'American Fiction': successful Black satire?

It's Been a Minute; Fresh Air Weekend, 1/13/24; CC Liu, Seth Auberon (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

S.K. Brown, American Fiction (Amy Sussman)

American Fiction is a movie one can spend hours discussing. Based on Percival Everett's novel Erasure, the movie is a satire of what the publishing industry wants from Black authors.

• Is American Fiction a successful satire? (It's Been a Minute)

The film also belongs to a lineage of Black movies that look at selling out in the entertainment industry: from CB4 to Hollywood Shuffle.

But does American Fiction say anything new? Host Brittany Luse chats with Aisha Harris, NPR culture critic and co-host of Pop Culture Happy Hour, about her essay on what American Fiction gets right — and the cultural marks it misses.

This episode was produced by Barton Girdwood, Brittany Luse, and Liam McBain. It was edited by Jessica Placzek and Bilal Qureshi. Executive producer is Veralyn Williams. VP of programming is Yolanda Sangweni.

This week on Fresh Air: Sterling K. Brown recommends taking it "moment to moment," on screen and in life: Brown won an Emmy for his portrayal of Christopher Darden in The People v. O.J. Simpson, and another for his role in This is Us. He now appears in the film American Fiction.

• Sterling K. Brown on 'American Fiction' (NPR)