Multicultural Representation in “Atlanta” and “Master of None”
Master of None and Atlanta succeed at nuanced representations of minority demographics previously depicted as monolithic.
According to author Herman Gray, a multicultural form of representation is characterized by offering “a view of what it means to be American from the vantage point of African Americans.” This quote exists in reference to The Cosby Show, a program Gray argued was just as assimilationist in its representation as it was multicultural for the ways it still appealed to white middle-class audiences through its aesthetics, values, and forms of representation that aligned with white perspectives. A multicultural form of representation would thus be one that deconstructs the traditional, unified viewing experience, something that the programs Atlanta and Master of None both accomplish. These programs thus align with Gray’s description of multicultural representation by allowing for multiple points of identification, which is achieved through presenting diversity within minority groups previously depicted as monolithic, displaying cultural diversity and distinction by foregrounding Black experiences, and positioning themselves as aesthetically unique from other, white-focused media.
Gray cements the importance of aesthetic difference to multicultural representation by stating, “The discursive practices that structured Frank’s Place are also distinguished by an innovative approach to television as a form…the use of original popular music from the African American musical tradition, the blurring of genres, the lack of closure and resolution, and the use of different narrative strategies.” Both Atlanta and Master of None utilize the distinguishing formal and aesthetic techniques highlighted by Gray. Master of None uses the alternative narrative strategy of time jumping to tell its story, which freely navigates between Thanksgiving dinners throughout the course of our main characters’ lives. Dev and Denise squabble and entertain for years as the two grow up before the audience's eyes in a narrative form that laughs in the face of cohesion and normativity. If The Cosby Show failed at its multicultural address for having operated “in style and form…from the normative space of a largely Black, often multicultural world that paralleled that of whites,” then Master of None is distinctly multicultural for its refusal to fit into the standard sitcom narrative format, thus aesthetically distinguishing itself from televisual norms common to pluralist or assimilationist representation. By extension, each time jump is focused around Dev’s Thanksgiving with Denise’s family, which highlights how the Black demographic celebrates Thanksgiving in a culturally unique way. Master of None thus brings Gray’s words to light by showcasing the cultural differences between not just Black communities and the dominant white viewers, but also between Dev’s Indian culture and Denise’s African American one. Meaning, through its aesthetics and narrative form, Master of None presents a multicultural representation by foregrounding Black experiences with a distinctive story structure that destroys the unified viewing experience and highlights racial differences.
Atlanta similarly works with its narrative to shatter the unity of the viewing experience, but rather than manipulating story structure, it does so by playing with genre. For example, the episode “Teddy Perkins” exists as a deconstruction of the unified viewing experience, as it takes on themes, cliches, and aesthetics from the horror genre. This distinctive break in series norms is best demonstrated during a conversation between Darius and Paper Boi while Darius waits for Teddy Perkins, his Facebook Messenger partner, to prepare the piano Darius plans to buy. In this moment, the episode breaks from its horror aesthetics and returns to the series’ familiar blend of comedy and drama both in its visuals and dialogue. The camera remains static and centered, reflecting a sense of normalcy that juxtaposes the often off-centered wide-shots the rest of the episode employs that are reminiscent of the horror genre. This break in the episode’s tonal style demonstrates how the program is a massive departure from series norms while also providing a deconstruction of the horrific tone “Teddy Perkins” creates. Meaning, there are layers of genre blending at play in Atlanta, a technique of deconstructing the unified viewing experience that Gray stated is one of many ways a multicultural address can be created.
This momentary pause also allows for the diversification of the monolithic Black subject seen in pluralist and assimilationist representations. By positioning Paper Boi and Darius side-by-side, one witnesses how different they truly are while both being African American. In fact, Darius almost acts as a translator for the audience when Paper Boi advises him to treat the piano transaction as if it were a drug deal, which Darius interprets as being “unequivocally honest to make a healthier transaction.” The diversification continues when Darius is placed in reference to Perkins, who was a Black man that received facial surgery to appear white. To reveal their true differences, one can look to the beginning of the episode when Darius buys a confederate hat that he defames, much to the horror of a white southerner who spots him in the parking lot. Meaning, Darius as a character refuses to, paraphrasing Gray’s words, “be shaped and defined by the hegemonic gaze of whiteness.” On the other hand, Perkins represents Blackness that is completely subservient to the white gaze, choosing to define his subjectivity in relation to whiteness to the point where he becomes white himself. Meaning, “Teddy Perkins,” works to create a multicultural representation by diversifying minority groups previously depicted as monolithic and homogenous.