The Visceral Liberation of Donald Glover's "Atlanta".

Very few shows encompass the oddities and complexities of life that is Donald Glover’s “Atlanta”. In the three seasons that the show has aired nothing has been able to encapsulate 21st-century themes of classism, racism, and the eternal struggle to get ahead in life. The basic premise is that college dropout, Earn (played by Donald Glover) has struck a deal with his cousin and rising rap star known as Papa Boi, also known as Alfred (played by Brian Tyree- Henry) to manage his career in the city of Atlanta, Georgia. Joining these two on their journey is Alfred’s best friend, Darius (played by Lakeith Stanfield), and Earn’s estranged partner and baby-momma, Vanessa (played by Zazie Beetz).

The un-named fifth character is the city of Atlanta itself. Much like the city of Gotham, Atlanta not only provides the atmosphere for reach our characters to interact but is a factory from which their problems are made. The first season covers Earn proving himself to Alfred and establishing just how surreal their reality is. There are episodes that cover “stunt culture” and its hypocritic nature, the duality of being a drug dealer and the emotional impact, and of course Justin Bieber and his relationship with Atlanta. If you are an Atlanta native you will know exactly what that entails.

Season two picks up with the group still struggling to reach the top but goes into the more emotional nuance on how their rising status impacts their interpersonal relationships. Earn and Vanessa, Papa Boi and his relationship with women, and Darius and his enlightened approach to people. Interracial relationships, Transactional relationships, and the lack of relationships are covered in the season. The focus on this brings a more intimate season that hits closer to home.

The current and third season sees our characters go to Europe. If I could summarize what the season is so far it would be, “You can take the man out of the city, but not the city out of the man”. This mantra follows our characters throughout the European adventure. If you are out of your namesake location, you have to drag the chaos and tomfoolery with you.

To understand the ethereal nature of “Atlanta” you need to first have a cultural understanding of the larger world and the symbiotic relationship that it has with the problems of the modern person. Season 4 is set to be the last season of the show (which airs this fall). I can’t wait to see how the masterpiece of cinema (yes I said “cinema) will come to a close.