# American Fiction (film)

American Fiction is a 2023 film about an African American novelist who's fed up with the establishment profiting from Black entertainment who uses a pen name to write a book that propels him into the heart of the hypocrisy and madness he claims to disdain.
    Directed and written by Cord Jefferson, based on the 2001 novel Erasure by Percival Everett.

## Thelonious 'Monk' Ellison

* Let me say first, Carl, that I'm honored you'd choose me out of all the black writers you could go to out of fear of being called racist.
* My life is a disaster, but not in the way you'd think reading this shit. These things reduce us, and they do it over and over again because too many white people and people, apparently like you, devour this slop like pigs in a dumpster to stay current at fucking cocktail parties.
* The dumber I behave, the richer I get.

## Sintara Golden

* Potential is what people see when they think what's in front of them isn't good enough.

## Arthur

* Nobody in Hollywood reads. They get their assistants to read things and then summarize them. The whole town runs on book reports.
* Imagine exploding your brain trying to think of a toilet paper commercial.
* People wanna love you, Monk. I personally don't know what they see in you, but they wanna love you. You should let them love all of you.

## Other

* Coraline: [to Monk] One day maybe you'll learn that not being able to relate to other people isn't a badge of honor.

## Dialogue

    Agnes Ellison: Your father was a genius. Geniuses are lonely because they can't connect with the rest of us. You're a genius, son.
    Thelonious 'Monk' Ellison: I certainly don't feel like one half the time.
    Thelonious 'Monk' Ellison: Listen. This is a class on the literature of the American South. we're going to encounter some archaic thoughts and coarse language, but we're all adults here and I think we can understand it within the context in which it's written.
    Brittany: Well, I just find that word really offensive.
    Thelonious 'Monk' Ellison: With all due respect, Brittany, I got over it. I'm pretty sure you can too.
    Arthur: [reading from "Fuck"] "I be standing outside in the night, a police chopper go by and shine some lights in some backyards and I think, 'Shine that light on me, mo'fucka, shine me some fuckin' light so I can see where the fuck I be at.'" Are you serious?
    Thelonious 'Monk' Ellison: You notice I didn't put my name on it.
    Arthur: This thing scares me.
    Thelonious 'Monk' Ellison: Scares you? Why?
    Arthur: Because white people think they want the truth, but they don't. They just want to feel absolved.
    Thelonious 'Monk' Ellison: Well, fortunately, that's not my problem.
    Arthur: What is this? I told you to dress street.
    Thelonious 'Monk' Ellison: I did!
    Arthur: Fucking Sesame Street.
    Arthur: Check this out. [picks up 3 bottles of whiskey]
    Thelonious 'Monk' Ellison: I don't care how drunk we get. I'm not selling it.
    Arthur: That's not what I'm doing. Johnnie Walker Red. 24 bucks. johnnie Walker Black. 50 bucks. Johnnie Walker Blue. One hundred and sixty dollars. See the metaphor?
    Thelonious 'Monk' Ellison: No.
    Arthur: These are all made by the same company. The red is shit. The black is less shit. The blue is good. But fewer people buy the blue because it's expensive. And at the end of the day, most people just want to get drunk. For most of your career, your books have been blue. They're good, complex. But they're not popular because most people want something easy. Now, for the first time, ever, you've written a red book. It's simple, prurient... it's not great literature, but it satisfies an urge. And that's valuable. What I'm trying to illustrate is that... just because you do red, doesn't mean you can't also do blue. You can do it all. Like Johnnie Walker. In fact, you got Johnnie Walker beat because, you don't even have to put your real name on it.
    Thelonious 'Monk' Ellison: [takes off glasses, head in his hands] Shesus. Do we drink now?
    Agnes Ellison: I'm happy you're not white.
    Coraline: Me too.
    Ailene Hoover: People have worked hard on these books and we have to respect that.
    Wilson Harnet: Hard work doesn't demand respect. People worked hard on the Third Reich.
    Paula Baderman: [On a conference call] Hello?
    Arthur: Hello Paula!
    Paula Baderman: Arthur! So wonderful to hear from you. I hope you are with the man of the hour.
    Arthur: I am indeed. He's right here next to me.
    Paula Baderman: Mr. Leigh?
    Thelonious 'Monk' Ellison: [Speaking as the author "Stagg R. Leigh"] Uh, yeah, this is he.
    Paula Baderman: [Surprised] Oh, really?
    Thelonious 'Monk' Ellison: Uh, uh, yeah, dammit!
    Paula Baderman: [Relieved] Right.
    Thelonious 'Monk' Ellison: Motherfucker!
    Paula Baderman: Right, okay, um, yeah, I was a little confused at first.
    Ailene Hoover: I think it's "Fuck" for me.
    Jon Daniel Sigmarsen: Yeah, me too.
    Wilson Harnet: Yeah, I agree.
    Sintara Golden: I disagree, I'm sorry.
    Thelonious 'Monk' Ellison: I think it would be a mistake to award this book anything.
    Jon Daniel Sigmarsen: Well, it's 2 versus 3 so... "Fuck"'s the winner.
    Ailene Hoover: [writing on board] "Fuck" is the winner. You know, it's not just that it's so affecting, I just think it's essential to listen to Black voices right now.
    Lorraine: You look good, Mr. Monk.
    Thelonious 'Monk' Ellison: I look fat.
    Lorraine: Aah, that's the California talking. I took you to Arkansas right now, you'd be a beauty queen.
    Thelonious 'Monk' Ellison: That's frightening.
    Thelonious 'Monk' Ellison: You're not fed up with it? Black people in poverty, black people rapping, black people are slaves, black people murdered by police, whole soaring narratives about black folks in dire circumstances who still manage to maintain their dignity before they die.I mean, I'm not saying these things aren't real, but we're also more than this. It's like so many writers like you can't envision us without some white boot on our necks.
    Sintara Golden: Do you get angry at Bret Easton Ellis or Charles Bukowski for writing about the downtrodden? Or is your ire reserved strictly for black women?
    Thelonious 'Monk' Ellison: Nobody reads Bukowski thinking his is the definitive white experience, but people... white people read your book and confine us to it. They think we're all like that.
    Sintara Golden: I don't need to write about my life. I write about what interests people.
    Thelonious 'Monk' Ellison: You write what interests white publishers fiending black trauma porn.
    Thelonious 'Monk' Ellison: Who is that? What are you doing?
    Clifford Ellison: I've taken a lover.
    Thelonious 'Monk' Ellison: You've taken a lover?
    Clifford Ellison: You got a problem with that, homophobe?
    Thelonious 'Monk' Ellison: I'm not offended that you've taken a lover, Cliff. I'm offended, Cliff, that you call it 'taking a lover.'
    Clifford Ellison: Hmm. You can eat shit, nigga. I'm gonna take my lover right now.
    Thelonious 'Monk' Ellison: It's very kind of you to let them stay.
    Maynard: It's always easier dealing with other people's families than your own.
    Thelonious 'Monk' Ellison: I regret to inform you that in a couple hours, this will be your family.

## External links

* American Fiction quotes at the Internet Movie Database
* Official website