The Block Is Hot
Encyclopedia
"The Block Is Hot" is the fourteenth episode of the Adult Swim
animated television series, The Boondocks. It originally aired on March 12, 2006. This was the last episode to feature Ed Wuncler, Sr. until the third episode of season 3, The Red Ball.
After pulling alongside in his limo and sampling the goods, Ed Wuncler offers to buy the stand for the price of one pony. Jazmine agrees, signing the contract without reading it. Wuncler soon makes unreasonable demands of Jazmine and institutes sweat-shop labor conditions. As the days heat up, the line of customers stretches around the block and Jazmine is kept busy. Wuncler says that money from the stand will pay for the pony's food and upkeep, so that if Jazmine leaves, the pony will "starve to death in a puddle of its own feces". Jazmine stays at the stand. As her father tries to convince her to call it a day and get inside the house, Wuncler takes him aside saying: "There you have it. You know the name of the game; your daughter chose me. Now we can handle this like some gentlemen, or we can get into some old gangster shit." (almost identically quoting lyrics from U Betta Recognize, an interlude from rapper Snoop Dogg's
debut album Doggystyle
).
Huey, meanwhile, has used the Internet to find human rights activists who can help shut down the stand. The group arrives, but their plan is only to stand around singing protest songs, rather than the direct action
Huey had envisioned. Wuncler arrives in a horse-drawn carriage and announces his new, "cruelty-free
" lemonade which is well received by the protesters (though it's obviously not very cruelty-free). He shuts down the stand and tells Jazmine that her cut was only 5%. After expenses, not only does she not get the pony, she ends up owing Wuncler $300.
Huey grabs a trash-can and throws it through the window of the stand, smashing it and letting the assembled protesters and thirsty citizens grab the cups of lemonade that they wanted. A reference to Spike Lee's Do The Right Thing. A riot begins to break out, but melts away when snow
begins to fall.
We see that Huey has been handing out flyers saying "90 degrees in February? This shit is Crazy!!!" Throughout the episode, he has mused about the way that heat can make people act in crazy ways, but also that sanity will eventually return. He has worn his coat in anticipation of the inevitable return of winter weather. Jazmine thinks about what has just happened and then considers opening a hot chocolate
delivery service; as she shivers in the cold, Huey lends her his scarf.
Adult Swim
Adult Swim is an adult-oriented Cable network that shares channel space with Cartoon Network from 9:00 pm until 6:00 am ET/PT in the United States, and broadcasts in countries such as Australia and New Zealand...
animated television series, The Boondocks. It originally aired on March 12, 2006. This was the last episode to feature Ed Wuncler, Sr. until the third episode of season 3, The Red Ball.
Plot
Huey, wearing a heavy coat and scarf on a painfully hot day, is handing out fliers to passers-by. He sits on the sidewalk next to a lemonade stand that Jazmine has set up. Huey is unable to get anyone to listen to him, but Jazmine is doing excellent business.- Huey: Prozac can lead to suicide.
- Jazmine: But lemonade can lead to smiles, which can cause dimples.
- Man: Dimples? I'll take two!
After pulling alongside in his limo and sampling the goods, Ed Wuncler offers to buy the stand for the price of one pony. Jazmine agrees, signing the contract without reading it. Wuncler soon makes unreasonable demands of Jazmine and institutes sweat-shop labor conditions. As the days heat up, the line of customers stretches around the block and Jazmine is kept busy. Wuncler says that money from the stand will pay for the pony's food and upkeep, so that if Jazmine leaves, the pony will "starve to death in a puddle of its own feces". Jazmine stays at the stand. As her father tries to convince her to call it a day and get inside the house, Wuncler takes him aside saying: "There you have it. You know the name of the game; your daughter chose me. Now we can handle this like some gentlemen, or we can get into some old gangster shit." (almost identically quoting lyrics from U Betta Recognize, an interlude from rapper Snoop Dogg's
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. , better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as a rapper in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of Dr. Dre's most notable protégés. Snoop Dogg was a Crip gang member while in high school...
debut album Doggystyle
Doggystyle
Doggystyle is the debut album from American rapper Snoop Dogg; released by Death Row Records on November 23, 1993. The album was recorded soon following the release of Dr. Dre's landmark debut album The Chronic , to which Snoop Dogg contributed significantly. His musical stylizations for the album...
).
Huey, meanwhile, has used the Internet to find human rights activists who can help shut down the stand. The group arrives, but their plan is only to stand around singing protest songs, rather than the direct action
Direct action
Direct action is activity undertaken by individuals, groups, or governments to achieve political, economic, or social goals outside of normal social/political channels. This can include nonviolent and violent activities which target persons, groups, or property deemed offensive to the direct action...
Huey had envisioned. Wuncler arrives in a horse-drawn carriage and announces his new, "cruelty-free
Cruelty-free
Cruelty-free is a social movement that seeks to avoid all products of cruelty. The term cruelty-free was first used in this way by Lady Dowding who persuaded manufacturers of fake furs to use the label Beauty Without Cruelty and went on to found the charity Beauty Without Cruelty in 1959...
" lemonade which is well received by the protesters (though it's obviously not very cruelty-free). He shuts down the stand and tells Jazmine that her cut was only 5%. After expenses, not only does she not get the pony, she ends up owing Wuncler $300.
Huey grabs a trash-can and throws it through the window of the stand, smashing it and letting the assembled protesters and thirsty citizens grab the cups of lemonade that they wanted. A reference to Spike Lee's Do The Right Thing. A riot begins to break out, but melts away when snow
Snow
Snow is a form of precipitation within the Earth's atmosphere in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes that fall from clouds. Since snow is composed of small ice particles, it is a granular material. It has an open and therefore soft structure, unless packed by...
begins to fall.
We see that Huey has been handing out flyers saying "90 degrees in February? This shit is Crazy!!!" Throughout the episode, he has mused about the way that heat can make people act in crazy ways, but also that sanity will eventually return. He has worn his coat in anticipation of the inevitable return of winter weather. Jazmine thinks about what has just happened and then considers opening a hot chocolate
Hot chocolate
Hot chocolate is a heated beverage typically consisting of shaved chocolate, melted chocolate or cocoa powder, heated milk or water, and sugar...
delivery service; as she shivers in the cold, Huey lends her his scarf.