American Fiction (2023)

American Fiction stars Jeffrey Wright as Thelonious Ellison, a black writer frustrated with his lack of public acclaim his novels receive. His most recent manuscript is rejected due to not being filled with stereotypical jargon. So, he decides to Conjure up an outlandish pen name, Stagger Leigh, which is a play on Stag R. Lee, which comes from the American folk song based on a black pimp. The film is riddled with satire on American pop culture and academia. I found the film to be quite timely and resonant, especially since I am in a graduate program for English and this subject of black artistry and having to appeal to specific tastes is often discussed. The idea that Monk had to dispose of his integrity in order to see mainstream success is problematic in itself, which the character Sintara Gilden. played by Issa Rae does. Golden's use of stereotypical tropes in her writing and the characters lack of real life experience with said environments, as she states she's merely did "research" for her books and not through lived experience, seems like a critique towards some black creatives who indulge in this in their work. Monk appears to suffer an identity crisis in the film brought on by his fake identity he assumes compounded by personal problems with his family - sister passing from a heart attack and his mother suffering from Alzheimers. These experiences bring him closer to his brother and a love interest. One part I found to be interesting was the conversation between Monk and Coraline. He becomes incensed that Coraline read his book as Leigh. She states his issue is that he takes pride in being different from others and that there is space for both types of creatives - Leigh and Ellison. This also ties into how some creatives may feel the need to cheapen their art in order to obtain mainstream success, much like what Monk does with his book My Pafology. Arthur, played by John Ortiz makes an analogy comparing different art to Johnnie Walker, ranging from Johnnie Walker Red to Johnnie Walker Blue. He states how most people can only afford Red but not Blue as it is the most expensive. He tells Monk he already makes Johnnie Walker Blue, but it's OK to make Red, the cheap liquor. Sadly, it seems like in order to him to achieve the mainstream success that alludes him, he has to lower himself to make the cheap liquor instead. I feel Monk would've been happier had he stuck with the art he originally made and waited until something caught on with the public, instead of dumbing down his work. In the end, I feel Monk would've been more satisfied had he chose to maintain his artistic integrity and values and forgoing commercial success. Instead of choosing to play into stereotypes for acclaim like Sintara Golden. I feel the film highlights this unfortunate aspect that not every artist can maintain their artistic integrity and become successful and garner mainstream appeal. The film also stars Sterling K. Brown, Leslie Uggams, Erika Alexander and Tracee Ellis Ross. I would personally rate this a 10/10 and if this film is still in theaters in your area to go see it.