Is the 2023 Movie American Fiction Based on A True Story?

American Fiction centers on the main character Monk, one of the writers fed up with how his writing isn't 'Black' enough to read and publish. If there's anything viewers are trying to find out, it would be if the American Fiction movie is based on a true story. So, is it based on real-life events?

Is American Fiction Based on a True Story? Explained

Credit: MGM Studios

American Fiction may come across to some as a movie inspired by actual events, but it is a story based on Percival Everett's novel titled Erasure, where the plot mostly revolves around the consequences of turning one's art into a simple commodity.

Everett's novels have always been experimental, especially when it comes to confronting the commercialization of literary pieces in today's media.

Erasure essentially stars 'Monk' aka Thelonious Ellison who graduated summa cum laude from Harvard and is deemed not 'Black' enough by publishers to be classified and gain profit from. This forces him to dive into the stereotypes just to get his book to sell.

Overall, it would seem that Erasure is mostly a fictional story that deals with the social commentary on literary commercialization. As for how Cord Jefferson adapted the novel into a film, well...

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American Fiction Serves as Cord Jefferson's Directorial Debut

American Fiction wouldn't have been made if it weren't for Cord Jefferson reading Percival Everett's book. The project landed in his hands, responsible for becoming his directorial debut. As Jefferson previously told Deadline:

"I wanted [American Fiction] to be satire without becoming farce. That was important to me. I think that some satire becomes farcical, and I think that's totally fine. I think there's some great farcical films, but I didn't want to do that with this. I wanted it to feel satirical but also grounded."

The acclaimed TV writer is best known for penning in multiple series such as the Netflix comedy series Master of None (2017), the NBC sitcom The Good Place (2017-2019), and even received the Primetime Emmy Award for HBO's limited series Watchmen (2019).

Meanwhile, the official synopsis of American Fiction reads:

American Fiction is Cord Jefferson's hilarious directorial debut, which confronts our culture's obsession with reducing people to outrageous stereotypes.

Jeffrey Wright stars as Monk, a frustrated novelist who's fed up with the establishment profiting from 'Black' entertainment that relies on tired and offensive tropes. To prove his point, Monk 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.

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