Robert Jebediah Freeman
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| The Boondocks character | |
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| Robert Jebediah Freeman | |
| Gender | Male |
|---|---|
| Hair | Gray, balding |
| Job | Retired |
| Relatives | Huey Freeman (grandson) Riley Freeman (grandson) Cookie Freeman (sister) |
| Best Friend | Tom Dubois Ed Wuncler, Sr. (tentative) |
| Interests | Watching movies Drinking orange juice Disciplining Riley Hosting dinner parties Dating women |
| Voice actor | John Witherspoon |
| Debut | "The Garden Party" |
Robert Jebediah "Granddad" Freeman is a fictional character in the animated television show, The Boondocks, as well as a regular character in a comic strip of the same name. He lives in the predominately white suburb of Woodcrest with his two grandsons, Huey Freeman and Riley Freeman. He is voiced by John Witherspoon.
[edit] History
Born on the 4th of May 1926, Robert was a Tuskegee Airman and flew a P-51 Mustang, and is an active participant in the U.S. civil rights movement. During the war, his wingman, Moe, often took credit for things that Robert or they dually accomplished, and Robert's angst about this culminated at Moe's funeral, during which he blows the lid off of some of Moe's more embellished accomplishments.
Robert also lived in Alabama during the U.S. civil rights movement. He specifically recalls showing up late for a march because he forgot his raincoat, much to the indignation of his cohorts. He also had a grudge against Rosa Parks for stealing his thunder, as he was sitting next to her on that bus and likewise refused to give up his seat. The bus driver was only offended by Rosa's, not his, unwillingness to move, however. Also, Malcolm X died owing Robert five dollars.
[edit] Personality
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To the residents of Woodcrest, Robert is a law-abiding citizen who tries his best to fit in despite being one of the very few black residents of the suburb. To his grandsons, especially Riley, he is an authority figure, but only in the sense that he doesn't hesitate to use corporal punishment when they slip up.
Both of his grandsons disrespect him, but in different ways. Huey disapproves of Robert's constant focus on how they're all viewed in the eyes of their neighbors, seeing this as evidence that he still possesses an antiquated sense of inferiority to the "white man," which causes him to act in a way that he believes his neighbors want him to act. Huey especially dislikes when Robert tries to force this antiquated notion on him, interpreting this as an attempt to change him into a person he's not. Riley disrespects Robert by not obeying him despite being severely disciplined by him often. For the most part, Riley seems to do whatever he wants, and is punished at his grandfather's whim. These punishments don't seem to deter Riley, however, and he is much more unrelenting with his disrespect as a result. In Granddad's Fight, Riley goes on and on making fun of Robert, his own grandfather, mercilessly rubbing in the humiliation. Even his brother rebukes him for doing this, but he doesn't stop. This singular act epitomizes his lack of respect for his grandfather.
Robert can be viewed as selfishly motivated most of the time. He has openly admitted his ashamedness of his grandsons, and went so far as to spend their inheritance on his dream home in his dream neighborhood, moving Huey and Riley against their will. In fact, he somewhat regularly ignores the desires and needs of his grandchildren, such as in Guess Hoe's Coming to Dinner, when he buys willy-nilly to appease the expensive tastes of his prostitute-girlfriend, while ignoring his grandsons' objections to her obvious corrosive effect on them as a family. Though the woman's cover is eventually blown when her pimp shows up to retrieve her, he does exhibit signs of genuine love for her, hopelessly waiting for her to return long into the night after she is taken away by her pimp. This causes his grandsons, especially Huey, to sympathize with him despite getting what they ultimately wanted.
Robert has been shown to have mastery with his use of a belt, due to his experience of using it on Riley often. His aptitude with it is such that he can use his belt as a whip to restrain a target, seen in such episodes as Guess Hoe's Coming to Dinner, Stinkmeaner Strikes Back and The Story of Thugnificent.
Robert, having experienced the Civil Rights Movement firsthand, doesn't take the slighting of his race lightly. Uncle Ruckus, a self-hating black racist, butts heads with Robert often. Despite this he is probably considered to be a friend to him. Robert also uses his involvement in the Civil Rights Movement as a justification for spending his grandsons' inheritance on a big house in a nice suburb, noting how he helped make such an act possible, whereas it wouldn't have been an option were segregation still in existence. However, Huey noted in comparison to his fellow protesters, he did relatively little (Robert claimed he got hosed down in the Civil Rights Movement to get his house, while Huey noted he didn't get hosed at all).
Robert also seems to be out of touch with popular culture in current society, as shown when Riley Freeman introduces something to him. In the comic strip, he saw Riley playing the Grand Theft Auto III videogame assuming it was a form of "cops and robbers", learning later Riley was the "robber" (However, he later played with him on the same game on 2-player mode). His understanding of slang and metaphors is very limited, when he believed having a 'golden shower' was a good thing, which amused Riley (The Trial of R. Kelly). He also has limited knowledge of gangsta rappers, which at one point eventually started a beef with a rapper named Thugnificent (The Story of Thugnificent). He referred to Xzibit as "inhibit", and believed Usher was literally a singing usher. Also, he has recently discovered internet dating and is aware of social networks such as MySpace. However, he has also learned firsthand the dangers of internet dating when he invited an attractive, yet mentally unstable woman with master knowledge of deadly arts of kung-fu for the weekend, which ironically resulted in her suicide (Attack of the Killer Kung-Fu Wolf Bitch). Perhaps this aspect of Robert's personality is Aaron McGruder satirizing how out of touch the older generation is with the younger generation.
[edit] Sources
- "The Boondocks" on TV.com
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