FX’s newest dramedy series Atlanta is teeming with societal critique blanketed in clever humor. We knew Donald Glover was talented, but Atlanta has revealed his ingenuity as an artist that has talent across the creative spectrum.
A black Justin Bieber, a Nigerian, and the stereotypical thug-rapper Paperboi are just a few dynamic mediums through which Atlanta brilliantly exemplifies and criticizes cultural and racial impositions. The show has an all black main cast and is set in Glover’s home city of Atlanta, Georgia. While the audience is no doubt laughing throughout every episode, Glover’s Atlanta offers more than just witty remarks and honest humor. The show observes black culture obligations as well as facetious questioning of gender and class expectations.
Glover’s character, Earnest “Earn” Marks is the character who just doesn’t seem “black enough” to typify the usual black, hip-hop cultural clichés. Unlike his foil character, cousin and rapper Paperboi, Earn has a difficult time finding a stable place in the rap industry community because of his lack of “thug like” qualities.
The first portrayal of Earn’s thug absence is in the scene between Earn and his d.j. acquaintance (who happens to be white and kind of a douche). His d.j. friend tells Earn a story while casually using the word “nigga” without batting an eye. After the d.j. walks away, Earn asks a random, older black man if the white guy had ever used the n word around him, to which the man replies “pshh yeah right.” The exchange implies that Earn lacks a certain threatening quality associated with black men, which allowed the d.j. to fearlessly use the n word in front of him. In the latest episode, Earn backs down from demanding his money from a sleazy club owner because, as he explains to Paperboi, “I just don’t scare people like you.”
Paperboi’s character drives the show. A seemingly typical drug dealin’ thug rapper, Paperboi is more than reluctant to embrace those labels, refuting that he’s, “just rapping.” His actions however, tell a different story. Selling weed and starting fights Paperboi appears to embrace most of the stereotypes attributed to him.
Earn’s baby mama and part time girlfriend Van is the character that we want to know more about. We are intrigued with her ever since she stole the show in the episode “Value.” In the ep, Van meets up with an old friend, Jayde, who has been spending her time shopping and traveling off the dime of professional athletes. Van seems a little jealous of her friend but also offended at how quick she is to offer her condescending disapproval of how Van lives her life. Jayde tries to persuade Van to go on a blind date with a rich guy who is “like a lawyer or something.” When Van refuses, Jayde insists that she be valued, her definition of value being questionable at the least.
Jayde explains that black women must be valued, suggesting that exploiting promiscuous sexuality is the best way to achieve that. At the audience’s relief, Van still refuses. She does however, agree to smoke weed with Jayde and then gets fired from her job as a teacher when she can’t pass a drug test the following day. When Van reaches out to Jayde for help her response is, “I’ve never had a job that didn’t encourage smoking,” implying that she’s never had a “real” job. As a black woman and single mom with low income, Van has many odds against her. Her character though, has hinted at her tenacity. We can’t wait to see where Van goes from here.
In the meantime, we’re just chilling until the next episode airs. If you haven’t already, check out Atlanta. 
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