If Aaron McGruder is not involved in this project, then the remix is going to be a dumpster fire.
The Boondocks was one of the most brilliant cultural statements, critiques and even admonishments about what it is to be Black in the United States.
It is now being widely reported that it could be returning. However, there has been no word as to whether or not its creator, Aaron McGruder, is going to have anything to do with it.
The humor was so precise that the laughter simply exploded from us, propelled by a knowing that only one intimate with levels of Blackness therein could fully enjoy.
Such as episode 13 of Season One, titled “Wingmen”, when Huey had a confrontation with his newly woke friend, Cairo. The mainstream can enjoy all the jokes, but only the superficial silliness of it. It hits harder, though, for people who actually experience similar situations.
The deepness of “It’s a Black President, Huey Freeman”, showed multiple black viewpoints and opinions on the election of President Obama – from overt optimism to apathy, as was the case with Huey, to outright disdain, as was the case with Uncle Ruckus.
It is not a prejudiced statement to expect the mainstream to miss most of the deeper meaning of Black cultural expression, its simply an anthropological opinion based on the observation of that phenomenon in other mediums.
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Now, we have the most cartoonishly bloated and boastful president in the White House, with white supremacy resurging across the nation as the morbid toll of black lives gunned down in overcrowded city streets continues to rise. R. Kelly is facing imminent imprisonment, and an aged Bill Cosby is languishing behind bars.
Indeed, the very definition of what it is to be Black in America is currently being reimagined. It is into this maelstrom of black thought that a divining rod of pure satire and comedic reflection could be just what’s needed.
Back in February, McGruder revealed a series of comic strips simply because he felt like doing so, with the help of Charlemagne tha God.
Here’s the statement McGruder released back in 2014 when he decided to leave the show.
“What has never been lost on me is the enormous responsibility that came with The Boondocks – particularly the television show and it’s a relatively young audience. It was important to offend, but equally important to offend for the right reasons. For three seasons I personally navigated this show through the minefields of controversy. It was not perfect. And it definitely was not quick. But it was always done with a keen sense of duty, history, culture, and love. Anything less would have been simply unacceptable”.
With that statement as the last and only word from McGruder regarding the TV show in five years, even if The Boondocks does come back to Adult Swim, there’s an uncomfortable likelihood that it would be a creative abomination compared to Aaron’s original vision and purpose for the show.
