美国国家公共电台 NPR Donald Glover's 'Atlanta' Returns With 'Robbin' Season'

 

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

Almost two years ago, actor/writer/musician Donald Glover turned the TV world upside down with his ambitious dramedy "Atlanta." The show's second season debuts¹ tonight on FX, and NPR TV critic Eric Deggans says it takes Glover's ambitions to new levels. Be warned - there is some rough language in the story.

ERIC DEGGANS, BYLINE²: Want to know what it feels like to be a young black man in America? Consider Donald Glover's character in "Atlanta," Earn Marks, an aimless Princeton dropout³ crashing on friends' couches who has a problem. Even when he has some money - several hundred-dollar bills, to be specific - he can't spend it. First at the movie theater...

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "ATLANTA")

DONALD GLOVER: (As Earn Marks) Yeah. Can I get two tickets for "Fast And Furious"?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS #1: (As character) I'm sorry, but I can't take a bill that large.

DEGGANS: ...Then at a hookah bar where the owner is convinced the bill is fake.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "ATLANTA")

GLOVER: (As Earn Marks) No, just get another hundred to compare it.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As character) There are no other hundreds in the bar.

GLOVER: (As Earn Marks) Then you got one of those pens that you can mark it with?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As character) Of course not.

DEGGANS: And the kicker comes when a security guard at the bar speaks to Earn as he's kicking him out.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "ATLANTA")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As character) Hey, we all know that the bill was real, but the owner was tripping. Sorry about that.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS #2: (As character) That was definitely racist⁴.

DEGGANS: The bit ends in a strip club where Earn is charged 20 percent to get change. Like Chris Rock once said, being black in America often feels like always being 50 cents short. And the racism⁵ comes from everywhere from white ticket sellers to black club owners. That's the vibe of "Atlanta's" second season, where most of the humor is rooted in the surreal indignities⁶ its characters endure just to get by. Glover pulls you into the experience and entertains you at the same time. The subtitle⁷ for this year's episodes is "Robbin' Season," that time close to the year's end when robberies and assaults go up. Earns' oddball friend Darius sums it up while the two watch police clean up a crime scene.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "ATLANTA")

LAKEITH STANFIELD: (As Darius) Robbing season. Christmas approaches and everybody got to eat.

GLOVER: (As Earn Marks) Or be eaten.

DEGGANS: Donald Glover's Earn Marks manages his cousin Alfred, also known as up-and-coming rapper Paper Boi, played by Brian Tyree Henry. Paper Boi winds up on the wrong end of robbing season when a longtime drug connection robs him at gunpoint during a transaction in his car. When Paper Boi tries to open the car's back door to leave, he can't because, yep, the door's child locks are still engaged.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "ATLANTA")

BRIAN TYREE HENRY: (As Paper Boi) Child lock, man.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As character) I got you.

HENRY: (As Paper Boi) Child lock. OK, you - come on - got it. I got it. I'll just - I got it. Why you got to lock me in the child - oh, my God. That's the window, man.

DEGGANS: The sharpest humor in "Atlanta's" second season comes from leaning into those moments when Earn and Paper Boi should enjoy their growing success but the world won't let them. It feels similar Glover's real-life attitude where he often appears unable or unwilling⁸ to enjoy the acclaim⁹ and awards that came from the show's first season in 2016. The best moments of tonight's episode come when Earn faces his Uncle Willie, played by perpetually-in-trouble comedian¹⁰ Katt Williams. Willie insults Earn over his dependence¹¹ on Paper Boi.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "ATLANTA")

KATT WILLIAMS: (As Uncle Willie) You scared. You got to stay on his good side now 'cause he's Mr. Moneybags. Family is business.

GLOVER: (As Earn Marks) No, that's not it. What I'm scared of is being you. You know, someone everybody knew was smart but ended up being a know-it-all [expletive] that just let [expletive] happen to him.

DEGGANS: Willie comes back with some advice for Earn. It sounds a bit like the words Williams himself might offer about his mistakes in real life.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "ATLANTA")

WILLIAMS: (As Uncle Willie) And if you don't want to end up like me, get rid of that chip on your shoulder. It's not worth the time.

DEGGANS: That nagging¹² sense of lost potential gives poignancy¹³ to every scene, making this season of "Atlanta" another masterpiece. I'm Eric Deggans.

(SOUNDBITE OF TYCHO'S "APOGEE (RJD2 REMIX)")

1 debuts   

演员首次演出( debut的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He never really debuts the idea of taking money from his parents any longer. 他从此就再也没有认真起过向父母要钱的念头。
• This young soprano debuts next month at the metropolitan opera. 这位年轻的女高音歌唱家下个月将在纽约大都会歌剧院举行首演。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 dropout   

n.退学的学生；退学；退出者

参考例句：

• There is a high dropout rate from some college courses.有些大学课程的退出率很高。
• In the long haul,she'll regret having been a school dropout.她终归会后悔不该中途辍学。

4 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

5 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

6 indignities   

n.侮辱，轻蔑( indignity的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The soldiers who were captured suffered many indignities at the hands of the enemy. 被俘的士兵在敌人手中受尽侮辱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• What sort of indignities would he be forced to endure? 他会被迫忍受什么样的侮辱呢？ 来自辞典例句

7 subtitle   

n.副题（书本中的），说明对白的字幕

参考例句：

• His new book has a subtitle.他的新书有一个副标题。
• Ah!I don't know why they don't subtitle these movies.唉！我不知道这些电影为什么不打字幕。

8 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

9 acclaim   

v.向…欢呼，公认；n.欢呼，喝彩，称赞

参考例句：

• He was welcomed with great acclaim.他受到十分热烈的欢迎。
• His achievements earned him the acclaim of the scientific community.他的成就赢得了科学界的赞誉。

10 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

11 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

12 nagging   

adj.唠叨的，挑剔的；使人不得安宁的v.不断地挑剔或批评（某人）( nag的现在分词 )；不断地烦扰或伤害（某人）；无休止地抱怨；不断指责

参考例句：

• Stop nagging—I'll do it as soon as I can. 别唠叨了—我会尽快做的。
• I've got a nagging pain in my lower back. 我后背下方老是疼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 poignancy   

n.辛酸事，尖锐

参考例句：

• As she sat in church her face had a pathos and poignancy. 当她坐在教堂里时，脸上带着一种哀婉和辛辣的表情。
• The movie, "Trains, Planes, and Automobiles" treats this with hilarity and poignancy. 电影“火车，飞机和汽车”是以欢娱和热情庆祝这个节日。