{"id":12773,"date":"2024-04-01T11:57:35","date_gmt":"2024-04-01T17:57:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nmblc.org\/?p=12773"},"modified":"2024-04-01T15:21:27","modified_gmt":"2024-04-01T21:21:27","slug":"american-fiction-deep-dive-the-dilemma-of-black-creatives-and-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmblc.org\/old-site\/american-fiction-deep-dive-the-dilemma-of-black-creatives-and-success\/","title":{"rendered":"American Fiction Deep Dive: The Dilemma of Black Creatives and Success\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

by Shannon Yvonne Moreau<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In the Oscar-nominated film American Fiction<\/em>\u2014which won the 2024 Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay\u2014a Black author faces a downward career spiral. Thelonious \u201cMonk\u201d Ellison (Jeffrey Wright, nominated for Actor in a Leading Role) has his latest book rejected with a request he write something \u201cmore Black.\u201d Meanwhile, fellow author Sintara Golden\u2019s (Issa Rae) book We\u2019s Lives in Da Ghetto<\/em> is a bestseller and lauded as authentic.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Frustrated, Monk writes My Pafology<\/em>, full of Black stereotypes and tropes, in response. He\u2019s sure his critics will see the error of their ways and back off. The opposite happens\u2014an editor loves the book and offers him beaucoup bucks. Monk grapples with what it takes for a Black creative to be successful, and whether that\u2019s synonymous with \u201cselling out.\u201d The movie underscores the fact that, all too often, Black folks gotta do what we gotta do. There\u2019s no shame in that, yet it takes its toll on health and well-being.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Director Cord Jefferson said that before he\u2019d even heard of Erasure<\/em>, the Percival Everett novel upon which American Fiction<\/em> is based, he got a note from an executive about a script he\u2019d written: to make his character \u201cBlacker.\u201d I\u2019m reminded of Gabrielle Union\u2019s cheerleading captain character Isis in Bring It On<\/em>. The original script contained \u201cBlack\u201d language that bore no resemblance to actual Black American slang. \u201cI am not the most Ebonically gifted person, but I recognize a made-up word when I see it,\u201d Union writes in We\u2019re Going to Need More Wine<\/em>. \u201cI worked hard to make Isis a real character. It is interesting to me that when people reenact my scenes, they turn me back into that caricature the director and I consciously took steps to avoid. They snap their fingers and say, \u2018It\u2019s already been broughten.\u2019\u201d That \u201cbroughten\u201d line isn\u2019t even in the movie. Clich\u00e9s often override reality, and it\u2019s exhausting.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Monk\u2019s lucrative offer for his joke manuscript comes in the middle of a crushing familial health and financial crisis. The situation\u2019s not uncommon and it\u2019s exacerbated for Black Americans by factors such as health disparities and the severing of opportunities to build generational wealth. Monk faces a hard choice: soul integrity or physical care. Is it really \u201cselling out\u201d when it\u2019s about doing what it takes to provide for your family and survive?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Monk is psychologically and emotionally tormented, which impacts the relationships he needs to thrive as a Black creative. Given the ongoing effects of oppression Blacks have to deal with, it\u2019s especially cruel to add the shame of \u201cselling out\u201d to a plate already spilling over with burdens. We all make tough choices in life, but we can balance them with compassion for ourselves and others. Give a nod: I see you, we\u2019re in this.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Mental health is critical to thriving. Artistic expression is crucial for an evolving, conscious society. Despite pushback to be mainstream, palatable, respectable, and to \u201ccorrectly\u201d represent, it\u2019s imperative that Black folks keep writing and telling our stories.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

As Cord Jefferson said, \u201cIt\u2019s up to the people who make art, the people who make culture, to remind us that actually we need to mend these issues or else we\u2019re really in a lot of trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n