Just enjoyed American Fiction. Thematically, it reflected Bamboozled, but with a subtler form satire. I do not wish to compare/contrast these two films, except to say that 20 years later this message still needs to be discussed and exposed. And, from what I read in some of these reviews, some folks are still missing the point. It wasn't a movie about Alzheimer's or LGBTQ+ people, or parenting skill or familial dynamics amongst siblings. It's a movie about all those things. Cuz, you know-Black people are, well, people.

The common expression, "we are not a monolith" is accurate, but perhaps does not carry the impact it should. This film's major themes are, of course, are revealed through the ludicrous scenarios, that these predisposed notions of "the Black experience" remains one-dimensional, and is predominately presented through the lens of white people, that what's marketable and palatable to the masses continues to be forms of minstrelsy in blackface. By extension, if not all Black folks are of a criminal element, whose speech is restricted to incorrect grammar, spelling, & pronunciation, and colloquialisms, i.e., "Ebonics," then they are also people with family members who have internal conflict, are gay, may be stricken with illnesses such as age related dementia, and so forth. These are not disjointed concepts. These are ALL the point.

The ending has apparently annoyed several folks in their reviews. Racial issues and misunderstanding the "Other" have yet to have any conclusion; they are not resolved. Do you end the film with a version that perpetuates stereotypes, or choose one that seems ridiculous, yet is not so far fetched and is certainly not funny-identifying an award or cell phone as a gun, causing a Black man to be fatally shot multiple times, by multiple police officers (an all too frequent a scenario). Or do you sample these and other options for the audience to contemplate?