their car.

In the episode Smoking with Cigarettes this episode covers the incident with Lamilton

Deshawn who is clearly guilty causing havoc with his grandmother’s SUV. He steals the SUV

and causes a major accident. When a reporter asks him what his punishment should be he says

“no television for a week.” This incident occurred and those were his exact words on the

situation. Throughout the episode he continues to cause havoc without a parental figure in site.

The tragic part of the episode is that Lamilton Deshawn’s punishment did not fit the crime.

Children without parents are most likely to commit crimes like this one. The comedy part of the

episode is that a parent was irresponsible in letting their child steal their vehicle for a joy ride.

The episode makes fun of parents who do not discipline their children properly. The stereotype

of black families is that they discipline their children severely by beating them with a belt.   

            The Uncle Ruckus character is an example of an early black faced Minstrel character.

According to Roland Laird these early minstrel characters were stereotypical views of white

actors playing black characters in blackface,”… minstrel show with its primary themes being

depictions of enslaved blacks being happy and contented with their lot in life, became a popular

way to maintain the status quo in the minds of many Americans.” (Laird 2010) Uncle Ruckus

displays these characteristics with his over the top racial slurs of black people in America.

Kenneth Burke would view Uncle Ruckus as a juxtaposition of a tragic time, and the present

time of acceptance. The Uncle Ruckus character was once used to entertain a white audience

displaying the ignorance of black people. Now, the character is used to entertain a diverse

audience with his over the top actions. He is an example of a self hate type of figure.

     
       In the episode The Passion of Reverend Ruckus Uncle Ruckus has an epiphany with

Ronald Reagan that if he starts a religion that would allow people to dislike black people his

dreams would come true. The Ronald Reagan figure transforms Uncle Ruckus into a white man,

but this white man is still the fat and wide eyed individual. Nothing has changed except his color.

When Uncle Ruckus is preaching his new religion by telling white people, they will enter heaven

and if black people hate themselves for being black then they will enter the same heaven. Ruckus is struck with lightening during his national televised sermon for preaching his gospel and loses his followers. The tragic part of the episode is the use of religion to promote the self hatred of black people. The comedy part of the episode is Uncle Ruckus’s unintelligible method of spreading his gospel of self hate. He ends up asking the crowd random stereotypical questions of their own experiences in regards to black people.

In the episode The Itis, Granddad opens up a soul food restaurant. The restaurant fails due to lawsuits over the food causing health problems. Granddad goes into business because Ed Wuncler urges him to do so. Ed Wuncler’s intentions were not for Granddad Freeman to be

successful, but for his own capital gain. “According to Burke, society entered the stage of naive

capitalism when "in the Protestant countries, the atomistic disintegrative tendencies that go with

the breaking of a frame made eventually for business individualism” (Levasseur 93) Granddad

was naive to see Ed Wuncler’s true intentions of making the neighborhood bad so the value of

property would decrease. Then, Ed Wuncler could buy the property and build his own restaurant

there. The tragic parts of the episode are the lawsuits associated with the food industry, and the

plot to devalue property for capital gain. Ed Wuncler clearly exploited Granddad Freeman by

allowing him to open up the restaurant to cause the high crime rate around the neighborhood

with his food. The comedy part of the episode is the effects of Granddad Freeman’s food causing people to fall asleep.

      
      In the episode The Fundraiser Riley comes up with a scheme to sell candy for a false

charity. He employs many people for the fundraiser, and is very successful until a rival group

muscles in on him with machine guns. Riley gets shot while wearing bulletproof vest, and does

not walk away with any money. His intentions were to make money for himself regardless of the

dangers that came with the money. He does not see the risk is not worth the money, because the risk for the money is his life. There are two tragic parts in the episode which are the efforts of

parents helping their children with fundraisers, and the desire for young people to get rich

through a violent means. The parents who help their children with fundraisers put their jobs at

risk only to help the candy companies get rich. Young people are often caught up in gangster

movies and do not see the real danger in earning money that way. The comedy part of the

episode is the fact they turned innocent candy bar selling into a gangster theme. Jasmine’s

innocence and her being naïve prevents Riley from walking away with the money, because all

through the episode she assumes Riley is selling the candy for a charity.

The Boondocks represents more than comedy, because of the many messages it conveys to the viewer.  “In the context of Burke’s critical model, employed incongruities serve to make The Boondocks less an idle source of “mindless” entertainment than an active, and effective,vehicle for individual perspective making.” (O’Grady 2010) The show brings to light the issues of loan borrowing for homes, law, parenting, self hatred and capitalism. The Boondocks presentsthese issues in a comedic format making fun of public figures, who have said of done the things in the episodes. The show encourages individual thinking so the viewer will have their own perspective of the issues presented to them. The show captures the viewer with the animation style and comedy. Then, leaves the viewer with a lesson relating to the issues they may be exposed to in present time.