Book of the kid

“American fiction” is an Oscar favorite that criticizes political correctness, quota and operation of racial injuries in culture

At the streams, on the eve of Oscar, the satirical comedy “American Fiction” about the black -legged writer, who decided to fraud for commercial success, was published. The main character, an intellectual author of a middle -aged, wrote books all his life that aroused respect among publishers and critics, but did not bring money. But when life comes down, he anger decides to write a rude operash-Bestseller on the anger of the day-recognition of the African-American-packed: with violence, skirmishes with the police, slang and obscenities. The film critic Oleg Tundra watched “American fiction”, which has 5 Oscar nominations (including in the categories “The Film of the Year”, “Best Male Role” and “Best Adapted Scenario”) and rejoices that the smart satire for VOUK culture and political correctness deserved such attention of the Oscar Committee.

The bad news does not come alone.

At the Teleonius Ellison (Jeffrey Wright - “Baskia”, “Broken Flowers”, “The World of the Wild West”), which loved ones call Monk, is just such a black strip. Due to students' complaints about non-prudent behavior, he is removed from teaching at the university. The once successful intellectual author, he cannot sell the manuscript of a new novel for months: the agent complains that the public loves simpler, more covered, loading.

And the “new sincerity” from the pen of the African American in the 21st century should certainly be a reflection on the topics of discrimination, street and police violence and the consequences of slavery.

Another headache is a family. Brother and sister - both are divorced - almost without money, and the mother of Alzheimer's disease progresses. Visiting relatives, Monk finds them in a deplorable state. And since financially only it is more or less on his feet, the manuscript is necessary to sell in the shortest possible time.

Then the idea comes to Monka: with his left hand in a few nights, he writes a vulgar manipulative “black confession” with shooting, obscenities and pathos suffering, and sends it to the agent. He is delighted - this is the long -awaited book that will not only shoot, but also has the chances of a bonus and adaptation. In short, Monk wrote the perfect Black Book. But in order for readers and publishers in the criminal “true” story, you need to come up with an author’s legend. So Monk decides to be called Stagg Lee - a fugitive prisoner who hides his face and reluctantly gives an interview: and the darker the biography of the fictional author, the more faith in his sincerity and above the sale.

“American Fiction” is a film by the Afro-American director of the artistic novel of the African American with the main character African American is a very critical statement about the establishment and cultural identity of the minorities, which is contrary to the mainstream thesis about the race and diversity. Roman Erasure Persival Everett, adapted to the script, was written already in 2001, but today it sounds even louder and more precise. The desire to pack the experience of one vulnerable group into a package with a bright defiant inscription, subscribe to all the current hashtags and reward anyone, just not to pass through the racist, is the central theme of the film, but, thank God, not the only one. This is a bitter dramed - also an accurate psychological portrait of a mature man over 40, whose life is an endless elimination of the consequences of small disasters.

Family troubles of Teleonius Ellison is the second full -fledged part of the film, complementing the professional. We observe how Telonius (and his brother and sister) still live in the shadow of the conflict of parents, although his father died many years ago. We watch how the mother’s health fades away. We empathize with his sister and brother (both with an excellent sense of humor; apparently this is a family line), which, for their own reason, is forced to meet maturity alone. A separate mention is a maid in a parental house - an elderly black woman who sacrificed her personal life in order to educate other people's children, whom she still calls on "you."

The internal conflict of the body of the writer is verbose. He is a child from an intelligent medical dynasty who did not follow in the footsteps of his parents. It is difficult for him to build relationships, because he is not used to spending himself on others. But professionally he has long reached the ceiling - perhaps because he does not know how to sell himself and has very specific values ​​and requests. Telonius is not just remarkably spelled out and played - I want to spend several evenings with him and talk about painful.

The American fiction puts the entire cultural industry of Western neoliberalism on the shoulder blades. At the university, even as an African American, you can’t calmly discuss with the students the story of Flannei O'Connor “The Artificial Negro” without apologizing for the word “Negro” on the board. It doesn’t matter what you are writing about (about plants, cooking or mythology): if you are black, you will be put in bookstores on the African American research shelf.

A rude author who writes with errors and without auxiliary verbs becomes a sensation of the year - the worse, the better.

Publishers, as adolescents, are caught by the word Fuck. White rich people will be the first to jump up with applause on your performances. You will be called into the jury by racial quota, but most likely your opinion will be ignored again. They buy a book of your fictional suffering, because the Black Trauma Porn genre (“Black injury porn”) is a hype of the decade.

"White people think they want the truth, but this is not so: they want them to feel better." From the "American reading", in contrast to the author of the authorship of "Stagga Lee", it does not become easier. And although contextually the film is much closer and more understandable to American viewers, he can sow doubt in everyone who “understood everything”, put on a white coat and forbids others to pick in his nose.

“I do not believe in the concept of“ race ”,” Monk will sigh in a conversation with the agent. “But everyone else believes,” he retses. “Never underestimate how dumb everything is the first rule of sales.”