Aaron McGruder The Boondocks Creator Interview
via Okayplayer
I love the Boondocks. Anyone looking to get me a nice Xmas gift, besides my pink G Shock that I still haven't found, can get me 1 or both seasons of The Boondocks and I will love you long time.
Much like the cast of characters that make up his acclaimed comic strip The Boondocks, Aaron McGruder is a man unafraid to speak his mind. Whether addressing America’s racial stereotypes, the absurdity of its government, or the idiosyncrasies of its culture in general, McGruder’s smart and sardonic commentary earned him a legion of followers. Huey and Riley Freeman, characters that respectively represented a culture’s skeptical worldview and near-deification of hip-hop music, resonated with audiences leading to the development of an animated series on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim.
Of course, content that edgy is also bound to strike a nerve in more than one way. The comic strip’s political tone led several newspapers to withhold the more controversial strips (or cancel the series altogether), while two episodes from the Peabody Award-winning animated show’s second season were banned from TV due to their heavy criticism of the Black Entertainment Television network.
So it’s worth noting that, at least at this point, very little can hinder the voice of McGruder’s latest endeavor, the Web-based live action sketches from his new Partner Rumble Studio. “We began developing the material with SuperDeluxe.com, but things folded with them right before it was set to come out,” he says from his office in Los Angeles. “We had all this stuff that we were sitting on, so we decided to just put it out.”
While still in its early stages, the existing sketches (viewable at www.boondocksbootleg.com) combine the wit of The Boondocks with a raw aesthetic that’s been missing since the demise of The Chappelle Show. Characters like Black Jesus and gangsta rapper Tubesteak are already destined to be cult favorites, and web video allows McGruder and his team a creative freedom unavailable in the mediums of print or television. “I like the idea of it just being direct to the people. There’s no pitching, no studio meetings, no disapprovals – it’s just do whatever you want. And we can stay up to date with current events because it’s live action,” he says.
Though the specific details of the show’s future are still up in the air, McGruder and company (many of whom are also a part of The Boondocks) are clearly buzzed about the possibilities. “What we’ve got up now is a piece of us trying to summarize what we’d do with sketch comedy. I think that we’re looking forward to a place where I can house all of these other ideas I have that don’t fit with the animated show. In terms of its platform on the Internet, it’s always really exciting to try and keep up with how things are changing,” McGruder adds. “It’s just about waiting to see if the business model holds up and people can start making a living at it. We’re just getting into it. As we really start producing these things, I think you’ll see all types of people involved in it, going through a whole bunch of folks who you’ve seen on The Boondocks.”
READ THE REST HERE
I love the Boondocks. Anyone looking to get me a nice Xmas gift, besides my pink G Shock that I still haven't found, can get me 1 or both seasons of The Boondocks and I will love you long time.
Much like the cast of characters that make up his acclaimed comic strip The Boondocks, Aaron McGruder is a man unafraid to speak his mind. Whether addressing America’s racial stereotypes, the absurdity of its government, or the idiosyncrasies of its culture in general, McGruder’s smart and sardonic commentary earned him a legion of followers. Huey and Riley Freeman, characters that respectively represented a culture’s skeptical worldview and near-deification of hip-hop music, resonated with audiences leading to the development of an animated series on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim.
Of course, content that edgy is also bound to strike a nerve in more than one way. The comic strip’s political tone led several newspapers to withhold the more controversial strips (or cancel the series altogether), while two episodes from the Peabody Award-winning animated show’s second season were banned from TV due to their heavy criticism of the Black Entertainment Television network.
So it’s worth noting that, at least at this point, very little can hinder the voice of McGruder’s latest endeavor, the Web-based live action sketches from his new Partner Rumble Studio. “We began developing the material with SuperDeluxe.com, but things folded with them right before it was set to come out,” he says from his office in Los Angeles. “We had all this stuff that we were sitting on, so we decided to just put it out.”
While still in its early stages, the existing sketches (viewable at www.boondocksbootleg.com) combine the wit of The Boondocks with a raw aesthetic that’s been missing since the demise of The Chappelle Show. Characters like Black Jesus and gangsta rapper Tubesteak are already destined to be cult favorites, and web video allows McGruder and his team a creative freedom unavailable in the mediums of print or television. “I like the idea of it just being direct to the people. There’s no pitching, no studio meetings, no disapprovals – it’s just do whatever you want. And we can stay up to date with current events because it’s live action,” he says.
Though the specific details of the show’s future are still up in the air, McGruder and company (many of whom are also a part of The Boondocks) are clearly buzzed about the possibilities. “What we’ve got up now is a piece of us trying to summarize what we’d do with sketch comedy. I think that we’re looking forward to a place where I can house all of these other ideas I have that don’t fit with the animated show. In terms of its platform on the Internet, it’s always really exciting to try and keep up with how things are changing,” McGruder adds. “It’s just about waiting to see if the business model holds up and people can start making a living at it. We’re just getting into it. As we really start producing these things, I think you’ll see all types of people involved in it, going through a whole bunch of folks who you’ve seen on The Boondocks.”
READ THE REST HERE
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