The Boondock, Best Cartoon Ever!

               I feel that only three television shows have ever truly captured the essence of black and hip-hop culture without having to censor itself at all. Chappelle's Show, The Wire, and of course, The Boondocks. Originally created by Aaron McGruder as a comic strip for national newspapers in the late 90's, it quickly became a controversial favorite of readers. The subject matter of race and social injustice quickly got several of McGruder's strips pulled. However, after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the strip's questioning of the accountability of the U.S. government brought much scrutiny of the comic from critics and sensitive readers. In 2005, McGduder signed a deal with Adult Swim to air a cartoon version of the comic strip. The result... comedy gold. Since the show came out right after Dave Chappelle left Comedy Central, the show filled the void left by Chappelle's Show's cancellation. The first lines delivered by Huey Freeman on the very first episode were "Excuse me. Can I have your attention, please? Jesus was black, the government is lying about 9/11, and Ronald Raegon is the devil. Thank you for your time." to a garden party of rich, white individuals. Now that is how you start a series off with a bang!

               The show is filled with a lot of great characters, the main three are Huey, Riley, and Grandad Freeman. I feel like Grandad's character represents the past, what black culture went through years ago and still fighting for rights. Riley seems to represent the present, he only goes with "what's hot in the streets" even if it's completely ridiculous. Huey represents the future, where black people are trying to get. And Uncle Ruckus, well he's just a confused, old, black man who is racist against black people as a whole. The show represent all extremes of black culture and places them in absurd situations. From rappers threatening the elderly, to Martin Luther King Jr. calling a group of rebellious black youths, niggers. All I can say is that the show is simply amazing. The first three seasons are in the books, but hopefully Aaron McGruder will continue making more seasons of the show.