Why 'Black Jesus' is Better than Wh... Why 'Black Jesus' is Good, and Good For You.

"Jesus was Black, Ronald Reagan was the Devil, and the government is lying about 9/11" - Huey Freeman, 'The Garden Party'

In 2012, I was living in South Austin with my girlfriend, a buddy of mine, and his girlfriend.  Things typically ran smooth - chores were done, the rent was on time, and we could agree on what to watch in the living room.  We went out together, ate together, had parties where we had over large, diverse groups.  It was what you want in your early-20's home life.

Black man in college.  To some, this may as well be a unicorn.

At least, this was the case for 3 of us.  I wouldn't call my roommate's girlfriend a bitch.  Because that's only one word, and I need sooooooo many more.  She wasn't sociable - she preferred to keep to herself, didn't really want to be included in plans, or conversation, or meals.  She was just kind of around.  Now, her circumstance, and her disposition weren't all her fault.  She was born in Mexico, and had only lived in the States for a few years.  From what I gathered, she wasn't very fond of people that weren't of Hispanic descent.  I've been accused of jumping to conclusions before, but I think I was fairly on the money here.

Like History?  Like Geography?  Well, ya see...

Once, we were all in the living room talking, and the subject of school came up.  My girlfriend is a few years younger than I am, and she was still finishing her undergrad.  We were all talking about classes we'd taken, and she asked "Cameron, you went to college?"  We all just kind of looked at each other.  I said "yeah, I graduated in 2008.  Why would you assume I didn't go to college?"  Her response was one of shock, and a little embarrassment. "Well, i knew she was in college, I just didn't know you had gone too."

"Our rent isn't cheap, and Ed and I are the only one's working.  What do you think I do when I leave here?"

"Well, I didn't think you worked at a gas station or anything..."

So that's how that living situation pretty much went.  I guess when you see Black people in life that aren't like the Black people you see on TV, it can be a bit of a shock.  So one day, I'm cruising YouTube, looking for 'The Boondocks' clips.  By this time, we'd all watched the first few seasons forwards, backwards, and any other type of way.  Well a search yielded something called 'Black Jesus' with show/strip creator Aaron McGruder's name attached.  What followed were some of the funniest skits I'd ever come across.  'Black Jesus' is a satirical play on the Bible's portrayal of the aforementioned character in the New Testament.  The "water into wine, hanging out with the dregs of society" Jesus people read about, but have trouble accepting, or emulating.  Black Jesus talks like he's from around the way.  He spends time with those that would seem to truly need his help.  He plans cookouts.  He provides liquor for parties.  He gets people out of jams that could lead to their undoing.  Crazy, right?

FINE GRAPES.

You can imagine how upset this made my roommate's girlfriend.  "This is offensive, and it's sacrilege!" she exclaimed as she left the room.  "I don't see how you can watch this!"  I tried to explain to her that if you pay attention, he's just doing the things Jesus was said to do, but in a different day, a different environment.  But what I've learned about religion - people cling to certain aspects, and totally ignore others (like living with your boyfriend when you aren't married, but getting mad at comedy skits).  Which isn't to say we don't all have some of that in us.  It's just that when you try to have a rational conversation about interpretation, someone has to pop off with their emotions about why you can't be right.

He's not finished with me yet.

Thank God he broke up with her.  She didn't get jokes.

Fast forward to 2014.  We were treated to a half baked, poorly produced, UNFUNNY fourth season of 'The Boondocks' that Aaron McGruder was not a part of.  Boy, did it show.  Even though his creation didn't hold up, he was able to secure a deal with Adult Swim to produce a full fledged "Black Jesus" sitcom.  People already want it gone.  That's understandable, as we can't even agree of what Jesus looks like, let alone how to show he was more than a man, but less than Superman.  Even in the trailer, it was made clear that there are characters that will doubt him being, well, the son of God, which is why saying IT'S JOKES FOLKS! will hopefully hold up against the blind rage of people that call anything they didn't come up with, or their parents didn't tell them, an abomination.

Not a stretch.  Not a stretch at all.

My suggestion?  Like any other TV show, give the thing a chance, and if it's not for you, be able to express why without sounding like an ex-girlfriend with no real life experience.  It's a big world out here people.  Have a look!

'Black Jesus' premieres tonight, 8/7/14, at 11pm ET on Adult Swim.

Can I Tell You My Side of it Though? - The Boondocks Season Premiere Review

We live in a country where R. Kelly probably is a serial rapist, Woody Allen imported a kid then married the kid and people still purchase Kells albums and watch Woody Allen movies without thinking twice.  Yup, straight like that.  So Chris Brown, who has more charges than hit records

(count 'em) was definitely fair game for "The Boondocks", the comic strip turned anime-stylized satire that very rarely pulls punches  on who and what they go after.

UNCANNY.

Enter Pretty Boy Flizzy, a chiseled, handsome R&B Heartthrob (complete with an ex-girlfriend named Christianna!) that all the women want, despite his raunchy lyrics and mile long rap sheet.  In an effort to fight the charges against him, he enlists the aid of local lawyer Tom Dubois.  Now, to an extent, we've seen this before - Tom's shortcomings as a man are only made more evident by the guest character opposite him.  Like the first time they did this.  With Usher.

You've seen this before.  A few times.

 Michael B. Jordan  does a great job as Flizzy, using a very even, but dialed back tone to rationalize the character's numerous errors.  When asked about the many crimes he's been accused of, he retorts "can I tell my side of it though?",  an excellent way to show that even with a hint of doubt, things like the "team breezy" movement will latch onto, and diefy someone they feel gives them a feeling of happiness.  Flizzy has song titled "Titty Telethon", and few of his bars go "baby grab ya ankles, you know what's next...".

You have my full attention.

With all this said, I have to say this was a letdown.  For one, it looks like the show's budget has been cut significantly.  Sure, it still has the same great voice acting, but there are was less actually frames of animation, and they try to make up for this by having the characters almost play caricatures of themselves, with way overblown facial expressions.  it's like that last season of X-Men all over again (thanks Weez) where it just seems like less of an effort was put into the actual aesthetics.

Relegated to a cameo.

 Also, for a Season Premiere of a show that's been on such a long hiatus, you'd like to see at least one of the three central characters play a big role in the episode.  Save for one extended scene, there was VERY LITTLE Granddad, Huey or Riley.  While the Tom-Alpha Male formula was definitely worked in the past, this episode felt like a very heavy retread of something that didn't need revisiting.  The allegory of Chris Brown being untouchable was good, and Tom was probably the character to cast him against, but there wasn't enough variation from the advice he got from A Pimp Named Slickback years back.

I still have high hopes for the show, but people worried that Aaron McGruder's exodus would take some of the edge off of the show are for now justified in their beliefs.  This is one of the least memorable episodes so far.

Final Rating - 6/10  (it was cool...)

Best Quotes -
 "Mixed Race Quadroon Nigga Children!" - Uncle Ruckus
"Can I tell you my side of it though?" - Flizzy
(on multiple occasions) "Man, I was fucked up!" - Flizzy
"A woman would rather be with a guy that beats them to death than bores them to death.  Beleive me, I know!" - Flizzy
"If I can just stay in the right amount of trouble..." - Flizzy
"I guess hitting a woman is ok if you have abs, is that it?" - Tom
"I know sometimes bitches step out of line!  I know I do!" - Sarah