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Father Figure

Roy Wood Jr.

Comedy Central · 2017 · 50 min

A southern comic's pragmatic advice on fatherhood and race.

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Roy Wood Jr. steps onto the stage in Atlanta with a backstage introduction where he delivers direct advice to his infant son: lessons like always treating women with respect, not mixing dark and white liquor, and the statistics of Black men with white friends. This framing sets the theme of the hour. Wood uses his perspective as a new father and a Southern-raised comic to talk about race, social movements, and daily frustrations with a style that is measured and conversational rather than performative.\n\nFilmed at the Center Stage Theater, the 2017 special caught Wood as he was hitting a major stride in his career, having spent two decades working the Southern comedy circuit before finding wider visibility as a correspondent on The Daily Show.\n\nRather than avoiding tension, his set starts with a counterintuitive defense of the Confederate flag, arguing that it is actually a convenient warning sign that tells him exactly where not to stop for gas in the middle of the night. Other notable bits include his distinction between a Black tour guide and a white tour guide at a civil rights museum, the dramatic tropes of civil rights movies, and the mechanics of highway protests. He also turns his attention to the mundane, detailing the absurdity of grocery store discount cards, the logic of gang dress codes for a thirty-eight-year-old, and the sheer audacity of airline captains walking out to the cabin post-flight just to get some respect on their name.

The set list

6 bits

  1. Opposing the outlawing of the Confederate flag

    Argues the flag is useful because it immediately signals who the assholes are in public.

  2. Blocking freeways and protests

    Defends demonstrators by arguing that what people are protesting will always be more important than how they protest.

  3. Shopping at Best Buy while Black

    Insists on having purchases placed in a bag with the receipt stapled to the outside so security will not suspect theft.

  4. The tropes of civil rights movies and museum tours

    Analyzes the telltale cues of civil rights films, African-American history museum guides, and James Brown's musical shoutouts to Black sanctuary cities.

  5. Raising a child in a chaotic world

    Imparts life lessons and 'the talk' to his infant son amidst expensive smoothies and societal absurdity.

  6. Origin of the blues

    Examines the historical roots and origins of blues music.

How it plays

Tone
Fearless, provocative, thoughtful, and observational.
On stage
Observational, rumpled frustration with a complete indifference to decorum, delivering razor-sharp wit as a cantankerous Southerner.
About
Race in America, Fatherhood and parenting, Civil rights protests, Patriotism and the national anthem, Consumerism and commercial stereotypes

What the critics said

Praised as a fearless, tightly-constructed hour of stand-up featuring razor-sharp wit, pointed social commentary, and deeply resonant observations on race and fatherhood.

In the room: A sold-out, predominantly Black Atlanta crowd that connected immediately and enthusiastically with the material.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: imdb.com, broadwayworld.com, thetvdb.com, vulture.com, theinterrobang.com, vice.com, pastemagazine.com, en.wikipedia.org, tv.apple.com.

Backstory

Reflecting on becoming a father to a newborn son amid a tumultuous political and racial climate in America, choosing to tape in Atlanta as a predominantly Black city and for proximity to his mother.

Details

Released
Taped
2016, Center Stage Theater, Atlanta
Runtime
50 min
Where
Comedy Central
Director
Shannon Hartman
Topics
After
No One Loves You (2019)

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