Found Footage: Atlanta

I have been to Atlanta. I was a teenager with floppy hair and the hot, sweet Georgia air made it nice and frizzy. I liked Atlanta. The concrete in the city was dirty but not disgusting. The Metro system was easy enough for my friends and I to maneuver through. On Saturday night, myself and the other 17-year-olds I was there with decided we wanted to “party”. So I hit up the fucking concierge and asked where the fucking strip clubs were. Like a boss. I called them and asked if they ID’d. They laughed at me and we never ended up going. Still, it was nice to think that I was in the city where Andre 3000 hails from and to occasionally shout “LUDA!” out the window of our hotel.
The main problem I came away with from Atlanta, as unique and distinguished as it was, is that I couldn’t relate to it.
Yet, over the course of 8 hours I watched the entire season of Donald Glover’s FX show Atlanta. It was one of those experiences that made me say out loud, “What the fuck, this is so good”, to no one other than my dog. How can something so unrelatable to me and my white male, Southern California roots, be so relatable?

Its fucked up. It really is. The writing is original, and winds through premises and characters in the same way my ADHD brain does, posing whimsical and oft unusual questions in order to understand how to ask the normal questions. Yet the plot always ties itself together nicely in a bow. A bow that makes you think, “Wow if I could tie a metaphorical bow on this episode, thats exactly what the fuck I would do.”
The bulk of credit must go to Donald Glover, former 30 Rock writer, future Star Wars actor and creator, star and writer of most episodes. His character, Earn, has this cynical, sarcastic view of the world that anyone who’s had to ask for help on rent can sympathize with. However, his two comrades Al (A.K.A. Paper Boi played by Brian Tyree Henry) and Darius (LaKeith Stanfield) are revelations and are reason to binge this show on their own. And Earn’s baby mamma/sweetheart Van (Zazie Beetz), is so so magnificent in her role. The episode soley focused on her is unpausible.
But to me, what makes the show truly enviable and frustratingly fantastic, is the way they are made from cinematography to music. Most episodes are directed by Hiro Murai. He is a young auteur director given the keys to the car and does not stray from his vision. Janicza Bravo also directed an episode that blows my mind.
I guess what I’m trying to say is watch this show. Appreciate the artistry in the fiber of each scene and actor.
If my long winded, indulgent complents of the show don’t make you want to watch, I will leave you with this:
