Wednesday, February 23, 2011

CARTOONS! And race...

Watch these cartoons!


Now, think about the ways that each race is portrayed in each cartoon. Do these cartoons rely on racial stereotypes to create a plotline, humor, or a point? Is this done in a way that is offensive or inoffensive? Why? What do you think about the cartoon's handing of race? Does it confirm ideas/stereotypes you already have of the mannerisms, behavior, or culture of certain races? I am not asking you if you think that either show is an ACCURATE portrayal of anything. I am asking you to look at HOW race is portrayed in each show. If King of the Hill was your only window into "whiteness" and The Boondocks was your only window into "blackness", what would you think of each of these two races? Post a well-written, well-constructed paragraph as a comment below. DUE FRIDAY BY NOON. Your paper assignment will be posted here TOMORROW BY NOON.

22 comments:

  1. Deair Herron

    King of the Hill and The Boondocks are two cartoons that has various differences. King of the Hill is a cartoon that portray white people, and The Boondocks is a cartoon that portrays black people. In King of the Hill, white people are portrayed as people that are very humble and caring. This cartoon has your typical American family with a wife, a husband, and a child. The Boondocks is a totally different cartoon portraying black people. In the Boondocks, black people are portrayed as people who are rude an obnoxious. This cartoon does not have a typical American family. It shows a family consisting of a grandfather and two grandsons. The main aspect that was very broad in this cartoon was the use of incorrect grama. A large amount of profanity was used by almost all characters in this cartoon. As shown in these two cartoons, the ideas of white and black people are very different. The stereotyping of black people is much more negative than that of white people.

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  2. Shaina Craige


    Both videos displayed above exhibit excessive racial stereotypes in humorous form. Though it may not be considered accurate judgment of either race, black or white, the videos do show the average perspective of the two races. In The Boondocks it displays African Americans as being loud, flaunting money, and using excessive curse words. In contrast, King of the Hill shows the Caucasian in a more positive light. The family is displayed as living a modest life built around family.

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  3. Myron Lawson

    In both The Boondocks and King of the Hill there were several stereotypes. With The Boondocks you saw extreme sterotypes of black people being loud, ignorant, and attention seeking. These are usual sterotypes of African Americans. In King of the Hill, you had a middle class white family who was family oriented and everyday experiences of a common white family.

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  4. Jude Chibuzo Mgbanwunne

    If "Boondocks" and "King of the Hill," are the only links I have to gain knowledge of the black and the white race, then most likely, I would debunk most of the racial stereotypes we mentioned in class. But still, a few of the stereotypes mentioned in class hold sway. In Boondocks for instance, the characters of the two rival black neighbors , completely contrast with each other; while the rapper was loud, vile and had little consign for morality; the old man, was responsible and was very conscious of what his young grand-children should be exposed to. If you compare the above mentioned characters with the related stereotypes we mentioned in class, you will find out that, "precisely," all black people are not loud and vile. The same contrast can also be noticed in the two featured neighborhoods. While the rapper grew-up in a low class neighborhood, the old-man and his grand children resided in the suburbs. Conflicts in stereotypes also exist in King of the Hill. Contrary to the stereotypes we came up with in class, not all white people, belong to hate groups, are rock stars and are extremists. Both cartoons definitely used popular stereotypes to make a point, and create a plot line.

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  5. I believe “King of the Hill” and “The Boondocks” are cartoons that rely on racial stereotyping to create a plotline and a point. If these shows were the only means of me seeing these two races I would think that most stereotypes are correct. In “King of the Hill” you have a mother, a father, and a child, which is the all American family and provides solidarity in the family. In the show “The Boondocks” you have a grandfather raising his two grandsons, which raises the question of where are their parents. I think “The Boondocks” is offensive because they portray blacks as loud, to have a limited vocabulary, use incorrect grammar, irresponsible, and disrespectful. “King of the Hill” is not offensive to the white race because it shows a typical family going through a simple problem and finding a solution without an altercation. These shows confirm some stereotypes I have but it also denies that all people of that race have the same characteristics.

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  6. Cathy Baker

    "King of the Hill" and "The Boondocks" are most certainly based on racial stereotypes. In my opinion people, those pertaining to the race being portrayed, could take these cartoons to offense. If these cartoons were all I had to go on to learn about black or white people I do not think it would do either race justice. In "King of the Hill" even though they portray white races as being caring, loving, and being about family they also send a message that white people are obsessed with killing along with other things that was mentioned during this episode. In "The Boondocks" it characterizes black people as being ignorant, rude, and illiterate. Yes some of these stereotypes did seem accurate but was nothing I believed that could be applied to every person of that particular race.

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  7. SHAYLA EDWARDS

    Deep inside cartoons we all love to watch. To us cartoons are funny to all ages of all races but we really do not look at the messages that it is sending. Yes, these cartoons show racial stereotypes to create humor and a certain point, which is done in both inoffensive and offensive way. It is inoffensive because it creates humor for the audience but offensive because it’s proves the stereotypes from the opposite race to be true.Race is portrayed in the way the characters in The Boondocks act and the things they say. In The King of the Hill it is in the way they speak (like red necks). The cartoons handing of race is that most of its humor can actually be a stereotype expected from that race. The stereotypes that we listed in class actually appeared to be true in these two cartoons.

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  8. Generia Vaughn
    the king of the hill and the boondocks both shows racial sterotypes of whites and blacks, however they are not accurate. In the king of the hill they are a typical white family that goes through everyday life experienes and are very humorous. The boondocks however streotype black people as loud, rude, and ghetto. They don't have a typical family life as the king of the hill. It's a grandfather raising two boys by himself.They also live in the hood. As yo can see these two sterotypes are very different,but also very humorous.

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  9. Christine Baker

    "The Boondocks" and "King of the Hill" are cartoon stereotypical shows that created comedy by the use of common stereotypes of whites and blacks. However, to many people these shows can be viewed as offensive due to the ways they portray these races. In "The Boondocks" black people are portrayed as being ignorant, illiterate, thugs, and ill-mannered. While on the other hand, white people in "King of the Hill" are portrayed as loving, supportive, lacking common sense, and having a strange addiction to firearms. Even though some of these stereotypes are false some of them are true as well to an extent. If these cartoons were my only window into characterizing whites and blacks I would not find either race appealing.

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  10. Alan Shaw Jr.

    Personally, if my only experience with African Americans was through The Boondocks I would have a variety of mixed feelings of the black race. The Boondocks portray most African Americans as ignorant human beings. The show is filled with violence, ridicule, and it degrades African Americans as a whole. Whereas, King of the Hill portrays white people as happy but not very smart. The main characters are a confused son; the mother is a substitute teacher; the father who works at a propane shop. When Hank (Father) is not working he’s on the corner drinking with his friends. Both shows represent whites and blacks horribly. If I only had these shows to judge these races, then I would be afraid of blacks and I would feel greater than whites.

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  11. Rose Telus

    Both of the cartons the boondocks and king of the hill storyline was based on stereotype of black and white people. King of the Hill is a family oriented show that portraits white people to loving, caring, and nurturing people, while the Boondocks portraits blacks to be thugs and many negative aspects that people have in the black community. In this episode of the boondocks, they point out that black people find it hard to read, they don’t want their own race around, have problems apologizing. Out of all those negative traits I could only point out one positive thing, black people respect their mother. King of the Hill shows that white people likes riffles, but it doesn’t really have anything negative about whites but the fact that they drink a lot of beer. Both shows are stereotypical though

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  12. Desmond Fernandez

    In my opinion, both of the television shows use racial stereotyping to humor the audience. Furthermore, I would say The Boondocks rely more on racial stereotypes than King of the Hill. Some individuals might find the both shows very offensive. I think individuals might find the shows offensive on behalf that they are being portrayed/represented by the stereotypes used in these shows. Both shows have confirmed stereotypes I have already heard about other races. Both shows have confirmed stereotypes I have already heard about other races. If King of the Hill was my only window into "whiteness" and The Boondocks was my only window into "blackness," I believe that most black and white people would be misrepresented; which is a result of racial stereotyping.

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  13. Lawrence Christy

    I think these cartoons use racial stereotypes to create a plotline, humor and a point. In King of the Hill racial stereotypes create the plotline because the whole cartoon is based on the typical Texan white family. They are all middle class hillbilly men and women with their children, none of which seem intelligent. For example in the episode shown above, the father agrees to let the boy have a riffle, mount it on his bike, and carry bullets in his pocket. This is not something that you let a child do, especially at his age. In The Boondocks racial stereotyping creates humor as well as a point. For example this episode depicts the stereotype that black men are women crazy, loud, ignorant, and ghetto. In King of The Hill, these stereotypes aren’t really offensive, whereas on The Boondocks, a lot of the different stereotypes are quite offensive. This may be because they are so close to true, it really gets to people. The handling of race in both of these cartoons is very visible and straightforward, though some being more graphic than others. Both King of The Hill and The Boondocks show stereotypes that in familiar with.

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  14. Phillip Chambers

    The two shows use stereotypes mostly to humor the audience, however i feel that "The Boondocks" uses more exaggerated stereotypes because of how they display the black race. In "The Boondocks" each character sort of generalizes a certain type of black person. For example, Thugnificent represents the stereotypical gangster rapper and Riley represents the youth that idolizes them. In "King of the Hill," although the stereotypes aren't as exaggerated, the characters mostly fit into the "lower middle class white person" stereotype, because of how the characters are portrayed in their everyday life.

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  15. Brandon Albert

    Judging by what I saw from these two videos, I believe that stereotypes were used both inoffensively and offensively. In "King of the Hill", I found that the show just portrayed a "redneck" family in a lighthearted, humorous way. After watching "King of the Hill", I interpreted their family as humble, caring, and good-natured; I also found the show to be quite humorous. However, in the show "The Boondocks", I believe that the stereotypes were used in an offensive and negative way. When watching "The Boondocks", the show depicted black people as: loud, arrogant, obnoxious, uneducated, and that their morality should be held in question. Although some of the public may find this show humorous, I find it hard to believe that someone would not be offended in some way by this show. If these two shows were to be my only window in learning about these two races, I feel that my opinions of the white and black race would be different

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  16. Uduak Ekpe
    I believe that the presence of racial stereotyping is stronger in the episode of "Boondocks" than in the episode of King of the Hill. this is because majority of the jokes and plot-line of the episode are black as the expressions; facial, verbal and literal, actions and reactions are "typically" of a black male. whereas in the episode of the "King of the Hill", although shooting and competing at gun range is a white man's sport, the tradition of owning guns and knowing how to shoot is not "typical" to just the white race.
    The presence of racial stereotyoing in "Boondock" is not political but used too create humour as well as deliver a point to the audience.

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  17. Andrea Trahan

    I think racial sterotyping is stronger in "The Boondocks" than in "King of the Hill". In "The Boondocks", black people are portrayed as ignorant, arrogant,obnoxiously loud, and strong-minded. In "King of the Hill", racial stereotyping is not as blunt as it is in "The Boondocks".

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  18. Leo Wright

    In each cartoon, race does play a role in how they live but in "King of the Hill" race is not a major issue. "The Boondocks" relies heavily on race to make humor. If my only window into how white people act came from "King of the Hill", I would think that all white people were middle class rednecks. I would think that they spent the majority of their time drinking beer, dealing with everyday household issues, and hunting in their free time. I would also think that white people taught their children to shoot guns at a young age. If "Boondocks was my only window into seeing how black people act, I would think that black people were loud, obnoxious, obsessed with flaunting their wealth, and came from the worst neighborhoods in the United States.

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  19. Scheleda Grimes

    As viewing the shows “King of the Hill” and “The Boondocks” they both use stereotypes in the episodes. One may have a heavier enfaces than the other for consideration, like “The Boondocks”. For instance the African-American stereotypes are the entire plotline in “The Boondocks” as well the stereotypes create humor. The stereotypes can be offensive to many people, but in my mind it is very amusing to me in my mind. People may be offended by another race other than African-American view the show the way it is being portrayed and can have the perception of black people acting the way they in “The Boondocks”. The other race can offend the African-American race due to prejudging. Cartoons dealing with race can get very out of hand. The producers can take the stereotypes and run over the moon with it over exaggerating the stereotype. The people who are viewing, it is their choice to believe the stereotypes and ideas of the certain race. If this was my only window to a cartoon I probably would have the perception that Caucasian people drink beers only they talk with a weird slang, or they go shooting for fun because of the portrayal of race in "King of the Hill." Overall it is in a person cognitive level to believe in the stereotype or the take it is a joke.

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  20. Dray Joseph

    There are many different types of stereotypes in both the King of the Hill and The Boondocks. The King of the Hill shows examples of low to middle class caucasian people while The Boondocks shows an extreme version of African Americans

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  21. Lee Mitchell

    King of the Hill and Boondocks are both shows that try to use the stereotype of the races to make a joke. Unlike racism, the shows vocal point is not to state one race's superiority to the other but to exaggerate each races stereotype to get a laugh. It’s created to be so over exaggerated that it’s unbelievable or just plain funny most times. Which means no the shows aren’t meant to be an accurate portrayal of race but just an over exaggerated picture of them. Some of the stereotype portrayed in the cartoons can be believable but that would just be a personal opinion to the viewer.

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  22. Shekaydra Green

    I believe that racial stereotypes are used more heavily in The Boondocks than in King of the Hill. In the Boondocks almost every stereotype of the African American male is adressed in some form. Whereas in King of the Hill race is never addressed directly, the focus is mostly on the characters living in a rural area.

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