FWWM reference on the show "Atlanta"?

[Jacoby]

Donald Glover has a show on FX called "Atlanta". It's really good. It caught my eye in my RSS feed a while ago with this article, where he said he was making a show where its "Twin Peaks with Rappers". http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-f ... -fx-856412

It's more like the show Louie than Twin Peaks, but it is very surreal.

I just watched s01e08, and there was a pretty huge FWWM reference. Note: not parody, just a very clear reference/nod. At around 4min, the main character named Earn is in a club. The music is overwhelming, and... suddenly (for the first and only scene) we switch to the characters speaking with subtitles under the club music. When the two characters are done talking, the lights drop out and it just starts strobe lighting.

I know its no "Homer dances with a horse" sort of thing, but in light of Donald Glover actively acknowledging Peaks as an influence.... yay! Very subtle, but I don't ever think I've seen FWWM referenced before like this... TP the series sure, but not FWWM

[Eater of Iguanas]

Anyway, I'm geeked to hear about this TP shoutout. I'm a Donald Glover fan from his time on Community, the greatest and weirdest TV sitcom I've ever seen, and everything I've heard about the show makes it sound like something new and fascinating. Now if only I had cable... Guess I'll have to wait for Netflix to get it.

[Clueless]

I remember posting about this show in the recommendations for S3 thread a few months ago just based on that Glover interview but have only just begun watching it.

The humor can be a bit darkly Lynchian at times. Darius hobbling around the house wielding the kitchen knife in one hand and freshly baked cookies in the other wearing the flower-print kitchen apron and jumping around the corner is totally bizarre in a way I love.

Most Twin Peaks references or nods I've been seeing in recent TV have gone for surreal horror and are somewhat blatant, they almost call too much attention to themselves and stick out like sore thumbs ( I love MR.ROBOT and TRUE DETECTIVE but when they go Lynch its a little heavy handed.) This show kinda just creates its own weird, wonky universe with beautiful cinematography and Glover seems to have learned from Lynch to be non-nonchalant with some of the more off-kilter moments. Looking forward to see where this goes.

[AgentCoop]

Community, the greatest and weirdest TV sitcom I've ever seen

Word.

[FauxOwl]

Atlanta is an excellent show and anyone dismissing it because it involves rap is doing so out of ignorance (It's a similar thing I often encountered with people who dismiss Breaking Bad because they think it's about meth). I'm not much of a hip hop or rap fan TBH... I've had phases where I was into some older school stuff but nothing that endured. I'm glad that doesn't preclude me from being able to enjoy a show about human beings set against a backdrop where there are human beings into and performing rap music.

I totally wouldn't have got the FWWM connection with the subtitles, but then I wasn't aware that Glover cited Twin Peaks as an influence. The bits of surreal humor definitely have a different vibe than Twin Peaks. So much of the tone of Atlanta seems grounded in reality and real world problems (stuff that is not often dealt with in television, like folks living paycheck to paycheck), yet the surreal moments never feel out of place and it's usually very funny.

[The Jumping Man]

There's also a lampshade with the Red Room floor pattern in one episode. Blink and you'll miss it.