It ’s fitting that the word " weird " is partly what landsPaper Boiin social - media hot water on " B.A.N. , " the belated episode of the FX comedyAtlanta . While take on heavy issue like transphobia , homophobia , and racism , the show chose to do so in a mode that might have struck many witness as , well , pretty eldritch .
That ’s a good affair ! Weird is whatAtlantahas been doing very , very well all season , sneak in the like ofBankroll PJone week andblack Bieberthe next . " B.A.N. " may be the most out - there experiment dream up yet by show Godhead Donald Glover , who pen and directed this week ’s installment .
Welcome to the Black America Network
The action in this week ’s episode air out as if it were a 30 - second chunk of programming from fake meshing BAN , the Black America web , during its air ofMontague , a mash - up ofCharlie Rose , The Tavis Smiley Show , and any act of yield - driven gabfests that broadcast in local markets . Paper Boi , one of the workweek ’s in - studio apartment guests on the computer programme hosted by Franklin Montague , is pair with gender - issues expert Dr. Deborah Holt to hash out a controversial tweetthe " Paper Boi " rappermade about Caitlyn Jenner . Hilarity ( and yelling ) ensues .
Does n’t sound too weird , good ? tidy sum of show have done the fake - lecture - show thing before . Atlantajust did it more funnily . For one thing , no wing elements were involved – we are literally watchingMontaguein the context of a 30 - minute rock - block on BAN , ridiculous bogus commercial message ( for mostly real merchandise such as the Dodge Charger , Swisher Sweets , and Mickey ’s malted milk liquor ) included . you’re able to follow the commercial message for Coconut Crunch Cereal above and a daub for guru named Ahmad White below .
Oh , and there ’s also a wholeChappelle ’s Show - corresponding section on the show about a pitch-black teenager who believes he ’s actually a 35 - year - old white humanity ; at the end of the sequence , that boy appear on the show via Facebook video confabulation wear out a ridiculous blond wig . Other than Paper Boi and a speedy cut to Earn standing just off - camera , none of the regular grapheme seem . No plot lines get resolved . Few lessons are hear . It ’s pretty godforsaken .
Guy D’Alema/FX
TheToo Many Cooksof talk-show parodies
Because of its unlawful structure , " B.A.N. " can feel unmanageable . In previousAtlantaepisodes , the surreal contact were small : think of the guy rope who rang Paper Boi ’s door tire out a Batman mask or the ( uproariously ) creepy-crawly kid in white - face from last workweek ’s excellent Van - centrical installment . But here Glover approaches the free - wheeling , lawless high of Adult Swim designate likeThe Eric Andre Show , Tim and Eric Awesome Show , Great Job ! , or the viral sensationToo Many Captain Cook . The departure is those show rarely extend beyond 12 minutes . It ’s much harder to corroborate that case of comic vim over a full half - hour .
That does n’t mean there ’s not a draw to admire here . Going beyond the late - night lapidator - clowning canon of the last 10 old age , " B.A.N. " also sense like a part of a long tradition of independent American pic like Robert Townsend ’s daydream - filledHollywood Shuffleor Robert Downey Sr . ’s razor - precipitous ad industry satirePutney Swope . Downey ’s 1969 film , which is also a favorite of filmmakers like Paul Thomas Anderson and Glover ’s channel - mateLouis CK , feels like an specially relevant reference point here . Just watch these pearl - dry commercials for " Ethereal Cereal " or " Lucky Airlines , " which would fit right in with Glover ’s ads .
It ’s telling that this is the first episode ofAtlantaboth written and directed by Glover – he directed last week ’s episode but shared the writing credit with Stefani Robinson – and that might explicate part of why it feels so expensive , playful , and bad . It ’s also telling that alternatively of serve as a showcase for his character Earn , Glover rather sharpen on an prolonged conversation between Paper Boi , the show ’s most consistently misunderstood lineament , and Dr. Holt , a woman who at first could not appear more dissimilar from Paper Boi but who eventually finds plebeian land with the doorknocker . " Where ’s tolerance for citizenry like me ? " involve Paper Boi at one degree . " I should be able to say something is unearthly without mass hating on me . "
Is that a convincing defence ? Glover does n’t say and , again , the show refuses to put too all right a degree on its political arguments . He ’s trying to create a forum for disagree viewpoints , outlandish statements , tricky questions , and violent cereal commercials . Like it or not , he ’s just doing it in the weirdest way possible .
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FX/YouTube
FX/YouTube
