On Friday, March 7, the Creative Writing Club held a viewing of the movie American Fiction, along with a panel afterwards.
The 2023 film centers Thelonius “Monk” Ellison, a Black author frustrated by the publishing industry’s narrow view of what Black authors should write. This frustration spurs him to write his own novel satirizing what publishers expect from Black stories; however, the satire completely goes over publishers’ heads, and the book becomes a mass success. American Fiction is a simultaneously a hilarious satire and a moving family drama, and it made the perfect jumping-off point for the panel that took place after the movie.
The discussion centered around the topic of representation in fiction. The panelists were Alma Rosa Alvarez, one of SOU’s English professors, and Kasey Mohammad, one of SOU’s creative writing professors. Students were free to ask questions and engage in interesting conversations with both panelists.
When asked about what responsibilities writers have regarding the representation of marginalized groups, both panelists offered insightful answers. Alma Rosa discussed the idea that writers of marginalized identities are forced to represent their communities, which can cause much frustration. As depicted in American Fiction, writers of color are often pigeonholed into writing stories that align with what the publishing industry and general public expect from them. In the film, when Monk is querying one of his novels, he receives a rejection that tells him his book doesn’t accurately represent “the African American experience.” This speaks to the issues Alma Rosa brought up; the expectations of external communities are a constant burden for many marginalized writers who want to make it in the publishing industry. The industry craves stories that fit their preconceived notions of certain identities—it doesn’t want to be challenged.
Kasey made an interesting addition to Alma Rosa’s answer. He stated that any gesture, no matter how seemingly resistant, can be co-opted by the system it is trying to resist. This raised an interesting question: is American Fiction, despite its apparent critique of the publishing and film industry, actually working to comfort the system it seems to be calling out?
Overall, it was an insightful night that posed many questions and concepts to consider both when engaging with fiction or writing your own.
