In an industry climate where movies that aren’t superhero franchises have a tougher time making it to the forefront, American Fiction is a celebration of original Black stories getting a chance. Based on the 2001 novel Erasure by Percival Everett, the film follows Thelonious “Monk” Ellison, played by Jeffrey Wright , a Black upper-class author whose novels receive academic praise but sell poorly due to not being “Black enough.” When he writes an offensively stereotypical novel that accidentally becomes a best-seller, we follow Ellison on a winding journey of identity, grief, and defining Blackness, blurring the lines between satire and reality. The film is star-studded, featuring acts like Tracee Ellis Ross, Issa Rae , Sterling K. Brown , John Ortiz, and Erika Alexander , amongst others. Named one of the top 10 films of 2023 by the American Film Institute, American Fiction earned five Oscar nominations at the 96th Academy Awards, including Best Picture; it won Best Adapted...
