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Return of The King (Boondocks episode)
Encyclopedia
"Return of the King" is the ninth episode of the animated television series The Boondocks
, airing on Cartoon Network
as part of its Adult Swim
programming. It was originally broadcast on January 15, 2006, which would have been Martin Luther King, Jr.
's 77th birthday. The episode's name was taken from the The Lord of the Rings
volume The Return of the King
. It won a Peabody Award
in 2006.
And the second:
Huey Freeman
tells an alternative version of history regarding the "attempted" assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. On April 4, 1968 King is shot and critically wounded. Instead of dying, he falls into a coma
in which he remains for 32 years, waking up significantly aged in a hospital bed on October 27, 2000. He shows up to vote for the 2000 U.S. presidential election
, but is "turned away due to voting irregularity". While walking along a city street which happened to bear his name, gunshots go off, causing the gathered crowd to flee. He thus learns that "streets named after him weren't the very safest."
King experiences a resurgence of popularity, obtaining a book deal and agreeing to a biopic
of his life (starring Cuba Gooding, Jr.
as King). The movie is directed by Oliver Stone
, "pissing off" Spike Lee
(a reference to Lee's anger that Norman Jewison
was initially supposed to direct Malcolm X
) Unfortunately, the movie is released the week after the 9/11 attacks, making it a flop. Soon after, King appears on Politically Incorrect
, stating that his Christian
faith teaches him to "turn the other cheek
", even with respect to enemies such as Al-Qaeda
. His commentary receives severe scorn from the White House Press Secretary
, CNN
and Time magazine
, and causes his popularity to plummet.
At his vacant book signing
, King meets Huey and Robert Freeman, the latter of whom he is acquainted with from the Civil Rights era
(it is later revealed in the episode that Robert Freeman participated in the Montgomery Bus Boycott
with Rosa Parks
, but was completely ignored). Learning that he is staying in a Holiday Inn Express ("I feel smarter already"), the Freemans invite Dr. King to dinner and to sleep at their house. Later that night, Huey and King, while watching television, express their disgust with the state of black popular culture.
The next day, Huey persuades King to try to reach out to the public again. While eating at a McWuncler's, a parody of McDonald's
(where King guiltily admits to having an affinity for the McRib
), Huey convinces him that the two of them should start a political party
, although King is insistent that Huey should get Oprah Winfrey
to do so instead. King appears on a television show to explain the philosophy of his new party, but finds himself unable to expound due to frequent interruptions from the fast-talking, curt, bowtie-wearing right-wing host (voiced by Jim Meskimen
). Right before a commercial break, Huey rushes the stage after throwing a chair at the host, beating him on camera. Afterwards, King and Huey settle on spreading their message the old-fashioned way: through flyers and door-to-door solicitation.
The goal of their party is further disrupted when King hires an "urban promotions
firm" to advertise the party's planning meeting, which advertises it on an FM radio
pop music
station as a "party." As a result, dozens of young black people arrive at the church and begin behaving as though it were a club. A bouncer
(voiced by DJ Pooh
) prevents Huey and King's entrance, insisting that they must bribe him, which they do. Upon entering, they are stunned by the unrestrained behavior of the reveling crowd and are shocked to find that the podium has been taken over by a series of rappers
, televangelists
, and other superficial black pop culture icons. King, managing to get to the podium, tries to quiet the crowd by appealing to the audience's sense of brotherhood. He fails. Suddenly becoming fiercely impassioned, he proclaims, "Will you ignorant nigga
s please shut the hell up?" The crowd is shocked.
King then goes on to ask: "Is this it? This is what I got all those ass-whoopings for?" He continues to refer to the audience repeatedly as "niggas" out of apparent frustration that the current generation of black people have willfully assumed the negative racial stereotypes associated with them. He goes on a tirade, attacking specific elements of black popular culture such as Black Entertainment Television
, Michael Jackson
, and Soul Plane
. King concludes his speech by saying, "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'm going to Canada
."
King thanks Huey, advising him to "do what he can." Media exposure of his speech causes black citizens to become angry with their situation, creating an uprising similar to those of the 1960s. The episode concludes with a mob of enraged, young black men and women screaming at the gates of the White House
, cursing an unnamed presidential administration. Several news channels report that all black members of the NBA are sitting the season out until "troops are withdrawn", that drop-out rates among African-American youths have suddenly plummeted, and that Robert L. Johnson
issued a public apology for founding BET. Finally, the front page of a newspaper from 2020 is shown, revealing that King has passed in Vancouver
, British Columbia
at 91 and, furthermore, that Oprah Winfrey has been elected president.
Huey concludes the episode with these words: "It's fun to dream.", stating that this whole episode was Huey's interpretation as to what would happen if MLK Jr. have lived instead of being assassinated in '68.
's first season. The episode received criticism from Al Sharpton
for depicting Martin Luther King Jr. using the term "nigga". He demanded an apology from Aaron McGruder
and Cartoon Network
, stating "Cartoon Network must apologize and also commit to pulling episodes that desecrate black historic figures. We are totally offended by the continuous use of the n-word in McGruder's show."
Cartoon Network replied by releasing a statement saying, "We think Aaron McGruder came up with a thought-provoking way of not only showing Dr. King's bravery but also of reminding us of what he stood and fought for, and why even today, it is important for all of us to remember that and to continue to take action." McGruder himself responded to Sharpton's criticism in The Boondocks comic strip, by having the characters ridicule Sharpton's choice to attack a cartoon over other, more relevant issues. The characters in the strip never specify the cartoon to which they're alluding.
The incident was also referenced on the show, in the episode "The Block is Hot
." While Huey listens to an internet radio
station, the broadcaster mentions that Al Sharpton: "Folk This heat will not let up, it is hot! Speaking about hot, Al Sharpton is hot right now. Havin' a big ole protest, seems his anger again has something to do with... I think it's a cartoon this time..."
The Boondocks (TV series)
The Boondocks is an American animated series created by Aaron McGruder on Cartoon Network's late night programing block, Adult Swim, based on McGruder's comic strip of the same name...
, airing on Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
as part of its Adult Swim
Adult Swim
Adult Swim is an adult-oriented Cable network that shares channel space with Cartoon Network from 9:00 pm until 6:00 am ET/PT in the United States, and broadcasts in countries such as Australia and New Zealand...
programming. It was originally broadcast on January 15, 2006, which would have been Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
's 77th birthday. The episode's name was taken from the The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
volume The Return of the King
The Return of the King
The Return of the King is the third and final volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, following The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers.-Title:...
. It won a Peabody Award
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
in 2006.
Plot
The episode begins with two quotes, the first being:-
- -Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.Martin Luther King, Jr.Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
- -Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
And the second:
-
- -AnonymousAnonymous workAnonymous works are works, such as art or literature, that have an anonymous, undisclosed, or unknown creator or author. In the United States it is legally defined as "a work on the copies or phonorecords of which no natural person is identified as author."...
- -Anonymous
Huey Freeman
Huey Freeman
Huey Freeman is a fictional character of The Boondocks syndicated comic strip written by Aaron McGruder, as well as the main character and recurrent principal narrator of the animated TV series of the same name...
tells an alternative version of history regarding the "attempted" assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. On April 4, 1968 King is shot and critically wounded. Instead of dying, he falls into a coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
in which he remains for 32 years, waking up significantly aged in a hospital bed on October 27, 2000. He shows up to vote for the 2000 U.S. presidential election
United States presidential election, 2000
The United States presidential election of 2000 was a contest between Republican candidate George W. Bush, then-governor of Texas and son of former president George H. W. Bush , and Democratic candidate Al Gore, then-Vice President....
, but is "turned away due to voting irregularity". While walking along a city street which happened to bear his name, gunshots go off, causing the gathered crowd to flee. He thus learns that "streets named after him weren't the very safest."
King experiences a resurgence of popularity, obtaining a book deal and agreeing to a biopic
Biographical film
A biographical film, or biopic , is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or people. They differ from films “based on a true story” or “historical films” in that they attempt to comprehensively tell a person’s life story or at least the most historically important years of their...
of his life (starring Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Cuba M. Gooding, Jr. is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his Academy Award-winning portrayal of Rod Tidwell in Cameron Crowe's 1996 film Jerry Maguire, and his critically acclaimed performance as Tré Styles in John Singleton's 1991 film Boyz n the Hood.-Early life:Gooding was born...
as King). The movie is directed by Oliver Stone
Oliver Stone
William Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Stone became well known in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for directing a series of films about the Vietnam War, for which he had previously participated as an infantry soldier. His work frequently focuses on...
, "pissing off" Spike Lee
Spike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983....
(a reference to Lee's anger that Norman Jewison
Norman Jewison
Norman Frederick Jewison, CC, O.Ont is a Canadian film director, producer, actor and founder of the Canadian Film Centre. Highlights of his directing career include In the Heat of the Night , The Thomas Crown Affair , Fiddler on the Roof , Jesus Christ Superstar , Moonstruck , The Hurricane and The...
was initially supposed to direct Malcolm X
Malcolm X (film)
Malcolm X is a 1992 biographical motion picture about the Muslim-American figure Malcolm X . It was co-written, co-produced, and directed by Spike Lee. It stars Denzel Washington as the titular character. It co-stars Angela Bassett, Albert Hall, Al Freeman, Jr., and Delroy Lindo...
) Unfortunately, the movie is released the week after the 9/11 attacks, making it a flop. Soon after, King appears on Politically Incorrect
Politically Incorrect
Politically Incorrect is a late-night, half-hour political talk show hosted by Bill Maher that ran from 1993 to 2002. It premiered on Comedy Central from 1993 to 1997, and later on ABC in 1997, which cancelled it in 2002....
, stating that his Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
faith teaches him to "turn the other cheek
Turn the other cheek
Turning the other cheek is a phrase in Christian doctrine that refers to responding to an aggressor without violence. The phrase originates from the Sermon on the Mount in the New Testament.In the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus says:...
", even with respect to enemies such as Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
. His commentary receives severe scorn from the White House Press Secretary
White House Press Secretary
The White House Press Secretary is a senior White House official whose primary responsibility is to act as spokesperson for the government administration....
, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
and Time magazine
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
, and causes his popularity to plummet.
At his vacant book signing
Book signing
Book signing is the affixing of a signature to the title page or flyleaf of a book by its author. A book signing is an event, usually at a bookstore or library where an author sits and signs books for a period of time....
, King meets Huey and Robert Freeman, the latter of whom he is acquainted with from the Civil Rights era
African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968)
The African-American Civil Rights Movement refers to the movements in the United States aimed at outlawing racial discrimination against African Americans and restoring voting rights to them. This article covers the phase of the movement between 1955 and 1968, particularly in the South...
(it is later revealed in the episode that Robert Freeman participated in the Montgomery Bus Boycott
Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a political and social protest campaign that started in 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, USA, intended to oppose the city's policy of racial segregation on its public transit system. Many important figures in the civil rights movement were involved in the boycott,...
with Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks
Rosa Louise McCauley Parks was an African-American civil rights activist, whom the U.S. Congress called "the first lady of civil rights", and "the mother of the freedom movement"....
, but was completely ignored). Learning that he is staying in a Holiday Inn Express ("I feel smarter already"), the Freemans invite Dr. King to dinner and to sleep at their house. Later that night, Huey and King, while watching television, express their disgust with the state of black popular culture.
The next day, Huey persuades King to try to reach out to the public again. While eating at a McWuncler's, a parody of McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
(where King guiltily admits to having an affinity for the McRib
McRib
The McRib is a barbecue pork sandwich periodically sold by the international fast-food restaurant chain McDonald's. It was first introduced to the McDonald's menu in 1981....
), Huey convinces him that the two of them should start a political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
, although King is insistent that Huey should get Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011...
to do so instead. King appears on a television show to explain the philosophy of his new party, but finds himself unable to expound due to frequent interruptions from the fast-talking, curt, bowtie-wearing right-wing host (voiced by Jim Meskimen
Jim Meskimen
Jim Ross Meskimen is an American comedian and actor, perhaps best known for his work on the improvisation show Whose Line Is It Anyway? and as the voice of President George W. Bush and other politicians for the internet Jib Jab animated shorts...
). Right before a commercial break, Huey rushes the stage after throwing a chair at the host, beating him on camera. Afterwards, King and Huey settle on spreading their message the old-fashioned way: through flyers and door-to-door solicitation.
The goal of their party is further disrupted when King hires an "urban promotions
Promoter (entertainment)
An entertainment promoter i.e. music, wrestling, boxing etc is a person or company in the business of marketing and promoting live events such as concerts/gigs, boxing matches, sports entertainment , festivals, raves, and nightclubs.- Business model :Promoters are typically hired as independent...
firm" to advertise the party's planning meeting, which advertises it on an FM radio
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
station as a "party." As a result, dozens of young black people arrive at the church and begin behaving as though it were a club. A bouncer
Bouncer (doorman)
A bouncer is an informal term for a type of security guard employed at venues such as bars, nightclubs or concerts to provide security, check legal age, and refuse entry to a venue based on criteria such as intoxication, aggressive behavior, or attractiveness...
(voiced by DJ Pooh
DJ Pooh
DJ Pooh is an American record producer, rapper, screenwriter and film director.-Biography:...
) prevents Huey and King's entrance, insisting that they must bribe him, which they do. Upon entering, they are stunned by the unrestrained behavior of the reveling crowd and are shocked to find that the podium has been taken over by a series of rappers
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
, televangelists
Televangelism
Televangelism is the use of television to communicate the Christian faith. The word is a portmanteau of television and evangelism and was coined by Time magazine. A “televangelist” is a Christian minister who devotes a large portion of his ministry to television broadcasting...
, and other superficial black pop culture icons. King, managing to get to the podium, tries to quiet the crowd by appealing to the audience's sense of brotherhood. He fails. Suddenly becoming fiercely impassioned, he proclaims, "Will you ignorant nigga
Nigga
Nigga is a term used in African American Vernacular English that began as an eye dialect form of the word nigger .- Use in language :In practice, its use and meaning are...
s please shut the hell up?" The crowd is shocked.
King then goes on to ask: "Is this it? This is what I got all those ass-whoopings for?" He continues to refer to the audience repeatedly as "niggas" out of apparent frustration that the current generation of black people have willfully assumed the negative racial stereotypes associated with them. He goes on a tirade, attacking specific elements of black popular culture such as Black Entertainment Television
Black Entertainment Television
Black Entertainment Television is an American, Viacom-owned cable network based in Washington, D.C.. Currently viewed in more than 90 million homes worldwide, it is the most prominent television network targeting young Black-American audiences. The network was launched on January 25, 1980, by its...
, Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
, and Soul Plane
Soul Plane
Soul Plane is a 2004 comedy film starring Kevin Hart, Method Man, Tom Arnold, D.L. Hughley, Mo'Nique, Loni Love, K.D. Aubert, Godfrey, and Snoop Dogg.-Plot:...
. King concludes his speech by saying, "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'm going to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
."
King thanks Huey, advising him to "do what he can." Media exposure of his speech causes black citizens to become angry with their situation, creating an uprising similar to those of the 1960s. The episode concludes with a mob of enraged, young black men and women screaming at the gates of the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
, cursing an unnamed presidential administration. Several news channels report that all black members of the NBA are sitting the season out until "troops are withdrawn", that drop-out rates among African-American youths have suddenly plummeted, and that Robert L. Johnson
Robert L. Johnson
Robert L. Johnson is an American business magnate best known for being the founder of television network Black Entertainment Television , and is also its former chairman and chief executive officer...
issued a public apology for founding BET. Finally, the front page of a newspaper from 2020 is shown, revealing that King has passed in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
at 91 and, furthermore, that Oprah Winfrey has been elected president.
Huey concludes the episode with these words: "It's fun to dream.", stating that this whole episode was Huey's interpretation as to what would happen if MLK Jr. have lived instead of being assassinated in '68.
Controversy
"Return of the King" was the most controversial episode of The BoondocksThe Boondocks (TV series)
The Boondocks is an American animated series created by Aaron McGruder on Cartoon Network's late night programing block, Adult Swim, based on McGruder's comic strip of the same name...
's first season. The episode received criticism from Al Sharpton
Al Sharpton
Alfred Charles "Al" Sharpton, Jr. is an American Baptist minister, civil rights activist, and television/radio talk show host. In 2004, he was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. presidential election...
for depicting Martin Luther King Jr. using the term "nigga". He demanded an apology from Aaron McGruder
Aaron McGruder
Aaron McGruder is an American cartoonist best known for writing and drawing The Boondocks, a Universal Press Syndicate comic strip about two young African American brothers from inner-city Chicago now living with their grandfather in a sedate suburb, as well as being the creator and executive...
and Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
, stating "Cartoon Network must apologize and also commit to pulling episodes that desecrate black historic figures. We are totally offended by the continuous use of the n-word in McGruder's show."
Cartoon Network replied by releasing a statement saying, "We think Aaron McGruder came up with a thought-provoking way of not only showing Dr. King's bravery but also of reminding us of what he stood and fought for, and why even today, it is important for all of us to remember that and to continue to take action." McGruder himself responded to Sharpton's criticism in The Boondocks comic strip, by having the characters ridicule Sharpton's choice to attack a cartoon over other, more relevant issues. The characters in the strip never specify the cartoon to which they're alluding.
The incident was also referenced on the show, in the episode "The Block is Hot
The Block Is Hot
"The Block Is Hot" is the fourteenth episode of the Adult Swim animated television series, The Boondocks. It originally aired on March 12, 2006. This was the last episode to feature Ed Wuncler, Sr. until the third episode of season 3, The Red Ball.-Plot:...
." While Huey listens to an internet radio
Internet radio
Internet radio is an audio service transmitted via the Internet...
station, the broadcaster mentions that Al Sharpton: "Folk This heat will not let up, it is hot! Speaking about hot, Al Sharpton is hot right now. Havin' a big ole protest, seems his anger again has something to do with... I think it's a cartoon this time..."