(AllHipHop News) Carl Jones has had his hands in the creation of two of Adult Swim’s most popular programs. He worked alongside Aaron McGruder for three seasons on The Boondocks, and Jones serves as a producer, director, and writer for Black Dynamite.
The Fadar spoke to Jones about the two star-studded animated programs. He was asked about Black Dynamite’s supposed “invincible black male stereotype” as it relates to the recent police killings of Michael Brown and Eric Garner. Jones disputed the notion that his uber-masculine title character represents the super-powerful black man that is often displayed as “scary” and “violent” in the media.
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“What’s happening in this country – with Garner and Ferguson – has nothing to do with seeing black people as superheroes. It has a lot to do with not having empathy for black men. The reason why we don’t have empathy is social engineering and negative media propaganda,” said Jones. “It’s important to me that Black Dynamite is seen as a human being. Being an alpha male doesn’t equate to not being a human.”
Jones’ previous series The Boondocks was highly praised during the time he and McGruder led the artistic vision of the show. But both men decided not to participate in the making of the fourth season. Many longtime fans were not pleased with the outcome, and Jones echoed their frustration with the final episodes of The Boondocks.
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“I watched a couple of the episodes… a lot of things weren’t working,” Jones stated. “I share the same sentiment with the viewers that were critical. I understand why they felt let down.”
Before season 4 of The Boondocks began to air, McGruder issued a statement expressing it was his decision to leave the show and did not have any hard feelings for Adult Swim. Jones reinforced AS did not shut them out of the process. He relates the split to the fact that “producing animation is not easy.”
Of course, Jones continued his relationship with Adult Swim by broadcasting Black Dynamite on the channel. McGruder also produced another series with the cable network. His live action comedy Black Jesus premiered on Adult Swim in August 2014.
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Watch episodes of Black Dynamite at adultswim.com. Check out the trailer for the season 2 finale “The Wizard of Watts” below.