Atlanta (TV Series) The Streisand Effect (2016) User Reviews

It's just another day in Atlanta with Earn trying to make some money and Al dealing with being more sensitive than he lets on.

[Amari-Sali · 8/10 · 21 September 2016]

Overview

Al, as has been seen, is a sensitive soul, a bit thin-skinned, but until this episode, we didn't know how bad it was. Some online semi- famous person gets under his skin to the point he has to confront him. As that happens Darius and Earn go out because Earn needs some kind of money to show Van he can contribute to his daughter's upbringing. Even if he has to pawn his phone to do so.

Main Plot (with Commentary)

Topic 1: Paper Boi and Zan (Alfred)

Al isn't much for criticism. Hence why when this weird, ambiguously raced guy starts making fun of him, he is fuming. But like many times before Al acted without thinking, he realizes it isn't that serious. Zan is the type who wants to get famous, through exploitation, by any means necessary. Be that stealing someone's gag, making fun of someone, or even using a kid. He isn't worth the anger and frustration.

{Commentary}

This may be the year of sensitive Black men. I mean, think about it. The range is anywhere from Lucius Lyon on Empire with his fits, to this middle ground Atlanta has with its male leads, and then what is offered in Queen Sugar. Focusing on Al, though, you have to really take note of how easy it is to disturb him and get under his skin. Yeah, he tries to seem calm, cool, and collected, but it seems whether he is high or not all it takes is a tweet to lead him to want to curse you out.

Which I'm left wondering why? For someone who seems to be some kind of gangster, why is some dude who doesn't have stain able to really cause you to not only send a long response to his jokes but show everyone who he is and asks questions? Could Al be that insecure about his talent?

Topic 2: The Dynamic Duo (Earnest & Darius)

Earn needs some money. Van is losing faith and patience, his job isn't cutting it, being Paper Boi's manager isn't making him cash, so he heads to the pawn shop to sell his phone. Oh, did we not mention he is now sleeping at Al's place? Yeah, things between him and Van are getting that bad.

Luckily, Darius has a car he can drive so he takes Earn to the Pawn shop. Thus beginning a fun little journey in which Darius convinces Earn to trade his phone for a sword, which is traded for a dog, which in a few weeks or months will lead to a few thousand dollars. Of which Earn thought he was going to get that day but because he didn't, now he is dead broke.

Well, until Darius gives his phone to pawn because he feels bad, he changes his phone monthly anyway, and because he sees Earn as a friend.

{Commentary}

While this show stars Donald Glover, arguably Keith Stanfield, who plays Darius, is the one who will benefit the most from the show. Though established through various big name movies, like Straight Outta Compton, Selma, Miles Ahead and the underrated Short Term 12, honestly his talent in this is outstanding. Which comes as a surprise, at least to me, because I must admit there originally was a desire to write this character off. First as some stoner, then as a freeloader of Al, but anytime you try to come up with a negative perception of Darius he defies them.

Yeah, he is weird, but he is only weird because he is unfamiliar. He is the type you may expect in a movie, but not a reoccurring role week in and week out where he can go from foreign to normalized. Plus, in a world which talks about diversity but pretty much only goes so far as casting people of color in roles devoid of culture it is nice to see someone like Darius. He isn't ignorant, he seems to enjoy reading, and while he may like to smoke from time to time, he isn't some lazy dude who is a mooch. If you need him to put some work in, he is there for you. Want to chat about Steve McQueen? He is your man and overall what I'm trying to say is I'm quite happy Donald Glover and his team made these characters more than what they could appear to be.

Highlights

Darius' character in any scene he is in.

We Should Stop Harassing People on Internet!.. Wow.

[hamidullahgenc · 9/10 · 16 January 2017]

This episode stresses a trauma humanity has been suffering for a couple of years now. That is caused by such as shooting Vine, Vlogging on Youtube etc..

That is to say; anything that keeps us away from warm relations, and leads us to being money grubbing, fame praising, "light in the head" kind of people...

So, Mr. Zan is the perfect example of that... He is frustrating Paper Boi as well as Earn by any means to fill his pockets!.. Oh boy, should we not deal with destructiveness!..

There is a point to be discussed right here. The show uses Zan to lay waste to Paper Boi's reputation only to make us feel empathy for Paper Boi and back him to the top!.. That is clever!..

The racist(!) references are all nicely put. That is good, too.

And yes, Earn and Darius are friends now.

I give this one a "8,5."

"And those are the ones who turn away from Al-Laghw (dirty, false, evil vain talk, falsehood, bubble, and all of that Allah has forbidden.)" The Gracious Koran, the 23th Chapter (The Believers), the 3th Verse.

Who is the man in the "pink jacket?'

[Ezknickels · 9/10 · 24 July 2022]

Loved EVERYONE in this episode including Zan. But most notably I enjoyed the dynamics of Lakeith Stansfield and Donald Glover. This is another episode that delves into the progressive speed bumps of fame. Namely, having to deal with social media critics & clout chasers. This was both funny, weird & touching.

Earn struggling to make ends meet, and Darius sacrificing what he has to help him, was a nice way to close that gap between them that existed in episodes previous to this one.

As Darius so poignantly states in the very last line "We're friends now".

Theres also the main story of Paper Boi realizing he cant stop the fame machine he's kickstarted from attracting stragglers along the way. "Everyone's gotta hustle" is a perfect line by the mixed race influencer Zan as is a central theme of the episode and SHOW itself for the character.

Last but not t least of what makes this episode unique of all others, Is we are made aware of a new ominous entity that I can only surmise will serve as the "Chekov's gun" of the series. While in a pool hall discussing his frustrations w the influencer/troll Zan, the bartender eerily tells of a MYSTERIOUS "MAN IN PINK JACKET & shaved head "(as very ominously & PURPOSELY described to US ) who is "looking" for Paper Boi. I find this tidbit MOST INTERESTING considering the show now approaching its final season, has consistently followed up most of canon storyline, yet this as of yet has not been addressed or returned to in the entirety of all episodes we've seen. Such a huge foreshadowing with a show this brilliant and great at escalating sub plots, wouldnt simpky let go to waste. Hence i have a theory this character (whoever he is) will appear in its penultimate episodes as the show closes. They've already created an interesting world within a world and for a show so consistent with its own mythos...Im willing to bet we can almost always count on each character arc to evolve, as well as each smart literary device to go to good use. This episodes stands as the calm before the storm. A warning of sorts to viewers. Be prepared, this show is a masterpiece that's always been more than what it seems on the surface.

The Streisand Effect??

[lassegalsgaard-45284 · 10/10 · 15 February 2018]

So, for the past three episodes, the writers have shown that they know what they are doing. They are making a show that is filled with stereotypical characters in this very stereotypical setting, while making them relatable and quite unique in their ways. I love these characters very much, and I can't wait to see where the episodes take them, but I feel like the writers have a specific responsibility: to make the characters feel relevant and not just have them to have them. Donald Glover is someone who understands that very much, because all the characters in this episode had a great part to play. This was a very inventive episode, and I love that they are so early in the process, that there are many ways that they can go before it is all over. This is only the fourth of ten episodes, so I am very excited to see what will happen. However, this is the episode we are talking about now, and it was a hilarious episode that led to story forward in an exciting way.

Once again, I have to compliment the comedic writing. Donald Glover returns as writer, having written the premiere episode. He is great and he writes these lines better than anyone else ever could. I have enjoyed his brother's writing efforts, but I think Donald has a better hold when it comes to writing dialogue, because every single line in this episode were subtly written, and equally subtly delivered by the actors, who have embodied these characters by now. Especially, Lakeith Stanfield... He is so funny and his delivery is outstanding. The way his character is written could have easily been very offensive, but because of his portrayal, it becomes a character that has a lot of depth and so much to offer for the show in the future.

This episode continued to expand on the character roster by introducing another very weird character to the mix. Zan is someone who made an impression in this episode, but needs to get a little bit more in before I can say whether I like his addition or not. However, I will say that I enjoyed his conflict with Paper Boi in this episode very much, and I understood why he did some of the things he did, because he arguments made sense. I loved the social commentary in the episode, because a lot of stars has to deal with Internet trolls, and it isn't always funny. It was a very clever decision, and it shows that Paper Boi is becoming someone in this society.

I also love to see Earnest slowly adapting to how things work now that he works with Paper Boi and Darius. It's hard to understand what is going on with him, because we have seen very little of his life with Van, but we do know that he is poor and doesn't make that much money. I love these small 'fish-out-of-water' stories that we get with Earnest, because they set up his character for something to come down the line, plus it makes for some great moments with Glover. He had a very profound scene in this episode that - while being very funny - was also very dramatic in a sense of the word, and I really saw Glover's acting abilities come to light. I love Glover and I can't wait to see what they do with him coming up.

I do have one hope, though. I don't have any problem with this particular episode, but I do really hope that they will focus a little more on developing Earnest's character and his relationship with his family. It's a plea that I think will come true, because I think we need a little bit more reason to really care for Earnest.

Money, bro

[dannylee-78082 · 8/10 · 14 January 2023]

1. Alfred gets attacked online 2. Earn gets a sword 3. Sword becomes a dog

These little adventures are so funny. Darius is a crackhead but he is still a nice guy. This entire show is crackhead. It just feels like a sitcom but more surreal. This episode talks a ton about financial struggles. Earn is broke and he needs a payday ASAP so he pawned his phone to get some cash. Long story short, that phone turned into a dog that wasn't turning in cash. It's just a ridiculous series of events that Darius leads Earn into and in that comedy, we see the struggles of Earn.

Alfred tries to settle things with Zan, an online influencer who was attacking him, but he becomes even more astounded after seeing how everyone's hustling, exploiting and being exploited.

I also think the music choices are impeccable as Donald Glover himself is a musician. I actually enjoy sitcoms like this with no larger plot. Very refreshing.

The Streisand Effect

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 23 May 2018]

The episode worked better for me as it was funnier and weird at the same time, especially as Paper Boi now getting fame has to take criticism.

The digs come from an online blogger called Zan who criticises and pokes fun of Paper Boi. This antagonises Paper Boi especially as Zan seems to be racially ambiguous.

So Paper Boi seeks out Zan to give him a piece of his mind and a few slaps only to be met with a pizza delivery boy. Zan makes it clear that he uses his online presence to get fame and money for himself.

Zan also has a business partner, a small foul mouthed kid who sits at the back of his car who is sent out to actually deliver the pizzas to the door.

Paper Boi really does not know what to think.

All about money

[AvionPrince16 · 7/10 · 11 July 2022]

The show is clearly survival trough money . They all try to survive like Earn who get Misunderstood with the other guy and have problem with the money. And we got Paper Boi who try to talk to the guy who critic him and his music on the web : so yeah we have different perspectives about two guys who try to make their living in the daily life and the relationship with money . Nice episode anyway . Business is business.