American Fiction Wins Well-deserved Oscar
“American Fiction” is a remarkably thought-provoking film that challenges the level of consumerism, creativity (or lack thereof) and “wokeness” that society has. Not nearly enough people are discussing this complex and touching movie, despite its five Academy Award nominations, People’s Choice Award win and the Best-adapted Screenplay Oscar. These recognitions are huge accomplishments for first-time director Cord Jefferson.
“American Fiction” is the perfect combination of hilarious satire, emotional generational family conflict, and calling out what the general public deems to be politically correct in a fascinating manner.
The movie follows Monk (played by Jeffery Wright), a well-established writer struggling to get published and creating intricate, insightful stories. However, to his dismay, it seems as though the only black authors getting published are those who play into white guilt and black trauma. As an act of rebellion against the so-called “wokeness” he is forced to deal with, he decides to write a stereotype-packed and poorly-written book to demonstrate to publications how ridiculous their conceptions of black stories are. Monk’s blatant joke quickly became a bestseller and soon his life spiraled into a secretive, uncomfortable, but wealthy, ordeal.
Surprisingly, the mainly family-oriented plot is immensely overlooked in the film’s advertising, with the majority of the movie’s marketing leaning heavily toward the comic aspects of the film. Each character is almost disconnected from one another, all easily able to hide in their own narrative, but all brought together by blood, similar to any other family. The family content in the movie is highly sensitive and each actor did a phenomenal job portraying their roles, specifically Sterling K. Brown, who played Monk’s brother Cliff who recently came out as gay.
The film takes its biggest turn when Monk makes a profit off the terrible book. Everything changes when money comes into account- because money can change lives… and minds. “American Fiction” leaves its viewers with a lingering question of whether or not a person can truly be creative in a capitalistic environment. The more Monk profits off the book, the less inclined he is to follow his original morals. At the end of the day, the average person is going to choose the option that puts food on the table. However, concerning art and creativity, should altering the original idea to make a living still be considered art? The whole point of art is to portray the endless hardships that the human mind must persevere through, and changing that appeal to a broader audience to benefit from capitalistic aspects uncovers its own conundrum.
The film's structure is unique, rather than following a traditional movie trajectory. The movie begins with a huge conflict, followed by exposition, and little climax or resolution. “American Fiction” also confronts racism in a fairly uncommon and straightforward manner, revealing how inadequate society can address racism at times. Actual representation can't only be a minority's trauma, it has to be their joy and their everyday lives as well, just as any other group of people who have media made about their race. Purely marketing on a group of people’s pain isn’t solving an inclusivity issue or necessarily improving it in the slightest.
The film only leaves the audience with a mundane resolve, with the idea that we will all keep living, breathing- going about our daily lives… Books will be released, representation will continue to shift as time moves on, and profit is made one way or another, the only thing everyone can control is what we all personally hold.