The theme of this episode was highlighting the ridiculousness people will go through to get what they want, not realizing that oftentimes what they want isn’t what they necessarily NEED.
-Some Guy Named Doug wanted a song with Paperboi so bad he was willing to brave a SHOOTOUT to save his life and get him in the studio. In the end, the feature isn’t what Doug NEEDED because there was absolutely no way that trash ass song was going to be a hit. What Doug NEEDED was to ply more at bis craft and learn proper song structure, production, and technique.
- The latino kid wanted to be a rap star so badly he was willing to put his OWN LIFE in danger, again during a life threatening situation, so he could rap for Paperboi. What the kid NEEDED was to heed his girlfriend’s advice and get a real career that would provide for his girl and daughter. He neglected the needs of his family to chase a dream.
- Earn and Darius wanted the shoes so badly that they were ultimately willing to strip themselves of pride and moral codes and be exploited by some freak nikka. Setting aside the obvious implications regarding emasculation, Earn was clearly uncomfortable performing the act. He even (rightfully) broke down how black men are compromising themselves, both financially and physically, at alarming rates just for the “privilege” of stunting on other black men. And yet they STILL did it. What was NEEDED was for them to stand firm on their initial offer, financial compensation or getting the fukk up outta there. Keep your pride. Keep your morals. Because at the end of the day those are what mark you as a man. The look on Earn’s face at Alfred’s house after it was all said and done suggested that he won’t be sleeping tranquilly that night. Even Darius’s cryptic “I had to do a little something for them” suggests he’s not totally at peace with the decision. They whored themselves for what amounts to useless articles of clothing. The point was driven home by the fact that the creepy freak was killed DIRECTLY afterwards, making their sacrifice ultimately pointless.
The episode also tackled the banality of violence and how we’ve become so dissociated with the everyday occurrence of gun violence. Any one who lives in the state knows that Georgia is open carry, and that its really NOTHING to see people toting fire arms pretty much everywhere they go. Shopping, hiking, working, doesn’t matter. Where there are people in Georgia there are guns nearby, guaranteed. So when the shootout happens its not surprising in and of itself, its a commentary on how mind-numbingly ORDINARY that sort of occurrence has become.
There’s also no accident that the gun violence is juxtaposed with Earn and Darius’s “encounter”. We all know how gun violence has pervaded sneaker culture. Young kids DIE for shoes, going back to the 80’s with Jordans. Lets stop and appreciate the ridiculousness of this for a moment. Young black kids DIE for footwear. Now it cannot go without saying that a culture that could go so far as to demand BLOOD from young black males as a right to wear shoes wouldn’t also demand….other things. If you’re willing to take a life to wear shoes, what are you willing to sacrifice personally? Beyond that, what are you willing to give up for a gold chain? A Mercedes Benz? An acting career? A music career? The implications can get downright sinister when we consider that the curtain has been slowly pulling back on Hollywood the last 5 years since the #Metoo movement started. Today its just a “peck” on another man’s lips. What will the price be tomorrow?
Overall this was one of the darkest episodes of Atlanta to date. Perhaps even darker in its implications than Teddy Perkins. Teddy Perkins was, in part, a story about a man broken by an external force (his father) and his inability to piece himself together. Crank Dat is a story about what it looks like when men break THEMSELVES in attempts to “gain” something desirable. And the question is CAN you piece yourself back together after doing so? There are always levels, and depending on which level you’ve compromised yourself its easier to course correct. The latino kid can course correct by striving for a better job to provide for his family. Doug can course correct by learning how to make viable music. Can Earn course correct his sense of self, his sense of self worth and pride?
I guess we have 4 more episodes to find out.
