Aahana Swrup
‘A Man in Full’ follows the story of Charlie Croker, a wealthy businessman steadily approaching his own personal doomsday as the bank closes in on him, pushing him toward the edge of bankruptcy. After the man manages to mass a near billion dollar debt to the PlannersBanc through his unpaid loans, banker Harry Zale and his equally opportunistic associate, Raymond Peepgrass, begin preying on Charlie’s downfall. As such, the latter fights a cutthroat legal battle against PlannersBanc with Roger White, a renowned lawyer, in his corner.
In the show, Charlie Croker, a yet respectable man in Atlanta, Georgia, is shown to have undertaken many business ventures. Yet, the Croker Concourse, a skyscraper that defines Atlanta’s skyline, remains the highlight of his hulkingly conceited ambitions. Thus, the building becomes Croker and his professional team’s base of operations while simultaneously remaining a reminder of his alpine ego. Consequently, fans must be wondering about the building’s basis in reality. SPOILERS AHEAD!
Croker Concourse: A Symbol of A Fictional Man’s Sucess
Within the fictionalized narrative of ‘A Man in Full,’ most details are rendered similarly fictitious, sporting roots in Tom Wolfe’s eponymous fictional novel from 1998. The Croker Concourse, a symbol of Charlie Croker’s success and influence, retains similar origins in fictionality due to its inherent interconnectedness with the story’s protagonist. Yet, even though the idea of the building lacks a real-life counterpart— its physical location can be traced back to the actual skyscraper Truist Tower Plaza in Atlanta, which served as the exterior for the on-screen Croker Concourse. While the same isn’t a counterpart for the building constructed in the Croker name, it provides a real-life context for the grandiosity of the latter.
The on-screen building, erected to enhance the businessman’s mountainous reputation, ends up becoming a simultaneous symbol of his looming downfall, as the luxurious skyscraper serves as a reminder of Charlie’s bankruptcy. The man bestows as much significance to his notoriety and public reputation as he does to his actual success. For the same reason, the static Croker Concourse, standing tall without any notable reason, becomes the most prevalent narrative representation of Charlie’s influence. In comparison, the audience hears little about the man’s real-estate and food distribution businesses— the real money makers in his arsenal.
Furthermore, Charlie’s consistent protectiveness over the establishment also remains indicative of the symbolic role the Croker Concourse plays in his life. In many ways, in preserving the building, the businessman is truly trying to preserve his own legacy as a public figure. For the same reason, as the story progresses, the building’s eventual transformation into the harbinger of his eventual demise turns that much more impactful. As such, the skyscraper maintains plenty of narrative and thematic significance within the show.
However, Croker Concourse’s influence over Charlie’s character and his depiction as a business mogul remains limited to Wolfe’s work in terms of origins. Therefore, as it stands, the skyscraper built in Charlie’s name holds a notable contribution to the storyline. Nevertheless, since— save for the real-life locations utilized during filming— the building holds little to no basis in reality, it’s confined to the fictitious storyline.
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