The Boondocks

When I first watched the episode of the Boondocks I was, at first, a little offended. I thought it was insensetive to portray the New Orleans victims as lazy, stupid, beligerant and greedy. A few minutes later I remembered that I am an English major and should never ever take anything literally. The entire episode is obviously a metaphor for how the majority of the nation saw the Katrina victims. Grandpa represents the behavior of the majority of Americans non affected by the storm, especially in the beginning of the program when he is talking about the storm, saying how much he wants to help only to declare a few minutes later "WE'RE NOT HERE." I think that behavior is the typical reaction most Americans get when they see or hear bad news, "Oh, that's a shame. Wish I could help them. I wonder what else is on." When it comes down to actually doing something to help we generally write it off as an inconvenience.
What initially bothered me about the program was how the victims were portrayed. At first, I thought the writers were taking jabs at the behavior of the victims following the storm, about how they were lazily waiting around taking advantage of everyone's hospitality while they waited for their FEMA checks to come in. But then I realized what the writers were really doing, as far as I can guess, was putting a microscope on to what we, the non-victims, were scrutinizing about the real victims from our safe dry homes. For example, the character with the dreadlocks that keep taking stuff from the house is a sort of symbol of what we assumed New Orleans looters were like. As he saunters around with his hands in his pockets going saying "Y'all got some real nice stuff up in here" as he picks up vases and PSPs and white baseball hats. I think that when we heard that people were looting from houses in New Orleans we all kind of assumed that it was like that, people walking in taking gaming systems and jewelry and walking out, when it reality it was more like most people were just panicking in the chaos. Granted, I imagine for some people it was just a matter of people grabbing stuff while no one was looking, like the man that tried to steal Chris Rose's bicycle, but I find it hard to believe that the majority of people were wading through the ruined aftermath looking for nintendos.
The other major symbolic character, the patriarch of the New Orleans clan, is another negative symbol. The man that just wants to wait for his FEMA handout so he doesn't have to work. When it becomes necassary for him to start working, he re-emphasizes his victimhood so that he will continue being waited on.
And the actions of the family served as a representative symbol. When hearing about an approaching hurricane they destroy the ceilng and go up on the roof. I think the reason that the writers created this ludicrously rude, lazy, obnoxious and clearly lacking in common sense family was not to poke fun at the victims but to poke fun at our perception of the victims.
Like, really America? This is what you think is going on? Look at these people you have created in your minds. They are stupid, lazy, rude and selfish. There is absolutely no way that people like that actually exist.
But I also think that the writers managed to squeeze in one fairly accurate portrayal of a real Katrina victim among all the negative stereotypes and that was the little girl with the pigtails sitting mournfully on the roof wondering when exactly she could go back hom.