The Boondocks and Popular Culture
Little boy listen
closely, society says this is what you are; your purpose in life, a manual of
what your life should consists of; wear jeans down below your knees; never
complete a sentence that doesn’t start with “F” and ends with “UCK”; never
study and love your neighbors; state ignorant things; never open up a book to
read it; you don’t have goals and dream, don’t believe it; your only good for
playing basketball or making rap videos; doctor? Forget about it; lawyer?
Forget about it; chase after girls; never treat them like ladies; remember they
are just tools at your disposal; growing up fast is the way of life; don’t
create a life, take one, destroy one; let them understand that you’re their
number one fear; statistics and stereotypes are never false…right??
Dumb,
dangerous, deviant, deprived, criminals, drug dealers and ganstas! Is this how
popular culture portrays the average Black male adolescent? Yes, that’s exactly
what is shown for entertainment on television. It seems like the only positive image
of Black males are shown on the sports channel. Want proof? Well tell me this,
how many modern positive cartoons or shows are out there with young Black
males? Shows that star Black males not cursing and being ignorant. Black males
with an education and middle class family, like so many other White middle
class family sitcoms out there. One of the only shows on television that
portrays the role of young Black males is the cartoon “The Boondocks”. This
show is full of degrading language and violence, with a majority of its
characters being Black and the main characters being Black.
What
is this saying about our society? Well some people think these images are no
big deal, its just entertainment! What many don’t realize is this so called
entertainment has a major influence on today’s youth. A lot of kids look up to
the images shown on T.V. and try their hardest to make it reality. The fact
that this show is basically the only portrayal of Black males that youth can
look up to is quite sad. Yes, there have been shows like “The Cosby Show”, but today’s
youth don’t watch these older shows anymore and the shows themselves are not on
T.V. often. There are a number of White modern sitcoms like “Family Guy “and
“American Dad” that portrays extremely funny but not overly negative images of
its characters. This shows that sitcoms can be funny without being degrading!
Popular
culture and media has the greatest influence on our lifestyles. So it’s no
wonder why many cling to their television and imitate the things that they see.
Will this negative image of the young Black male ever be exchanged for a more
positive image in popular culture?
“Sunday
nights are part of my relaxation ritual, I turn on the T.V. and tune into the
latest episode of the Boondocks. I absolutely love Riley and his gansta wannabe
image”.
Like
so many other American youth, watching television is my favorite past time!
Although there are a number of different shows I could watch on T.V. its seems
like the most entertaining ones are the most negative ones. Why is that in
order for something to be funny, it has to contain ignorant words and images?
Maybe it’s because media has seen a demand for these shows and getting rid of
them will only take away money from the greasy hands of these million dollar
corporations! So until then, “The Boondocks” negative portrayal of Black males
will remain.
