Project 3 – Culture Representation Content Analysis Team 7 Calli Breil Steve Gallo Hannah Brown Elisabet Liminyana Vico Jessica Marsh Example of Coding Guide: When did you watch this? How many times did you watch this? Where did you watch it? What is your name? What episode did you watch? For every free-response question, right down an answer. If you feel a clip would be a good representation of a character or theme, then please write down the time (format mm:ss; minute: second) or time frame. Racial Identity How are whites portrayed? How are blacks portrayed? How do whites consider blacks? How do blacks consider whites? How do blacks consider blacks? How do white consider whites? Character Representations: How is the character represented? Include clothing, actions, language, violence, how another character regards the character or cultural parallels. What culture is the character apart of? If the representation is particularly powerful or visually strong, please include a timeframe. Huey Freeman: Robert (Grandpa) Freeman: Riley Freeman: Ed Wuncler: Uncle Ruckus: Please list anymore characters that are mentioned more than once or are a main character in the episode. Universal expressions: For universal expressions please put a time stamp for the individual expressions. Joy: Sadness: Anger: Fear: Surprise: Disgust: Questions from the rubric: 1. What cultural references are apparent? What is the main storyline for this episode? 2. Is there something missing? 3. What problems were presented, and how were they solved? 4. Was there a Master Symbol? 5. How were male/female roles portrayed? Project 3 – Culture Representation Content Analysis Team 7 Calli Breil Steve Gallo Hannah Brown Elisabet Liminyana Vico Jessica Marsh Compilation of data from each coding sheet (with editing out of some data determined not relevant to focus of analysis): Themes Self-Loathing There are two forms of self-loathing. Some, such as the kind Granddad consistently portrays, present the desire to be like the “higher-class” race, which is White in these episodes. Although he does not explicitly state hating his own race, he tends to be critical of his culture and makes many attempts to be accepted by the whites. The other kind of self-loathing is the more explicit kind, which Uncle Ruckus represents perfectly. He openly condemns blacks, and while interracial children are a bit better (he is kinder to Jazmine DuBois because her mother is white), the only race he seems to help is white. According to Rucus, a black person must hate oneself if he wants to get into “white” heaven (Episode 15, Season 1). He rationalizes this by saying, God doesn’t like blacks they are “cursed” – “that is why we in the ghetto, in jail, on UPN, because God doesn’t like us.” He makes frequent statements how blacks must serve whites because they are superior. It is also revealed that the only thing he wants in this world is to be white. In the same episode (1x15) Ruckus encourages both races to think about the black people they hate. He then tells everyone at the “revival” to “lay hands on” the black person beside them but first make a fist so that they can “beat the black out of his soul. Beat the darkie … Beat a nigger’s ass and go to heaven” (19:07) Ruckus also says “I used to hate God for making me black but now I hate myself.” At Ruckus’s “revival” blacks admit to hating other blacks. Ruckus also shows the stereotype that whites are better than blacks in skill sets as well as just being a “superior” race, such as saying to MLK in Episode 9, Season 1, “Why’d you have to go mess with the natural order of things? I’da shot you myself. But I realize the white man got better aim.” (7:06) Hypocrisy Perhaps the best example of hypocrisy in The Boondocks is from Martin Luther King, Jr., who comes back from the dead and gives a speech to Blacks in a church. He describes what he witnesses after four decades of fighting for rights: "Will you ignorant niggers pleeeease shut the hell up? Is this it? Is this what I got all those ass-whoopin's for? I had a dream once. It was a dream that all the little black boys and little black girls would drink from the river of prosperity, freed from the thirst of oppression. But low and behold, some four decades later, what have I found but a bunch of trifling, shiftless, good-for-nothing niggas. And I know some of you don't want to hear me say that word. It's the ugliest word in the English language. But that is what I see now: Niggas. And you don't want to be a nigga because niggas are living contradictions. Niggas are full of unfulfilled ambitions; Niggas wax and wane, niggas love to complain; Niggas love to hear themselves talk, but hate to explain. Niggas love being another man's judge and jury, niggas procrastinate till it's time to worry. Niggas love to be late, niggas hate to hurry. .Black Entertainment Television is the worst thing iIve seen in my life!...Usher, Michael Jackson is not a genre of music!...And Now I’d like to talk about Soul Plane...I've seen what's around the corner, I've seen what's over the horizon, and I promise you, you niggas have nothing to celebrate. And no, I won’t get there with you. I am going to Canada." Greed In The Boondocks there are several ways that characters are greedy. The most typical are greed to gain power or greed to gain material items such as money. The best examples of greed are presented by Granddad and Ed Wuncler - who both declare they are “old school.” Material greed: Material greed is best represented by Ed Wuncler, who uses any means necessary to get what he wants. For example, in Season 1 Episode 10, Wuncler manipulates Granddad to take over a restaurant, believing that his “soulful” and addictive (literally addictive) food will invite the wrong crowd to an area Wuncler wants to purchase. Wuncler states that the State is trying to butt[…]s him. He affirms: “we’ll see who butt[…]s who.” (4:26). Like having a drug dealer move into town, the area slowly falls to disarray. Wuncler then offers to “help” by buying the nearby park and building a shopping center on the previously beautiful ground. Wuncler also is willing to do whatever it takes to stay profitable, for example, in Episode 10 Season 1, he does not fire the Mexicans, because of the profit he has from them. One worker said: “I am half Mexican!” and Wuncler answers her back: “Not the legal Mexicans!” (5:56) Power greed: This greed is present by characters who use whatever methods they think are available to them in order to gain or maintain power. Grandad, for example, uses violence frequently throughout the episode to assert his authority over Riley and Huey. For example, Granddad slaps Huey in Season 1 Episode 1 when he is dreaming of causing the “white people to riot” to wake him up and threatens physical violence to boys if they don’t behave. Ignorance Ignorance is typically presented by either racists, or by people who do not care, or know the “truth” or “reality” as presented by the Freeman family. For example, in Episode 1 Season 1, Huey learns that these “new” white people aren’t quite what he expected. Instead of getting hysterical at being told the “truth” about Ronald Regan, 9/11, and Jesus they find Huey to be “adorable,” “charming,” and “articulate.” This surprises and disappoints Huey and he says to Granddad “these people aren’t worried about us. They’re not worried about anything. They’re rich. No matter what happens these people will just keep applauding” (15:16 – 15:22). Character Huey Freeman: Appearance: Huey wears full PJ suit. He representative of “black power movement,” natural “afro” hair. Dresses in casual clothes during first portion of show, a bouncer even tells Huey (Episode 9, Season 1), “I tell you right now, you aint gettin in with them shoes.” Wears grey militaristic outfit resembling uniform to garden party and black military looking boots. In Episode 15, season 1, Huey is described as looking like Morpheus from The Matrix by Riley, because he wears a trench coat and carries two tranquilizer guns underneath in his efforts to save his friend, Shabazz, from execution. Interest: Huey has a strong desire to stop the “white supremacy.” For example, in Episode 1, Season 1, Huey believes “the Feds” are coming to the house. He trains the target hairs of a scope mounted onto a pellet gun on Ed Wuncler (the white, rich bank owner) when he comes to the house. Huey calls himself a “black radical freedom fighter” in Episode 15, Season 1 and struggles to free Shabazz, a friend. Huey is shown to have many books about activism, slavery, the “white man,” and life on death row - all written by Shabazz. He has a Che Guevara poster and “Free Shabazz” banner. Huey also related strongly to Martin Luther King Jr., as seen in Episode 9, Season 1. He and MLK both lament the direction of black culture. Huey frequently conducts experiments to understand the world around him, such as in Episode 12, Season 1, Huey studies the effects of Black television programs, saying, “We all know the images we see can elicit strong emotional reactions...but is it possible to see something so bad that hurts you physically...can too much black television kill you?” (around 4:30) , later suggesting its high impact on even strong people, and implying it could kill someone (4:30 - 5:25) Mannerisms: Huey is presented as highly educated, literate, articulate and well- mannered despite being purposively inflammatory at times in order to get his way or to make others aware of some truth.