Atlanta - Season 1
“Atlanta is leading the vanguard of modern storytelling, redefining what it means to be a television show.”
Title: Atlanta
Episodes Reviewed: Season 1
Writers: Donald Glover 👨🏾🇺🇸, Stephen Glover 👨🏾🇺🇸, and various
Directors: Hiro Murai 👨🏻🇯🇵🇺🇸 and various
Reviewed by Li 👩🏻🇺🇸
Technical: 5/5
Atlanta is leading the vanguard of modern storytelling, redefining what it means to be a “television show.” Its first season is surreal, desperate, and darkly humorous, all wrapped up in an artful package. You can see director Hiro Murai’s Japanese influences in the contemplative pacing of each episode and the sheer negative space that yawns across each frame. Meanwhile, the loaded history of Black people in America lends Atlanta its drive and energy.
Between the (calm) direction and (tumultuous) narrative, a beautiful tension emerges. It’s fascinating to watch, and more importantly, it’s entertaining to boot.
Gender: 3.5/5
Does it pass the Bechdel Test? YES
Atlanta follows the daily lives of Black men, primarily. But the two episodes, which happen to be credited to female writer Stefani Robinson, showcase a more equal perspective. “Value” (Episode 6) and “Juneteenth” (Episode 9) reveal layers to Van’s character and show that the series is capable of writing women with maturity. They just generally don’t choose to, the show instead homing in on its male characters of Earn (Donald Glover), Paper Boi (Brian Tyree Henry), and Darius (LaKeith Stanfield).
Race: 5/5
The creators, writers, and directors involved in Atlanta are all people of color, and damn, but it shows in the sheer complexity of their characters. Little else on television feels this confident and versed in portraying what it’s like to be a Black man living and scraping by in the American South.
LGBTQ: 3/5
There might not be any LGBTQ representation on the show, but the sheer meta of “B.A.N.” (Season 1, Episode 7) and its absurdist segment on a “transracial” white man trapped in a Black man’s body had an incredible punchline that highlighted the absurdity of transphobia. With just one line, delivered as a wink towards enlightened audiences, we were invited to join in with indignation towards a transphobic character.
So, much like with the Gender category, Atlanta doesn’t focus on this demographic but when they do, they sidestep over the entire issue of LGBTQ rights and go straight to normalizing them as humans, worthy of ribbing but executed with warmth, not malice.
Mediaversity Grade: B+ 4.13/5
A B+ for Atlanta is a great reminder that Mediaversity grades do NOT deem whether a show is worth watching. That’s what traditional reviews are for. What Mediaversity grades do represent is how inclusive a particular program is—and in this case, as creatively as they showcase young Black men in Atlanta with such exciting nuance, the series’ writers avoid exploring other marginalized groups. And that’s fine. It makes for a tight, cohesive story, and that’s what makes Atlanta so strong.