When choosing your next book to read do you look for a specific type of author? One that has a similar life experience or may write about a life that you can relate to? While it may not be the main choice for some readers, a lot like to choose a book that is written by someone who they can relate to. Whether it’s a female voice, a Black author or one from their own community. But does every author of that demographic write just for that specific audience? Or can authors just write for everyone if they want to?
A new movie hitting theaters this weekend takes a closer look at just that. Is the author more than their content and does that background dictate who can read their books or the great appeal of that book? American Fiction follows a Black novelist who has repeated failures because he refuses to play the politics the publishing agencies want – a book with great appeal to Black readers. Instead, he wants to just write a good book. After a lot of frustration and one night of drinking, he writes a book under a pen name as a joke. But the publishers and media instantly fall in love with it and the story goes viral.
Mixed between the storyline of Monk’s new persona and book making the news, getting movie options, and actually making him the living he’s always wanted is a story of family, grief, and tragedy. The two storylines go hand in hand and keep you engaged throughout the whole movie. Can he keep his secret persona and life separate from his real life and the struggles he has there?
Honestly, the story and how it is portrayed on screen aren’t all that will win you over. The original story is unlike anything we’ve seen before. Not only is it entertaining, but it’s thought-provoking. It will have you taking a look at the media you consume, the assumptions that you get from it, and how it may be shaping your opinion on people and other parts of society you may not be a part of. It also will have you considering just how your help may be taken, or if you’re just being performative and not helpful. Interwoven between these hard thoughts is a good story, one that will keep you engaged and take you from laughing to crying in a few scenes.
American Fiction is in select theaters starting December 22nd, with its original story and amazing actors – there’s a chance you’re going to want to check this one out a couple of times while it’s still on the big screen.
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About American Fiction:
Monk is a frustrated novelist who’s fed up with the establishment that profits from Black entertainment that relies on tired and offensive tropes. To prove his point, he uses a pen name to write an outlandish Black book of his own, a book that propels him to the heart of hypocrisy and the madness he claims to disdain.