Is boondocks a moment in time thing I wouldn't get, or did I just pick a bad episode?
I'm a zoomer (23), I never watched the boondocks growing up, I decided to watch an episode because I've heard it's funny and I've seen funny clips from it, so I decide to watch an episode. The one I picked was the one where Uncle Ruckus finds out he's 102% black with a 2% margin of error, because I've heard people reference that scene and it sounded funny
And it's like, the entire first half of this episode is making fun of some tv channel I've never heard of, and it's a long back and forth that goes on and on, and I'm sure it's really funny if you know what BET is but I don't, and it just kept going. it was like an austin powers thing. it wasn't until like ten minutes in that you get to uncle ruckus, and there's literally just one joke over and over (he's black but he thinks he's White, and he hates black people).
so... is this show something you just had to grow up with, or did I just pick a bad episode?
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It's kind of.. It's not COMPLETELY chronological, but if you wanna get into it I would really reccomend watching the show in order. Stuff gets explained way better and characters develop smoother and more jokes make sense.
I don't know because I watched it in order my first time watching it, but I can't imagine I would have loved it as much as I do if I started out with random episodes.
damn I reread my post and I sound semi-literate. I normally can make myself clearer but I'm on a lot of sleeping pills, I'll return to this thread in the morning if it's still up
thank you for your advice I'll take it into consideration
Also you picked an episode that was pretty much dedicated to fleshing out Uncle Ruckus as a character. Not a bad episode by any means, but one of the actual worst ones to start off with if you're completely new to the show.
aight I'll watch something else at another time
I thought it was an episodic comedy, those usually don't start out so good in the beginning and they don't have a lot of lore so just watch the stuff you like
aight now i'm really going to bed
Did you just happen to catch this episode on TV or did you pick it? If it's the latter, who the frick watches tv like this? Watch the episodes in release order.
I think it's more ragging on Hudlin(the guy who wrote a couple if really raycist issues of Black Panther?) and a bit on american media in general, specifically the Big Brother inspired "docu"dramas like Survivor or Bid Wars or whatever
>I think it's more ragging on Hudlin(the guy who wrote a couple if really raycist issues of Black Panther?)
Hudlin was also president of BET (notably the post Viacom BET) which is why he's tied to it in those episodes.
The thing you need to understand about BET is that when it started it was much higher class; it had honest to god documentaries and cooking shows and original game shows and a lot of local and national political analysis stuff. There was music, but it often tended towards gospel, rhythm and blues, old school funk, stuff with more artistry to it.
Then it got bought out by big megacorps and they said "frick all that" and turned the channel into nothing but thug rap music videos, trashy reality shows, and the occasional sitcom. It went from being the black audience being able to see themselves at their best to something racists could point to and say "See what Black folk like? they have no place in polite society".
So BET was a frequent target of criticism from Boondocks showrunner Aaron MacGruder, and that extended to Hudlin as he was the network's figurehead at the time.
>The thing you need to understand about BET is that when it started it was much higher class; it had honest to god documentaries and cooking shows and original game shows and a lot of local and national political analysis stuff. There was music, but it often tended towards gospel, rhythm and blues, old school funk, stuff with more artistry to it
NTA but what the frick, I didn't know that. It's almost unimaginable tbh
It's unimaginable by design.
There's a reason McGruder calls them straight up evil and he's hardly alone in his assessment.
>The thing you need to understand about BET is that when it started it was much higher class; it had honest to god documentaries and cooking shows and original game shows and a lot of local and national political analysis stuff. There was music, but it often tended towards gospel, rhythm and blues, old school funk, stuff with more artistry to it.
>Then it got bought out by big megacorps and they said "frick all that" and turned the channel into nothing but thug rap music videos, trashy reality shows, and the occasional sitcom. It went from being the black audience being able to see themselves at their best to something racists could point to and say "See what Black folk like? they have no place in polite society".
Okay, this is going to sound weird but doesn't that sound a lot like what happened with TLC? The big difference being, TLC's audience was low income white people in the Appalachians.
It's pretty much exactly what's happening with TLC, yes. Pandering to the lowest common denominator and the worst impulses is profitable like that. They key difference is, somehow the entire white race doesn't end up getting judged by Duck Dynasty or Honey Boo Boo.
MacGruder had also worked with Hudlin on a political comic before, so he may have meant it as a more targeted attack.
It was definitely a product of the 2000s, but it still holds up
you picked a middling episode from relatively late in the show's run, start from the beginning instead(and preferably stop after season 2)
bro thats not even an episode with THE MAIN characters in it, watch literally ANY other episode
This, ruckus is a one trick pony. His only joke's about being an unknowing, self hating black man.
He's a character only good in small portions. I realized that on a rewatch, when I realized all my favorite episodes had little to none of him.
Such as Date with the health inspector or the story of gangstalicious or The S-word.
when i first watched this show i basically tuned thay fricker out every time he was on screen, the joke gets old fast
I think it's a problem of the way we watch television now. Ruckus would much more tolerable and even funny if we weren't binging shows. As we'd only get small portions of him while catching an episode over the span of months, instead of watching the entire series over a week.
>I'm a zoomer (23)
Why do they always point it out?
>zoomer
Frick off. I'm a zoomer and I'm tired of other zoomers making us look bad. Stop mentioning the fact you're a zoomer if you're going to admit to dumb shit like never having seen the Boondocks. God, didn't you watch Adult Swim as a kid or was Mommy breastfeeding you in your room for 10 years?
I don't think Anon is an American because he didn't understand cultural references like BET, and its horrible broadcasts (Whatever isn't sitcom reruns). Adult swim didn't even start airing till 2006 in the UK, for example, and still most euro countries don't have adult swim, with its shows being picked up by random networks.
Start shows from the beginning you rotten piece of shit. You must be very aware of Black culture as well as was going on at the time. It's a commentary on hypocrisy in our everyday lives.
You definitely need to be aware of black culture and media to an extent to appreciate the breadth of jokes because a lot of the show is based around it less than it being about a specific timeframe.
> I decided to watch an episode because I've heard it's funny
>and I've seen funny clips from it, so I decide to watch an episode.
>I'm a zoomer
Okay, identity confirmed.
>is this show something you just had to grow up with, or did I just pick a bad episode?
It's not really a great episode. It's also a product of a different time though. Back when black people were a novelty and not an ever-present source of fatigue with 200%+ representation.
You picked a bad episode. The Black Entertainment Network jokes are funny because it's trash tv but it represents black people in its name so it's kind of disrespectful to black people. That is funny. And I didn't have to actually know anything about the real channel to get the joke. Also with Unkle Reckus. The joke is only funny after watching all the build-up. Like if you watched this episode after seeing a few episodes with uncle ruckus the joke hits way harder.
I would suggest you just watch the show in order or maybe find a top ten list to start your Boondocks journey. The one where they go to jail is pretty good. And the Christmas play one is good too. And the one about the death row inmate.
It's a good show but it's not Family Guy. You actually get invested in the characters and the issues they are talking about. It's funny but it's not a joke machine gun. Give it another shot I think you might like it.
Side note. I noticed a lot of zoomers just watch clips of shows and when they watch the actual show it's almost like the attention span isn't there to watch a full 22-minute story. Not that I am accusing you of this. But I have noticed this with myself as a millennial/zoomer (I'm in between or a millennial in denial). So just be mindful that with all the short-form content out there some people just can't hang in there for a full episode. Make sure this doesn't happen to you.