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Brick Wall Comedy
Brick Wall Comedy

Private School Negro

W. Kamau Bell

Netflix · 2018 · 65 min

Socio-political stand-up performed in the round.

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W. Kamau Bell paces around a center-stage microphone, delivering his monologue to an audience that encircles him. This theater-in-the-round setup transforms the stand-up set into something resembling a town hall, which suits his conversational, lecture-adjacent style of comedy. He focuses on the absurdities of parenting biracial daughters in a politically fractured America, using children’s media as a springboard for sharp critiques of systemic bias.\n\nReleased on Netflix in 2018, this special arrived while Bell was at a career high, having recently won an Emmy for hosting his CNN docuseries United Shades of America. He brings that same reportorial curiosity to the stage, talking about his family life with a white wife, including the reluctant chore of going camping, before transitioning into political commentary. Notable segments include his analysis of the preschool cartoon Doc McStuffins, where he points out that the mother is a high-earning doctor while the father seems to spend all his time in the kitchen chopping carrots. He also tackles local battles, describing how alt-right rallies in his home base of Berkeley, California, managed to shut down the local farmers market. His political arguments are punctuated by punchlines, such as noting that the Trump administration appointed Jeff Sessions, a man once deemed too racist to be a judge in Alabama in the 1980s.\n\nCritics generally praised Bell’s charismatic delivery and his knack for finding humor in bleak political realities, though some reviewers noted that his rambling, narrative style leans more toward a structured lecture than a traditional club set.

The set list

6 bits

  1. Inability to enjoy camping and need to stay on the grid due to race

    Contrasts his biracial children's enjoyment of nature with his need to stay informed, joking about an alert app on his phone that simply commands him to run.

  2. White people struggling to admit Donald Trump is racist

    Uses physical body language, slumping and shaking as if blown away by the crosstalk of endless excuses.

  3. American Pie sing-along trap

    Engages the entire crowd in singing Don McLean's American Pie before revealing it was a setup/trap.

  4. Doc McStuffins as progressive television

    Examines children's television programming, celebrating Doc McStuffins as a secret feminist masterpiece.

  5. Brown sugar in coffee encounter

    Recounts a mundane interaction with a white woman in Kansas to illustrate broader cultural divides.

  6. Sean Spicer joke

    Remarks that Sean Spicer seems composed of the bare minimum amount of semen required to form a human being.

How it plays

Tone
Witty, irreverent, socially conscious, cathartic, and intimate.
On stage
Described as expressing anger with a smile; jovial and warm despite discussing heavy topics, acting like a teddy bear while looking like a grizzly.
Pace
Conversational, highly attuned to crowd reactions, punctuated by physical act-outs and triumphantly drawing out words to the sky.
About
parenting in the Trump era, racism in America, free speech, woke children's TV, interracial family life

What the critics said

Praised for its warm, town-hall atmosphere in the round and Bell's skilled blend of personal parenting anecdotes with sociopolitical critique, though some reviewers noted that the Trump-era topical jokes felt quickly dated.

In the room: Intimate, communal, and highly participatory, characterized by easy interplay and a spontaneous group sing-along.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: netflix.com, letterboxd.com, indiewire.com, sg.flixboss.com, decider.com, pastemagazine.com, en.wikipedia.org, collider.com, rottentomatoes.com.

Backstory

Parenting mixed-race daughters during the Trump era and navigating shifting political and racial dynamics across the United States.

Details

Released
Taped
former bank building, Manhattan
Runtime
65 min
Where
Netflix
Director
Shannon Hartman
Topics
Before
Semi-Prominent Negro (2016)

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