Monsters of Television

“We’re American. We don’t quit just because we’re wrong. We keep doing the wrong thing until it turns out right.”

An exiled hero must return to glory and face his greatest challenge yet to aid his helpless community. Doesn’t exactly strike you as the plot of an episode of The Boondocks does it? Where’s the social commentary? Where’s the abundance of cussing? Oh it’s all there wrapped up in a neat ass kicking, wall crushing, ball kicking bow.

It’s no secret that Aaron McGruder is a huge fan of and inspired by anime and Asian cinema. Tonight’s episode was a perfect homage. It was a hero’s journey in the same vein as a Stephen Chow film, especially Shaolin Soccer. Huey must return to kickball after a self-imposed exile (he gave a poor girl a “permanent severe limp”) to save the Woodcrest community after tycoon Ed Wuncler (Ed Asner) bets it on a kickball game against a rival Chinese businessman’s team. All of the necessary components for a good hero tale are there: Out of practice protagonist. No hope misfit team. Insurmountable odds. An epic showdown with the rival (Chinese team captain Ming). Read more »

“I mean wasn’t that the point of us bein’ rappers? So we didn’t have to get a job!”

Never before have I laughed so hard while simultaneously being terrified for my future. The many facets of the entertainment industry are constantly changing. The focus seems to change between a focus on the artistic and a focus on business. The Boondocks certainly seems to think business rules in the music industry right now. And they beat up poor Otis “Thugnificent” Jackson to prove that very point.

The rap reign of Thugnificent is over. His peak 4 years ago (40 years in rapper time) has flat-lined. So how to stay relevant? First: use auto-tuner on every song on your new album. “It let’s you sing even if you can’t sing!” Jay-Z would be less than thrilled. Riley certainly was. He’d rather hear the new number one track by young up-and-comer Sgt. Gudda, an obvious knock to Soulja Boy, the poster child for commercially constructed personalities.So the old originality game isn’t working. Auto-tuner didn’t work. Only thing left is to adapt someone else’s style. But his dance is nowhere near as trend setting as that of his younger rival. Read more »