Ryan White
Another perspective on Atlanta.
Donald Glover has done it again… This is the day his fans have waited nearly two years for. Donald Glover’s comedy-drama — Atlanta — debuted and it’s already receiving positive feedback. The show revolves around Donald Glover’s character Earnest Marks; a college dropout trying to get his life together, and co-star Brian Tyree Henry as Earnest’s cousin, Alfred “Paper Boi” Miles, who’s pursuing a promising rap career.
An interesting factor (surrounding the show) is its connection and shared experiences around the city of Atlanta. Some people outside of the 285 perimeters (or out of state) probably can’t relate but natives of the city will definitely find the common, awkward occurrences that happen on the daily basis. There’s a good chance that someone may know a struggling (or aspiring) musician that needs a push or someone that’s trying to improve their life. To me, Atlanta provides excellent examples when it comes to living in a city that’s currently going through a media renaissance. With all that is going on, one can easily get lost in the middle of it.
Donald Glover said it himself. He wants the world to know what it feels like to be Black in America (especially, in Georgia state, his hometown). In my opinion, another amazing factor to the series, so far, is the shows’ ability to raise awareness on issues within Black communities. It covers it all: Everything from peer pressure and race relations to mental health and homophobia. Usually, issues of that nature can be quite difficult to shed light on without critics attaching stereotypes or placing a preachy label to it. So far, the show has so much upside to it, and Atlanta-natives will proudly connect themselves to this, as they did before with the film ATL. Watch the exciting first episode of the FX series below.
