Controversy can’t help but happen in the media if it promotes too much truth about the world… Controversy can’t help but happen in the media if it promotes too much truth about the world we live in – which is true with “The Boondocks.”

Aaron McGruder, 31, created a comic strip inspired by his love of hip-hop culture and that reflects the true racial diversity and complexity of the world. “The Boondocks,” is the story of a group of African-American city kids adjusting to life in white suburbia.

The comic first aired on the Internet but made its print debut in 1997 in The Diamondback, the independent student newspaper of the University of Maryland.

After McGruder graduated college, The Source – one of the country’s largest urban music magazines – began publishing the strip. Later, it started to run nationally. In the fall of 2005, “The Boondocks” was adapted into an animated series for Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim.

As with many comic strips, “The Boondocks” uses children to explore current events and social situations. McGruder takes two kids from Chicago and places them in a white suburb called Woodcrest. Huey Freeman, a black radical with strong opinions, lives with his wannabe-thug brother Riley and his grandfather, a carefree man who wants to enjoy the rest of his years. Together these main characters create a unique yet hilarious balance.

“The Boondocks” series has attracted a great deal of controversy for its heavy use of the “N-word.” McGruder’s cartoon has received a lot of flack for its heavy use of the word, however he feels that the usage makes the show feel “more sincere,” since the word is commonly used in the everyday conversations of African-Americans. The show has also stirred disapproval from Bill Cosby and Rev. Al Sharpton.

In an interview with Philadelphia’s City Paper reporter Jennifer A. Carbin, McGruder said that “The Boondocks” offers a broad opinion that challenges people to think differently. His goal is to have people question what they’re told on a daily basis.

Through his work, McGruder seeks to provoke thought, help improve the state of racial discourse and expand the types of humor; however, not everyone finds humor in his work like I do.

This is why I find the comic, as well as the TV show, appealing. Its in-your-face language pushes the boundaries of free speech and makes people think. It helps to start a thought process just like comedy sensations Dave Chappelle and South Park.

McGruder’s depiction of popular culture throws the stereotypes back in our face, something that the sitcom “All In the Family” did 35 years ago. It presented stereotypes in a way that made us laugh at our everyday hang ups about race or society in general.

“The Boondocks” approaches plot-lines on a mature and realistic level through making references to past and present events and analyzing them in ideological fashion.

McGruder constantly criticizes Black Entertainment Television through his strip, as well as in the cartoon. These spoofs are my favorite, because they actually are true. If a character is watching BET, a music video with women dressed in skimpy outfits is shown, along with an emcee yelling “Move dem butt cheeks! Move dem butt, move dem butt, move dem butt cheeks!” This is in reference to the content present in hip-hop music videos that the network often shows. McGruder feels that some of BET’s programs are degrading, and I somewhat agree.

Watching “The Boondocks” sparks ideas that I have never thought of; from these ideas I start to question popular culture – for example, I prefer to watch TV One to BET. It is because of his strip, and his free thinking, that I now have a new belief system – despite the controversy around it.

You don’t have to believe, or agree with, every word he says. What’s more important is that you start to think for yourself, just like Huey.

E-mail Natasha at [email protected], but not at 11 p.m. on Sundays, when “The Boondocks” is on Cartoon Network.