Donald Glovers brilliant Atlanta defies categorization and genre.
So we attempt to categorize it anyway.
When writer/comedian/actor/rapper/Lando Calrissian/eventual-ruler-of-the-world Donald Glover pitched his showAtlantato FX, he conjured the phrase Twin Peakswith rappers.
That simple statement proved to be quite sticky amongst thecriticalcommunityand beyond.
I find myself using it with regularity when I recommend the show to the unconverted.
Why has Twin Peakswith rappers proven to be such a popular description of the show?
Because how the hell else do you describe this thing?
But it also has dramatic elements.
Its a splendidly mature and realistic depiction of poverty actual poverty.
And the characters at times go through hell to reach their goal.
Still, comedy or drama dont really capture the many tonal journeys Atlanta goes on.
And dont you dare even bring up dramedy.
Thats real life, bro.
Sure,Atlantadepicts reality quite nicely when it wants to.
But then there are the fantastical elements on top of it.
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*Perhaps the single best joke on television in 2016.
Atlantadefies categorization because it embraces every genre it can get its hands on.
Each episode goes on its own journey.
Thats a testament to the level of storytelling diversity at play.
Each episode is borrowing from markedly different genres and somehow along the way producing a cohesive whole.
Earns encounter with the old man on the bus to Darius deja vu regarding the incident.
While the first episode is bizarre and uncanny, Streets on Lock is just uncomfortably real.
The sudden escalation to violence in the prison intake center says it all for the episode.
The Earn and Darius/Paper Boi plots couldnt be more different on their face.
Still, both stories are deceptively political.
Theyre about poverty from the light-hearted annoyances to the grisly reality of the drug trade.
Particularly because of Paper Bois struggle with the ethnically ambiguous and strangely flamboyant online troll Zan.
Its fascinating and funny and is almost reminiscent of a Zelda side quest.
It effectively satirizes how much poor behavior society and media will tolerate from celebrities provided theyre floppy-haired White Canadians.
Its also patently absurd with a dash of meta thanks to Glover, himself, performing the Biebs songs.
Thats not even to mention the weird kid who decided to attend school in whiteface.
Episode 7: B.A.N.
Genres: Critique, Experimental, Parody
B.A.N.
isAtlantaseason ones most ambitious episode and it has a lot to say.
The format leads to all kind of critiques of media, pop culture and cereal commercials.
Its wildly experimental, wickedly funny and remarkably consistent right down do the fake commercials.
Its filled with wonderful and realistic comedic undercuts.
Darius cant get back to the VIP section so he merely just goes home.
And then there is, of course, Marcus Miles invisible car.
Its so much more than that.
But above all, Juneteenth is about Van and Earn.
Thats a hyper-realistic romantic comedy.
After a wild night out, Earn has to find his jacket.
He embarks on another Zelda side quest not unlike the one in The Streisand Effect.
Its yet another wild whiplash of genre.
Naturally one assumes that Earn has an important artifact in the jacket pocket, maybe an engagement ring perhaps?
Nope, its just the key to the storage container that hes living in.
Atlantacycles through so many genres per episodes that it ends up transcending them all until it resembles something life-like.
Or at the very least a lovingly crafted picture book.
Thats a genre too.
