TV networks and streaming services have spent the past several months taking a hard look at their libraries and removing racially insensitive episodes from popular shows. There's been some debate whether that approach is a better strategy than disclaimers in addressing such problematic content. However, the recent confirmation that Adult Swim has permanently "retired" episodes of Aqua Teen Hunger Force and The Boondocks and "temporarily rested" an episode of The Shivering Truth has particularly struck a nerve. Some of the complaints about these decisions are well justified -- although in the case of The Boondocks, it isn't a new decision.
The Aqua Teen Hunger Force episode, "Shake Like Me," makes the most sense to pull. It's a classic case of white writers indulging in "ironic" racial stereotypes that, whatever satirical intentions they might have had, still presents them in full force. It's an episode that, frankly, many viewers were shocked they got away with in 2008, and pulling it 2020 is perfectly understandable. The Boondocks and The Shivering Truth, however, are more questionable targets, as they're the creations of Black artists -- and the "rested" Shivering Truth episode contains no racist content whatsoever.
Episode 3 of The Shivering Truth, "Ogled Inklings," contains multiple surreal horror stories, just like every other episode. The one story in the episode with any particular connection to current events that could be deemed "insensitive" is not making fun of any racial group, but instead making fun of the police. One of the stories involves a woman giving birth to a "dirty pig" -- not a literal pig, but a police officer. While some viewers might find calling cops "pigs" offensive, censoring Vernon Chatman's social commentary comes off as a gross "both sides" equivalency between Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter. At least this removal from streaming is only temporary, and the episode is still available for purchase as a digital download.
The most complicated case to discuss is The Boondocks episode, "The Story of Jimmy Rebel." Like "Shake Like Me," it presents a ton of racist content that gets uncomfortable to watch, even by the hyper-provocative standards of The Boondocks. Unlike Aqua Teen, however, Boondocks comes from a Black creator. Whether or not retiring this episode is a good idea comes down to whether writer/creator Aaron McGruder himself feels it is. Maybe he has Dave Chappelle-esque regrets about the episode, fearing he went too far and the satire was too easily missed by white audiences -- or maybe he doesn't, and the episode was pulled against his will. McGruder has yet to comment on the matter.
Regardless, what many of the recent complaints miss is that Adult Swim's decision about "Jimmy Rebel" was made 10 years ago. It aired once and never reran. Three other episodes of The Boondocks were also pulled for very different reasons: "Pause" was pulled after its initial airing because Tyler Perry, who was parodied in the episode, threatened to end his working relationship with Turner Broadcasting, Adult Swim's parent company. "The Hunger Strike" and "The Uncle Ruckus Reality Show," which made fun of BET, didn't even make it to air during the show's initial run.
Interestingly, despite all of the press right now over the "Jimmy Rebel" retirement, this year The Boondocks is actually less censored than ever before. The other three previously banned episodes aired on Adult Swim as part of a Boondocks marathon this summer, and are available to stream on HBO Max. Adult Swim's decision about "Ogled Inklings" absolutely deserves criticism, and you can debate whether the handling of "Jimmy Rebel" was appropriate. But Boondocks fans actually have significantly less reason to be disappointed with the network now than they did in 2010.