Watch Jeffrey Wright Grapple With Stereotypes in ‘American Fiction’ | Anatomy of a Scene

A conventional Black novel comes to life, with both comedic and dramatic results, in this scene from “American Fiction.”
The film, written and directed by Cord Jefferson, who adapted Percival Everett’s 2001 novel, “Erasure,” follows the writer Thelonious Ellison (Jeffrey Wright), who goes by Monk, through his frustrations with the kinds of stories he thinks Black writers are allowed to tell.
After one of his more academic books has poor sales, a frustrated Monk decides to pen a more stereotypically Black story under a pseudonym. That book’s title is “My Pafology.” In this scene, as Monk begins to write, his clichéd creations come alive before him: Willy the Wonker and Van Go, played by Keith David and Okieriete Onaodowan.
Narrating the scene, Jefferson said that this sequence doesn’t appear in the novel; rather, the book recreates the entirety of “My Pafology” within its pages. To make Monk’s writing cinematic, Jefferson chose to stage it with Monk at the desk writing, his characters acting out his dialogue around him.
While humor is the intention of the scene, Jefferson said, “Ok and Keith David are such great actors that you have this inclination to take them seriously.” He said that nuance, and the desire to not play the scene too broadly, only makes the scene better.
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[@d4mdcykey]

Jeffrey Wright is one of those actors where every single role is mesmerizing, the man just has a quality to him that demands attention to each nuanced gesture and word.

[@erikas7219]

It reminds me of Spike Lee's Bamboozled.

[@JustSomeCanadianGuy]

Big time, surprised nobody actually references it in the movie.
"Hey this is like in Bamboozled." 🤣

[@jascam1]

This movie is theatrical art and Oscar worthy, not like the make believe superheroes hanging from cables next to green screens. This is true art imitating life.

[@lastjob2011]

I'm getting "I'm Gonna Get You Sucka" vibes. Keenan Ivory Wayans movie from the late 80s.

[@BookshelfQBattler]

There's a reason why the media didn't push the "Oscars So White" controversy this year even though most of the winners were white. They don't want to draw any attention to this movie.

[@haljordan4358]

I loved this seen because I write a little bit and this is how I build my characters in my head and bring them alive

[@gwzirkle]

Such an amazing film.

[@The_Adam_Smith_Simp]

This plot reminds me of the lives Roland Fryer and Thomas Sowell

[@dscmex]

This movie is so beautiful in so many ways.

[@enriquenietojr5452]

The real situation that shows itself is what people are not sure how to state the facts of our shortcomings as a society on the wrongs that are not being addressed, and say how shameful all of this really is. the point at hand is to let you do the right thing from this moment forward. we have to know that it must not continue.

[@CharlieKnottFilms]

This scene reminds me of the writers block bit from Spike Jonze’s Adaptation, simply in its way of depicting the writing process through entering the author’s headspace.

[@user-dc2cl7uh3z]

Hello from Taft

[@jsmcguireIII]

I thought this idea worked and had a Woody Allen aspect breaking down the walls.

[@srami004]

😮

[@Jay.B.2046]

🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽

[@user-jz3pm8sd7s]

#ArmUkraineASAP

[@timi1255]

#ArmUkraineAsap

[@joeofmacabre07]

Irrelevant comment, don't you think? Since the video is about a fictional movie.

[@backup9126]

Stereotypes exist because the stereotyped keep them alive

[@Norsilca]

Nope

[@IonizedComa]

​@@Norsilca He's not wrong

[@Norsilca]

@@IonizedComa He very much is

[@IonizedComa]

@@Norsilca Do you think the smart Asian stereotype would still be here today if they didn't dominate STEM fields?😂

[@Norsilca]

@@IonizedComa So glad you brought up Asians. A century ago their stereotype was primitives with mystical powers.

[@comitatus]

Oh wow a NYT video about racism. How novel!

[@Ben-pd2bx]

Should they... not be featuring this movie which is nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars... or something?

[@comitatus]

@@Ben-pd2bx no I think they need to do way more reporting on racism. I even saw a front page story a few weeks ago that didn’t talk about race. Shame on NYT!

[@Ben-pd2bx]

@@comitatus Again, this is a director talking about a scene in his movie that is currently nominated for Best Picture. To boil that down to "talking about racism" is, and I mean no offense, genuinely stupid.

[@comitatus]

@@Ben-pd2bx true this has nothing to do with racism. Good point.

[@Ben-pd2bx]

@@comitatus You're absolutely right. To avoid coverage that is adjacent to anything to do with race, the NYT should stop reporting on Oscar nominated movies.

[@amelghrici3408]

SOS Gaza children and babies died no food no water many poeple die.poeple of USA stop this War please

[@TunaLounge]