By Maddie Hice, Staff Writer
Donald Glover, also known as Childish Gambino, comes back to the television world with “Atlanta” which he produces, writes and stars in. The show follows Glover’s character Earn and his attempts to manage his up-and-coming rapper cousin Alfred “Paper Boi” Miles, in Atlanta.
Atlanta is known as a growing ground for rap music. Popular rappers like Future, Gucci Mane, Waka Flocka Flame and more began their start in the music oriented town. The continuing list of artists coming from this city created a vibe that Glover captured from episode one.
While Glover wrote the viral hit of Paper Boi in the first episode, most of the music used in the show had already been released by other rappers. The music used created the image of the rap infused Atlanta, giving success to Glover in an area that could make the show.
The music has helped separate “Atlanta” from other television shows that have an over dramatized story-book plot. “Atlanta” is fiction; however, the way the show presents its characters and their realistic struggles draws the audience in because of the relatability.
“’Atlanta’ feels grounded, and credit Glover for expertly dividing and masking his personal experiences among multiple, well-rounded characters,” critic Ben Travers from IndieWire said.
Earn is a Princeton drop out who now works at an airport, has a child with his best friend Vanessa and has a strained relationship with his parents. Paper Boi, played by Brian Tyree Henry, is a man who is trying to achieve his dreams of rapping while struggling internally with whether to have the reputation of being hard on the streets or to be a good person.
These understandable and relatable conflicts reflect most people’s lives and their everyday confusion with what they should do and what they want to do. The relatability catches the attention of those watching and pulls them in for more.
“I loved how realistic the show was. Gambino knows what he is doing,” Penn-Trafford senior Rachel Rupcheck said.
The show has also shown a realistic pace in the process of trying to make it in a business like the music business. The first episode showed how instantly popular Paper Boi’s song became, showing how fast things can go viral and how these people are projected onto a pedestal. However, they were hesitant and instead each character struggles with their next move.
More behind the scenes story lines are shown instead of their plan to represent Paper Boi, which slows the pace of the show down. However, the pace can also be appreciated because it gives time to hit all bases instead of rushing to get something done that could wait a few episodes.
The show seems likely to hit small milestones before the big picture is completed. Glover’s show plays every Tuesday night at 10 p.m. on FX.