I was reading an interview with Jeffrey Wright discussing a new movie he is in titled, "American Fiction." Upon hearing the plot summary it sounded really familiar to me. Then it was mentioned that the movie actually is a loose adaptation of the fantastic Percival Everett novel, "Erasure." I loved that book when I read it way back in 2011 so learning of such a link got me quite excited. Plus, seeing positive reviews about how good the movie is catches my eye too.
Both, "American Fiction," and, "Erasure," focus on a scholarly writer named Thelonius, "Monk," Ellison who gets fed up with the fact he's Black resulting in his books (which have nothing to do with race) ending up African-American-centric areas of bookstores along with seeing, "Ghetto-lit," authors getting rave reviews for books that play into stereotypes. As a result, Monk writes his own book under an assumed name (Stagg R. Leigh) about the, "Authentic," Black experience that is nothing more than a bunch of cliches and offensive racial caricatures. You already know things go very wrong.
Reading about other fantastic folks in the cast (Issa Rae, Sterling K. Brown, Tracee Ellis Ross, Adam Brody, Keith David, and more) only makes this flick sound even more appealing! It is showing in select theaters now and I hope to find a way to see it somewhere/rent it/stream it at some point!
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