Post #6 The boondocks

The above clip is from the show The Boondocks. The Boondocks is a satire, and the clip above is a satire of certain films such as Soul Plane. The clip is saying that the perfect terrorist plot would be thwarted by idiosyncrasies of African-American people. Soul Plane 2 on a larger scale is making fun of certain aspects of black pop culture, for it’s use of highlighting and glamorizing stereotypes and ignorance. This is seen several times in the clip; when the man checking the x-rays for the bags becomes distracted by a  lady, when the ticket taker is joking with the terrorist, and when the check in lady becomes upset at the terrorist and abruptly goes on her lunch break.

The show itself speaks about African-American society through its characters. There is an African-American character named Tom. Tom is a successful prosecutor, who primarily puts African-American people to jail, and is married to a Caucasian woman. His name “Tom”, is derived from “Uncle Tom” for he is a straight laced black man who has turned his back on his race. Another character, Riley Freeman, is an 8 year old who is obsessed with gangsta rap, and routinely references females in a derogatory way. In one episode his grandfather’s car is stolen, and he knows who did it, but refuses to cooperate with police because he is “not a snitch”. Riley is heavily influenced by what he sees on the media. His older brother Huey, on the other hand, is almost an exact opposite. He views himself as a revolutionary, he supports black causes, but sees black pop culture as a detriment to the greater good. While Riley tends to be rash in his decision making, Huey is the voice of reason. The show also has an anime influence, which can be seen in this fight scene, with the use of a speeding background . The characters also have large eyes, which is very common in anime. The people behind The Boondocks let it be known how they feel about certain issues pretty bluntly in episodes, but also mix in random action so it does not feel like they are beating a drum.

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