Really appreciated this review. It is something I've been grappling with as a new screenwriter who both felt invigorated by the movie while initially watching, only to become disappointed the more I think about it.
One thing that is one my mind is the issue of class around gentrification in historically Black neighborhoods. I currently live in Bed-Stuy, and based on my income, am a gentrifier in that sense. However, I grew up in a solidly poor, working class family - my mom at one point had two jobs - and am still the only person in my immediate family to have completed college, though both my mother and younger brother are voracious readers and "just as smart" as some of the white peers I went to school with. As I continue to progress in my career and creative ventures, I continue to remain shocked by the level of classism, but also racism, some of my Black "peers" and transplants exhibit.
Where do we go from here? What is the role and responsibility of upwardly mobile Blacks? My thoughts are that if capitalism remains the name of the game, we will continue to see this division - this, I got mine, "separate but equal" attitude - because maintaining the status quo of their wealth requires this class to keep their Blackness at as much of a distance as possible.
I love this comment! What you're grappling with is top of mind for many, and something I've been thinking about deeply. My instinct is to resist the crab in a barrel mentality. For those of use in the process of migration it's important that we don't over-identify with that status and treat the concept of "none of us are free until we're all free" as a principle and moral compass rather than a soundbite. For Black transplants moving into Black neighborhoods with higher income than the residents they've displaced, the onus is on the newer residents to engage deeply with local politics and ensure that the circumstances that led to their arrival don't continue to grind the remaining people into dust. It's also important, I think, to tap in and follow the lead of the community organizers on the ground. Identify the need and see what the gaps are and how one can fit in. It's all about community, and resources for one should mean more resources for all versus I have this, you don't, we are not the same. Ultimately the vast majority of us are closer to abject poverty than we are to everlasting financial security and as Black people our situation is even more precarious. We always have to remember that.
Thank you for taking the time to write such a thoughtful response! I definitely agree with the community aspect. There are small ways in which I try to get to know my neighbors, like stopping to chat on stoops, but I have also gotten involved in local canvassing efforts to talk to public housing residents about the political process, understand how their concerns in a large urban environment differ from my experience in poverty in the suburbs, and make sure they know about upcoming elections for local campaigns on issues like just cause eviction or tenant opportunity to purchase acts. Not to say I’m doing everything I could be, but I do wish I saw others in my income bracket making more of an effort to talk to and get to know their neighbors versus looking at them as “other.”
Thank you for this! Your analysis really resonates with my experience of watching the film and then reading the book. Though a couple of thoughts came up that I'd be curious to hear yours:
- In Erasure, there is mention of some working class family— both his mother's family, of which Monk has had limited contact with and seems to have been a source of internal tension for the mother, not to mention his other estranged relations. Both sides offer an added nuance to the book's unpacking of the intersection of race and class.
- One element I haven't seen as much attention on from critical reviewers is how the plot about Monk's mother and her care impacts this exploration of class. He doesn't exploit these stereotypes about Black folk just to get rich, but out of a need to care for his Black mother. Does one justify the other? No, but it's the threat of class slippage that gets him to put on this minstrel show. What do you think Everett was getting at by placing these two plots (the fraud of the book, the family in crisis) in tandem with each other?
Thank you for reading! I’m so excited that you’ve read so we can discuss. To your first point I think I glossed the bit about the mother’s working class family. I do think that makes the mother’s anxieties feel even more valid on her part, trying to fit in in a world that she isn’t native too. I don’t know if you’re a Real Housewives of Potomac fan, but it’s very Karen Huger season 1. To your second point, love that mention of class slippage and how it’s a big motivating factor. Monk does see himself as being caught between a rock and a hard place and this becomes a solution. I think that this tension is what made the book brilliant. Monk has reasons for everything but as readers Everett gives us the space to decide whether what he’s doing is justifiable/reasonable for the circumstances. I think it makes an excellent point about what we’re willing to sell out for and at what point do the ends justify the means. It also makes the story widely relatable and applicable. We could swap out race for a number of other tensions and the story would still work. Those two plots together create what I loved most about the book (and the adaptation)—the notion of public/private in the life of an artist and how what is seen is only a very small portion of one’s overall experience. It made the book feel full and Monk seem human.
Thank you for this and whole heartedly agree with this breakdown. You found the words I was unable to conjure when trying to share my dislike for this film during the award season run. Will now be sending this to everyone who asks me my thoughts on American Fiction moving forward. Bless.
This was such an excellent bit of analysis – I didn't have the context of Erasure when I saw the movie but the ignored class differences did sit strangely with me. I'm going to pick up Erasure now based on the strength of your review – thank you! Did you prefer Erasure to James? (Vaguely remember reading you say this.)
This is so interesting. The film makes Monk's genius seem sympathetic and isolating (that scene with his mother comes to mind, where your heart shatters as she says "geniuses are lonely"). It sounds like in the book, his loneliness is self-inflicted through his own superiority complex. Also, the Lorraine of it all! I am definitely picking up the book now. I loved this essay and your writing.
Loved this review. This whole movie (and the press/conversation around it) felt like one big-ass gaslight. So many people looked at me like I was crazy because I didn't agree with it being touted as a "scathing satire". Fun watch though, I guess. I will say it made me want to read Erasure! Can't wait to get into it. Loved Homebodies!
Really appreciated this review. It is something I've been grappling with as a new screenwriter who both felt invigorated by the movie while initially watching, only to become disappointed the more I think about it.
One thing that is one my mind is the issue of class around gentrification in historically Black neighborhoods. I currently live in Bed-Stuy, and based on my income, am a gentrifier in that sense. However, I grew up in a solidly poor, working class family - my mom at one point had two jobs - and am still the only person in my immediate family to have completed college, though both my mother and younger brother are voracious readers and "just as smart" as some of the white peers I went to school with. As I continue to progress in my career and creative ventures, I continue to remain shocked by the level of classism, but also racism, some of my Black "peers" and transplants exhibit.
Where do we go from here? What is the role and responsibility of upwardly mobile Blacks? My thoughts are that if capitalism remains the name of the game, we will continue to see this division - this, I got mine, "separate but equal" attitude - because maintaining the status quo of their wealth requires this class to keep their Blackness at as much of a distance as possible.
I love this comment! What you're grappling with is top of mind for many, and something I've been thinking about deeply. My instinct is to resist the crab in a barrel mentality. For those of use in the process of migration it's important that we don't over-identify with that status and treat the concept of "none of us are free until we're all free" as a principle and moral compass rather than a soundbite. For Black transplants moving into Black neighborhoods with higher income than the residents they've displaced, the onus is on the newer residents to engage deeply with local politics and ensure that the circumstances that led to their arrival don't continue to grind the remaining people into dust. It's also important, I think, to tap in and follow the lead of the community organizers on the ground. Identify the need and see what the gaps are and how one can fit in. It's all about community, and resources for one should mean more resources for all versus I have this, you don't, we are not the same. Ultimately the vast majority of us are closer to abject poverty than we are to everlasting financial security and as Black people our situation is even more precarious. We always have to remember that.
Thank you for taking the time to write such a thoughtful response! I definitely agree with the community aspect. There are small ways in which I try to get to know my neighbors, like stopping to chat on stoops, but I have also gotten involved in local canvassing efforts to talk to public housing residents about the political process, understand how their concerns in a large urban environment differ from my experience in poverty in the suburbs, and make sure they know about upcoming elections for local campaigns on issues like just cause eviction or tenant opportunity to purchase acts. Not to say I’m doing everything I could be, but I do wish I saw others in my income bracket making more of an effort to talk to and get to know their neighbors versus looking at them as “other.”
Thank you for this! Your analysis really resonates with my experience of watching the film and then reading the book. Though a couple of thoughts came up that I'd be curious to hear yours:
- In Erasure, there is mention of some working class family— both his mother's family, of which Monk has had limited contact with and seems to have been a source of internal tension for the mother, not to mention his other estranged relations. Both sides offer an added nuance to the book's unpacking of the intersection of race and class.
- One element I haven't seen as much attention on from critical reviewers is how the plot about Monk's mother and her care impacts this exploration of class. He doesn't exploit these stereotypes about Black folk just to get rich, but out of a need to care for his Black mother. Does one justify the other? No, but it's the threat of class slippage that gets him to put on this minstrel show. What do you think Everett was getting at by placing these two plots (the fraud of the book, the family in crisis) in tandem with each other?
Thank you for reading! I’m so excited that you’ve read so we can discuss. To your first point I think I glossed the bit about the mother’s working class family. I do think that makes the mother’s anxieties feel even more valid on her part, trying to fit in in a world that she isn’t native too. I don’t know if you’re a Real Housewives of Potomac fan, but it’s very Karen Huger season 1. To your second point, love that mention of class slippage and how it’s a big motivating factor. Monk does see himself as being caught between a rock and a hard place and this becomes a solution. I think that this tension is what made the book brilliant. Monk has reasons for everything but as readers Everett gives us the space to decide whether what he’s doing is justifiable/reasonable for the circumstances. I think it makes an excellent point about what we’re willing to sell out for and at what point do the ends justify the means. It also makes the story widely relatable and applicable. We could swap out race for a number of other tensions and the story would still work. Those two plots together create what I loved most about the book (and the adaptation)—the notion of public/private in the life of an artist and how what is seen is only a very small portion of one’s overall experience. It made the book feel full and Monk seem human.
Thank you for this and whole heartedly agree with this breakdown. You found the words I was unable to conjure when trying to share my dislike for this film during the award season run. Will now be sending this to everyone who asks me my thoughts on American Fiction moving forward. Bless.
Thank you so much!
This was such an excellent bit of analysis – I didn't have the context of Erasure when I saw the movie but the ignored class differences did sit strangely with me. I'm going to pick up Erasure now based on the strength of your review – thank you! Did you prefer Erasure to James? (Vaguely remember reading you say this.)
I did like Erasure better than James! I hope you’ll let me know how you liked it once you read :)
This is so interesting. The film makes Monk's genius seem sympathetic and isolating (that scene with his mother comes to mind, where your heart shatters as she says "geniuses are lonely"). It sounds like in the book, his loneliness is self-inflicted through his own superiority complex. Also, the Lorraine of it all! I am definitely picking up the book now. I loved this essay and your writing.
Thank you!!
Loved this review. This whole movie (and the press/conversation around it) felt like one big-ass gaslight. So many people looked at me like I was crazy because I didn't agree with it being touted as a "scathing satire". Fun watch though, I guess. I will say it made me want to read Erasure! Can't wait to get into it. Loved Homebodies!
love THIS frame specifically so so much hehe 🍷