Gilroy mentions Marshall Berman’s return to the South Bronx and sees how “the breakdancers and graffitists that he observes moving across the shadows of that desolate urban landscape are not so easily to be claimed for the overarching modernism he seeks to affirm” (Gilroy 47). There is much difficulty to locate where we see modernism in all parts of society when we are looking through a Westernized lens. I take to agreeing with Gilroy more than Berman in that “the intellectual and cultural achievements of the black Atlantic populations exist partly inside and not always against the grand narrative of Enlightenment” (Gilroy 48).
Ahmad White, the man on the bus with Earn from the first episode of Atlanta and from the advice infomercial, is made into an enlightened pseudo-psychic who helps people hard on their times. His multiple witness accounts saying they had a car loan or house foreclosure only had to say that “he works, he really works” as to how he fixed their problems. Using this episode seven lens on the first episode when Earn and White are the us together, White is a much more complex stakeholder in the show. He is a well-dressed Black man taking public transportation and his ability to strike up a conversation with ease demonstrates that he has done this before. What is different this time is Earn rejects the Nutella sandwich, which aggravates White. He quickly vacates the us, realizing that Earn is not easily persuaded unlike White’s clients. White is a path to modernization he posits himself as the only way to modernization.
Looking through the lens of the infomercial episode, the witness statements show the magnitude at which White helps people. He is not a Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae type organization helping people with mortgages. We do not know how he helps these people. Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae are organizations with a Western approach to supporting others. White’s approach remains unknown because his “intellectual achievement,” as stated in the last sentence of the first paragraph, only exists party inside the grand narrative of Enlightenment and European history. We know that it involves a Nutella sandwich and juice, which is evident from the bus ride and the informercial, but nothing more.
Discussion Questions:
- Go back to pages 46-48 regarding the analysis of Berman’s theory. What do you make of this theory or Gilroy’s response to the theory in regards to Ahmad White or any part of Atlanta that is not fully realized or remains a mystery?
- Where have you seen other forms of intellectual and cultural achievements that have existed outside the generally accepted Western idea of success and achievement? What makes it different?
Your focus on the character of White and his reactions, asks the question whether or not performance and behavior is linked to originality or if it is constantly influenced by one’s surrounding culture. Similar to Gilroy’s point regarding the Euro-centric theorist lens, White may just fall under that category. He holds a fixated judgment based on his exposure and knowledge. Thus, altering the way he sees and interacts with Earn.