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AMERICAN FICTION – Laura Karpman
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
American Fiction is a brilliant satire on literature, race, and family dynamics in contemporary society. Written and directed by Cord Jefferson, who is making his directorial debut here, and based on the 2001 novel ‘Erasure’ by Percival Everett, the film stars Jeffrey Wright as African-American author and English professor Thelonious “Monk” Ellison. Monk is having quite a few problems; his novels receive academic praise, but sell poorly, and publishers reject his most recent manuscript for not being “black enough”. His mother is developing Alzheimer’s disease, his extended family is highly dysfunctional, and he is increasingly annoyed by a fellow writer whose recent bestselling novel apparently panders to ‘ghetto’ black stereotypes but is feted by white literary critics. Frustrated, and needing to raise money for his mother’s medical bills, Monk swallows his pride, adopts the pseudonym ‘Stagg R. Leigh,’ and intentionally writes what he considers a ‘bad novel’ called My Pafology, which also panders to the same black/urban stereotypes of gang violence, drugs, and estranged families. To his increasing shock and exasperation, My Pafology becomes enormously popular and critically acclaimed, and Monk is forced to adopt the ‘gangbanger’ persona of Leigh to maintain the ruse, while also trying to juggle his personal and family issues. Read more…
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