Current:Home > InvestSpoilers! Why 'American Fiction' ends with an 'important' scene of Black representation-LoTradeCoin
Spoilers! Why 'American Fiction' ends with an 'important' scene of Black representation
View Date:2024-12-23 21:50:52
Spoiler alert! We're discussing important plot points and the ending of “American Fiction” (in theaters now) so beware if you haven’t seen it.
“American Fiction” is a satirical take on race, identity and family that turns extremely surreal, though its meta final scene gets real with a message about Black representation in pop culture.
In writer/director Cord Jefferson’s adaptation of Percival Everett’s 2001 novel “Erasure,” Golden Globe nominee Jeffrey Wright stars as Thelonious “Monk” Ellison, a misanthropic academic having a hard time selling his latest novel. Making it worse: The publishing world wants a more “Black” book from him, along the lines of a stereotype-filled best-seller called “We’s Lives in the Ghetto” by writer-of-the-moment Sintara Golden (Issa Rae).
Out of spite, Monk writes a novel – under the pen name “Stagg R. Leigh” – filled with deadbeat fathers, gang members, drugs and rappers called “My Pafology” as a joke and convinces his agent (John Ortiz) to submit it to white book editors. They love how edgy it is and fast-track it for publication, leaving Monk scrambling for ways to promote a novel from an escaped convict who doesn’t exist and navigate a series of increasing lies.
“The story is about a man and a book and his frustrations with the publishing world, but that really is metaphor for dynamics that exist in terms of messaging and misrepresentation across the landscape of American society,” Wright says.
At the end of the film, a Michael Bay-type director named Wiley (Adam Brody) buys the rights to Monk’s book (which is renamed a four-letter word that begins with “f”) for $4 million but needs to work through the ending with Monk while on the set of the filmmaker's latest blockbuster "Plantation Annihilation." That plays out in meta fashion at a literary awards dinner where Monk has to decide whether to come clean or not, and multiple scenarios unfold, including one where cops shoot Monk dead on stage thinking he’s a dangerous wanted man.
Wiley loves the bloody finale option and Monk leaves the soundstage, defeated, when he notices a young extra with AirPods (cast as an enslaved character) resting between takes on the studio lot. The actor throws Monk a peace sign, and Monk gives him a knowing nod before driving off in a convertible with his brother Cliff (Sterling K. Brown).
'American Fiction' review:Provocative satire unleashes a deliciously wry Jeffrey Wright
That last scene is “incredibly important,” says Jefferson, as it shows how far Monk has come from the isolated man at the beginning of “American Fiction” who considers himself superior to Sintara and artists like this supporting actor for giving into stereotypes.
Before, “he's on his high horse and just like, ‘You guys are doing it wrong,’ ” Jefferson says. “And in that moment, Monk is coming out of this meeting in which he's had to sell his soul a little bit in order to get this movie made and tell his story. He finally understands that like, ‘Oh, being mad at these people on the ground with me is ridiculous.’ In fact, these people are operating within a system at an institution that has existed far before any of us.”
Two earlier scenes set the stage for the finale, including one where Monk writes the opening pages of “My Pafology” and interacts with his on-page characters (played by Keith David and “Hamilton” alum Okieriete Onaodowan). Having “a little dollop” of metaness was key “so that the ending wasn't just a total left turn,” Jefferson says.
The other sequence is a confrontation between Sintara and Monk: She argues that “giving the market what it wants” is the easiest way to have her stories read while Monk would rather have the walls of this system broken down and people see the “unrealized potential of Black people” in America. “Potential is what people see when they think what’s in front of them isn’t good enough,” she tells him.
Jeffrey Wright:With 'American Fiction,' actor aims to 'electrify' conversation on race, identity
It’s not until later when Monk sees the actor when he finally realizes Sintara’s point and they're both doing “what you need to do in order to live a creative life,” Jefferson says. “This is what people are offering you and it doesn't demean you or diminish your abilities. So Monk giving him a wave and a head nod is like, ‘I see it.’ It's finally his connection with the rest of the world.”
Monk’s reconciliation with his views makes him "less arrogant in a way,” Wright adds. “He's learning to perhaps accept his own flaws and accept the flaws outside of it, and also allow for a greater complexity and a heterogeneity in the Black community. Maybe in some ways he was more like the thing that he criticized at the beginning than he understood, and perhaps in that moment there's a slight realization of that.”
veryGood! (98)
Related
- 'Underbanked' households more likely to own crypto, FDIC report says
- Native American tribes in Oklahoma will keep tobacco deals, as lawmakers override governor’s veto
- French embassy in Niger is attacked as protesters waving Russian flags march through capital
- Cougar attacks 8-year-old, leading to closures in Washington’s Olympic National Park
- Patrick Mahomes Breaks Silence on Frustrating Robbery Amid Ongoing Investigation
- At least 5 dead and 7 wounded in clashes inside crowded Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon
- Native American tribes in Oklahoma will keep tobacco deals, as lawmakers override governor’s veto
- As the pope heads to Portugal, he is laying the groundwork for the church’s future and his legacy
- Chipotle unveils cilantro-scented soap, 'water' cup candles in humorous holiday gift line
- Can you drink on antibiotics? Here's what happens to your body when you do.
Ranking
- 5-year-old boy who went missing while parent was napping is found dead near Oregon home, officials say
- Gas prices up: Sticker shock hits pump as heat wave, oil prices push cost to 8-month high
- Who’s in, who’s out: A look at which candidates have qualified for the 1st GOP presidential debate
- Pressure? Megan Rapinoe, USWNT embrace it: 'Hell yeah. This is exactly where we want to be.'
- Why Game of Thrones' Maisie Williams May Be Rejoining the George R.R. Martin Universe
- Whitney Houston’s estate announces second annual Legacy of Love Gala with BeBe Winans, Kim Burrell
- Niger general who helped stage coup declares himself country's new leader
- Save Up to 72% On Trespass Puffer Jackets & More Layering Essentials For a Limited Time
Recommendation
-
Lululemon, Disney partner for 34-piece collection and campaign: 'A dream collaboration'
-
Girl, 6, is latest child to die or be injured from boating accidents this summer across US
-
These are the top 10 youngest wealthiest women in America. Can you guess who they are?
-
First American nuclear reactor built from scratch in decades enters commercial operation in Georgia
-
Georgia House Democrats shift toward new leaders after limited election gains
-
Magnus White, 17-year-old American cyclist, killed while training for upcoming world championships
-
As the pope heads to Portugal, he is laying the groundwork for the church’s future and his legacy
-
Investigators use an unlikely clue to bring young mom's killer to justice