Boondocks recap: Stinkmeaner Strikes Back
by Racialicious guest contributor Jasmine
My first recap for this weeks episode of “The Boondocks”, “Stinkmeaner Strikes Back,” was a bit of a mess. A blow-by-blow recap of what happened, I didn’t put in much in the way of commentary because… I was scared. I admit it. Although I lobbied for the gig, the actual task of recapping “The Boondocks” is daunting because it’s a smart, funny show which draws a lot of fire for its routine use of the n-word, among other things. I like to think that I am sharp enough to know and to remember that the show performs cutting critiques on race and class, and I try not to worry too much that other viewers may just be taking the program at face value. If I believe I am laughing for the right reasons, I’d better make sure I reach out and engage those folks who may be laughing for the wrong ones.
At the same time, there’s nothing that makes me feel entitled to watch this show. I’m naturally attracted to any show, good or bad (whatever those words mean when applied to television), that is funny, engaging, and wants to engage in a discourse on race that doesn’t involve “very special episodes” or token characters like the ones often found on mainstream network television.
But what’s right and what’s wrong here? It’s hard to know where to begin, but here is what happens: the Freemans are set upon by the evil spirit of Colonel Stinkmeaner, the mean old man whom Granddad Robert killed accidentally in season one. The Colonel, having thrived on hate in life, is far too evil even for hell, and is sent back to Earth by the devil himself. Stinkmeaner’s spirit makes itself at home in the body of Tom DuBois, instigating bouts of meaningless violence and attacking the Freemans so that they might return to hell with him as his quarry. It takes some advice from the ghost of Ghostface Killah (yes, I know he’s not dead, so that one confused me, too) and a misguided exorcism led by everybody’s favorite Black white supremacist Uncle Ruckus to restore Tom’s spirit to his body, and finish off Stinkmeaner for good. While all this is going on, Granddad is trolling the internet for dates, though not with much success.
What I’ve left out is that each instance of the violence, as instigated by Stinkmeaner/Tom, was described as an example of what was called “a nigga moment”: “a moment where ignorance overwhelms the mind of an otherwise logical Negro male, causing him to act in an illogical, self-destructive manner, i.e. like a nigga.” I cringed every time I heard the phrase, but I didn’t stop watching. But was I accepting the premise of such a phenomenon? Do I believe that all Black men are susceptible to times of ignorance so profound that it clouds their judgement and causes them to act in a self-destructive manner? Of course not, and that’s why I thought the show was funny. It’s that line between the ridicule and stereotype, the gap between the sacred and the profane, on which “The Boondocks” is found. It knows what’s sacred, but is not afraid to use some humor to show its audience that it’s smart enough to know the difference.
Carmen Van Kerckhove is co-founder and president of 
Josh wrote:
This is the worst episode of Boondocks, in my opinion. Not only does it have a very slow and lethargic plot, it makes a distinction and then furthers a divide between ‘niggas’ and a black people. Now, this divide officially includes a ‘nigga caricature’ animation style that we have seen multiple times in the past. This is unacceptable. McGruder is developing his own animation racial, class, and status coding. Using Tom as the vehicle for this venture is regrettable as well since the possession of Tom is a reveal meaning Tom is shown as having a “rational” side and then a nigga side with no explanation for a scene or two. Tom becomes a narrative tool, in the worst sense of the phrase.
Lastly, what I hated most was the moral/satirical “truth” at the end. Frustrated that whipping Tom is not working (tools for his destruction: belts, nooses, nightsticks, whips, etc.), Huey has an a-ha moment after talking with the ghost of Ghostface Killah: he gets them to bond over hating black people. After this establishment of peace and harmony, Stinkmeaner gets ejected from Tom’s body since “harmony is the only thing that destroys niggas.” While I tolerate McGruder’s use of the n-word, I thought this episode was really unfortunate and I hope his artistic and political choices change for the better.
Posted 01 Nov 2007 at 10:35 am ¶
Gregory A. Butler wrote:
You see, Aaron McGruder is one of those respectable middle class Black people, who desperately wants White people to think he’s different than the “Niggers” out in the hood.
He’s like Tom DuBois, the Black man who is as far from a Nigger as possible.
But, even Tom (and presumably Aaron) is succeptable to “nigga moments”.
Which sounds VERY Tom Metzgerish, if you really think about it.
Imagine how we’d react if The Boondocks was written by a White man?
This mentality explains a LOT about how The Boondocks is written.
Remember, Adult Swim’s audience is largely White college age youth.
Among his viewers are the folks who put nooses on Black professors’ office doors and have “pimp and ho parties”.
And the folks who believe affirmative action is “reverse discrimination”.
And the people who think that the main problem today is “oversensitive Black people” and/or “Black racists like Al Sharpton”.
Of course, there are anti racist White folks in McGruder’s White audience too.
But that’s not who McGruder is pandering to.
Put it this way - at least Dave Chapelle had the decency to pull his show off the air when racist Whites started laughing AT us, rather than with us!!!
Posted 01 Nov 2007 at 11:04 am ¶
Elton wrote:
I was wondering what you thought about “Tom, Sara, and Usher,” which in my opinion was a much more entertaining episode that dealt with interracial relationships, a more interesting issue to me.
Posted 01 Nov 2007 at 12:59 pm ¶
Michelle wrote:
I agree with josh’s statement about the episode being very slow and lethargic. half way through watching boondocks I thought to myself ‘wow they really jumped the shark now’
Posted 01 Nov 2007 at 8:12 pm ¶
merq wrote:
All I can say is…
I told you so.
Not you, though, Jasmine.
Not to jack your post, but I hate when people lend false credibility to a source they feel “deserves” the benefit of the doubt. What you’ve done is go beyond giving a benefit of the doubt, all the way to creating a false reality/explanation on McGruder’s behalf.
It’s like the message board comments I read in response to Nas’ upcoming album title, “Nigger”, that (as simply as Boxer in Orwell’s “Animal Farm”) declared:
“If it’s Nas, I’m sure there’s an intelligent reason for that title. We’ll find out when we hear it.”
Ther same bullshit wouldn’t fly from Billy O’ — or Bill Clinton for that matter — but they gave Nasir automatic credibility because of his melanin and pseudo-intellect — much like I (truly) regret to say, you are.
Sometimes, it is as it seems.
Posted 01 Nov 2007 at 9:44 pm ¶
Mike wrote:
I thought the show was heavy handed even for him. it would have been more interesting if he made the Dr. Jekly Mr. Hide theme go through out the series instead of cram it in this episode.
Other than that Im still feeling the Boondocks.
Posted 02 Nov 2007 at 10:25 am ¶
lemure wrote:
I haven’t seen this episode, but I confess to having the first season um, put on, my computer. Anyway, I must concede, McGruder is one of those “middle class” Black folks that care too damn much about what White people think of “us”. I confess I’ve had the same feelings of superiority myself. They definitely come from a place of trying to ingratiate oneself with the “mainstream” under the guise of “caring” about the community. Bill Cosby suffers from the same issues. Its so easy to criticize without offering alternative solutions and pointing a finger inward, like how the Black middle class has abandoned its less fortunate brothers and sisters to go live side by side with White people. It plays into the whole “well you aren’t like “those” Black people mentality and continues to divide the Black community.
Posted 02 Nov 2007 at 10:59 am ¶
tanya wrote:
this was the WORST episode of the boondocks ever. i had to turn it off. aaron mcgruder has gone too far and i think he should take responsibility for putting more positivity out on the airwaves. he should take a lesson from dave chappelle. the use of the n-word was offensive, demeaning and unecessary. i hope that sharpton and other civil rights leaders call him to task on this one.
Posted 02 Nov 2007 at 2:56 pm ¶
mr guy wrote:
Funny enough this was the only episode of boondocks that i actually liked.Just the sheer craziness of it all.
Posted 03 Nov 2007 at 9:36 am ¶
Oranguteena wrote:
I have very mixed feelings about the Boondocks. I appreciate that it deals with racism, making it incredibly rare on television, especially given that is not from a white perspective, but a lot of the time I have misgivings about the approach. I should say that I have watched only a handful of episodes. What little time I have for chilling out in front of the tube I prefer to give to shows that don’t make me uncomfortable. The Boondocks doesn’t meet that qualification because 1.) it presents heavy subjects (racism, the death penalty, etc.) that get me riled up when I would prefer to be calming down, 2.) it often treats white women like garbage (see for example the episode with Usher - the white wife totally emasculates her black husband, who then has to turn to a pimp for relationship advice - she is airheaded, like all of McGruder’s white female characters I’ve seen, e.g. in the Itis episode - around Usher and then she is totally insensitive to her husband’s feelings), and 3.) Uncle Ruckus weirds me out a lot - I can’t help but wonder why he is the darkest-skinned character. As I said I haven’t seen most of the episodes so it is quite possible that my exposure to the show isn’t representative, and I’d like to know if I’m being unfair to McGruder.
Posted 03 Nov 2007 at 7:23 pm ¶
Latoya Peterson wrote:
Oranguteena -
Cosign on the mixed feelings.
The show thus far has not examined any of the topics that made me love the Boondocks in the first place.
Some examples:
*When Huey & Riley start at their elementary school, Huey spends his time reading books that are going to “deprogram his whitewashing.” The Miseducation of the Negro is featured, and there is a great strip in which Huey is asked to read from page 46, and reads page 46 from one of his pro-black books. There are also a few strips dealing with African-Americans being labeled as special ed, and the idea of diversity training for teachers. (The diversity training? The principal gave the teacher DVDs of Boyz-N-the Hood and BAPS.)
*There is a seven strip long discussion of Kwanzaa - kicking off when Huey forgets it.
*Caesar, Huey’s friend who has yet to make an appearance in the show, is kind of the black everyman. He loves hip-hop, thinks deep, but reigns Huey in when he goes off the deep end with his tangents.
I also noticed that the Boondocks was originally intended to be more diverse. Cindy as Jasmine’s friend represents semi-clueless white people, Jasmine is bi-racial and spends a lot more time reflecting on that fact (and is a lot less dumb than they make her on the show), and there is a kid named Hiro that was supposed to be a DJ.
All the original boondockers are here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boondocks
So, I still watch the show. But it doesn’t hold the same significance that it did for me when it was a strip.
Posted 05 Nov 2007 at 4:47 pm ¶
Rudebwoy381 wrote:
To me, ‘Boondocks’ the cartoon sets its aim solely on black America, and is unafraid to take on both its heavy subjects (racism, social stratification) and its hypocritical characters.
In response to a previous post, the white characters are all stereotypical (the sleazy-rich white businessman, his f*ck-up son, the clueless white women) for the same reason that most black characters on mainstream television are stereotypes: they’re considered marginal, ancillary and not crucial to the story being told.
As a white man, I have to admit that, initially, the Uncle Ruckus character made me a little uncomfortable (one white friend of mine said he couldn’t watch it, because “I don’t know what I’m supposed to laugh at”), but the more he’s onscreen… I won’t say the more you beCOME comfortable with his character, but you come to understand his role in the show. To me, Ruckus is meant to represent self-loathing and self-hate in the black American psyche, as well as the white racist view of black America taken to the n’th degree (no pun intended).
The ubiquitous presence of the n-word in the series, I have no comment on. When its being used by characters other than Uncle Ruckus, I tend to view it as a humorous punctuation to many of the show’s funnier lines (try to picture Thugnificent’s tour on “Cribs” without all of the n-bombs). And where Riley uses it as part of his imagined persona, Huey uses it much more in the mode of Chris Rock’s “N*ggas vs. Black People” routine.
I suppose the question is this: if it’s a black man and black writers who are exploring these issues and poking fun at black America, is it racist? I would say no. There are plenty of moments in the show that made me cringe a little, but many more that had me rolling out of my chair.
Posted 21 Jul 2008 at 10:28 pm ¶