Freedom Ride or Die is the fifth episode of the fourth season of The Boondocks. It originally aired on May 19, 2014.
Plot[]
A young reluctant Granddad is held as an unwilling freedom rider by Reverend Sturdy Harris, on a trip through the racist South. Despite his attempts to "turn the bus around" Granddad is led into dangerous territory.
Cultural references[]
- The talking-head mockumentary format is similar to Eyes on the Prize.
- A scene in the episode when Uncle Ruckus put a bomb underneath the bus and was said if the bus stop it wouldn't explode is a play of the 1994 movie, Speed, when he also mentioned Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock.
- The line "I don't know if you've been keeping up on current events, but we just got our asses kicked, pal!" is originally from the movie Aliens (1986). It is said by Pvt. Hudson, played by actor Bill Paxton.
- The title puns on ride-or-die chick
- John Lewis, Julian Bond, Diane Nash, Bull Connor and Harold Jones are portrayed.
- Granddad insists that facilities must be separate but equal.
- Diane Nash is reading Invisible Man
- Sturdy is a student at Fisk University, a black college.
- Ruckus mentions the term "BBC," used in pornography for "big black cock."
Continuity[]
- We see more of Granddad's involvement with the Civil Rights movement, here being part of the Freedom Rides. It was previously portrayed in "Return of the King" and also mentioned in "The S-Word."
- This is the only episode where Huey Freeman and Riley Freeman make no visual appearance.
- This episode is set in 1961; given Grandad's WW2 service he should be 35+ years old.
Reception[]
- The A.V. Club gave it a "B".