"Black Jesus" Is Back to Save Us All

For those of you who are still a bit confused Black Jesus is about well a Black Jesus amp160Unlike the inexplicably darkhaired blueeyed versions depicted all over candles crosses and those kind of creepy paintings some people keep in their homes this Jesus is a 6amp82177amp8221 tall brownhaired browneyed longrobeandsandalswearing black man who somehow lives in present day Compton and cusses a bunch amp160Every typical Jesus stereotype that exists is still pretty much what comprises his character and behaviors being 2000 years old walking on water turning water to wine healing people hearing everyoneamp8217s prayers constantly trying to uplift the downtrodden and glorify his pops etc amp160Heamp8217s also plagued by the same emotional imperfections as the rest of us due to his inherent humanity you know being half mortal and all amp160So imagine all that and then imagine it all coming out of a dude whoamp8217s lived in the hood his whole lifeThe thing is this is what makes our protagonist the perfect vehicle for commentary amp160Jesus is pure of heart a perk of being the Almightyamp8217s offspring even though he isnamp8217t perfect which is okay because heamp8217s still human amp160Being black allows him to address culturespecific topics without coming off as preachy or out of touch at all amp160I mean yeah sometimes Jesus is literally preaching but in this series heamp8217s seen as more or less of an equal by his peers which usually turns his admonishments and spiritual advice into straight up debates amp160That of course allows for whatever topic is being dealt with to literally be discussed out loud for the viewersamp8217 benefitWhich brings us to season three amp160The first episode was just telecast last Friday and right off the bat it proved to be exactly what Iamp8217d hoped for and missed a lot amp160After an overthetop chase scene Jesus ends up getting arrested for fleeing a drug raid done on a spot where he was ministering to some brothers about their lifestyle choices amp160While trying to appeal to the good will in the judgeamp8217s heart he says amp8220Weamp8217ve got to do something about this massive incarceration of people of coloramp8221 amp160He goes on amp8220When you were six years old you decided to be a judge amp8216cause you wanted to put the joker away once and for all amp160Now I know youamp8217re not a bad person your honor but youamp8217re not putting the joker away amp160Youamp8217re putting away poor people amp160Stop destroying families and children amp160Stop the privatization and profiteering of human struggleamp8221 amp160At this point I was barely five minutes into the episode amp160The balance shown here to be able to bounce between Fridaylevel hood humor and resounding moments of realworld truth was nothing short of impressive but then again Black Jesus has always been this goodSo whatamp8217s different if anything amp160Well Kali Hawkamp8217s character Maggie wasnamp8217t even mentioned for one amp160Andra Fulleramp8217s character Fish who like Maggie had been around since the very first episode supposedly amp8220took that job on the pipelineamp8221 whatever the hell that means amp160Vic the mean bald bastard played to perfection by the late great Charlie Murphy somehow passed away offscreen as made clear by a comment Jesus makes to Lloyd the character played by John Witherspoon amp160amp8220Oh man Vicamp8217s so proud of you amp160Pops told me amp160He be chilling with Vic all the time man amp160Vic doing goodamp8221 And Iamp8217ve got to say I think sending Charlieamp8217s character to heaven was a pretty sweet touchSome new characters include Ambro Jamar Malachi Neighbors an exsoldier whoamp8217s somehow a terrible security guard and Nessa DomiNque Perry a woman whose most notable traits are her bubbling personality and amp8220lopsided tittiesamp8221 amp160Also new are the amp8220Yoga Bitchesamp8221 as people keep calling them amp160So far there only seems to be three of them Their leader Teresa Paula Jai Parker Bully Candice Renee and the ohsohilarious Tyree Elaine as Bay Bay amp160All through this episode Bay Bay has the hots for Jesus and it is comedy gold amp160amp8220Fine ass nigga amp160Oof amp160Make a bitch want to get her life togetheramp8221 amp160She drops gems like that throughout the season premiereThe world isnamp8217t a very fun place right now and I think that something like this something thatamp8217s accessible and unapologetically funny and extremely sociopolitically aware might be exactly the tonic we all need amp160In a very black mid90amp8217s comedy kind of way it feels like a Trojan horse of sorts the truths are hidden within the funnyThe only thing missing is Keenan Ivory Wayans yelling amp8220Messageamp8221Black Jesus is telecast Friday at midnight on Adult SwimClick on the social media tiles above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively those of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated bloggers

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"Black Jesus" Is Back to Save Us All

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Ainsley Andrade

FEMA and the Ad Council Encourage AANHPI Communities to Enhance Disaster Preparedness in New PSAs - Ad Council InSites

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"Black Jesus" Is Back to Save Us All

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Ainsley Andrade

FEMA and the Ad Council Encourage AANHPI Communities to Enhance Disaster Preparedness in New PSAs - Ad Council InSites

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