Cord Jefferson’s American Fiction is a rallying cry for individuals who are tired of the conversations surrounding diversity in publishing. The film is a well-written and smart analysis of how unseemly white critics and gatekeepers appear when they’re referencing works by Black authors. Aside from these ideals, the Amazon and Orion Pictures project which is based on Percival Everett’s Erasure provides a moment to reflect on the workings of the Black male mind. Thelonious “Monk” Ellison who the film centers around is grappling with grief and a creative rebirth. Played expertly by Jeffrey Wright, the titular character has high moments, comical moments, and instances that fall between these monickers. But, even beyond the topics that are explored in the movie, the costume design by Rudy Mance sticks out significantly.
Lurking beneath the ability of Monk to tweak and alter his voice and how he would like to be viewed by the white publishers and those who have the power to make or break him, his clothing speaks for him. His wardrobe largely consists of unstained white button-up shirts, tailored suits, and ties. Additionally, he often wears easy button-ups mainly in black or muted hues. Growing up outside of Boston, it’s fitting that these are the items he feels he must wear to be taken seriously as a Black professional and literal professor. These pieces portray him as a stuffy, uptight and bookish individual–since his father was a doctor, this is learned behavior. Each item he dons including his glasses also points to the armor Monk feels he must be equipped with at all times in order to be taken seriously. There are not many moments in the film where he lets loose. But in one such instance, he wears a blue house robe as he sits poolside at his family’s home. This moment is touching as it presents him as a laidback creature which is the direct opposite of who he is.
Monk’s brother Clifford Ellison (Sterling K. Brown) dresses similarly to him. Since they both grew up in an upwardly mobile middle-class Black household the two don’t know any different. Suits, ties and button-ups are fitting for Clifford who is a plastic surgeon–we venture to believe their mother was a stay-at-home mom. Even as he grapples with his sexuality, he eases into button-ups that are a bit festive, but they’re still a bit stuffy. It’s refreshing seeing him wear floral vacation shirts and even bright yellow in separate scenes. These garments are also Cliff’s way of dealing with a world that he’s finally waking up to as he explores it as a gay man unafraid to be himself.
Sintara Golden, an award-winning author who Issa Rae plays eloquently is a millennial through and through. Paired with her natural hair, Golden frequently wears printed pieces. At a largely attended book reading, she is styled in a gorgeous patterned silk dress in red, tan, and blue all meshed together. Her character’s wardrobe was possibly created to be viewed as well as thought out and expressive. Many of her opinions on race and diversity in publishing are put on the front street as she discusses them with Monk–and each time, she appears confident and steady, never backing down.
Elsewhere, Coraline played by Ericka Alexander, a divorcee who enters Monk’s life dons easygoing and flowy pieces. Her sartorial selections provide context into where she’s currently at in her life. When she walks with Monk and Cliff to their mother’s new home she does so in a floating red day dress with flowers emblazoned on it. In another scene, near her beach house as she walks in a field of plants with Monk she dons a graphic tee and a dark green overshirt. Coraline is another outspoken woman who unabashedly speaks her mind at all times. She’s somewhat of a modern hippie, each time she graces the screen it’s a treat.
The adversity each character faces mainly Monk, is undeniably the most significant part of American Fiction. This is why watching each of them stand firmly in their beliefs and in their attire which was designed for each of them separately is so notable. Monk’s looks key in on how his somewhat uptight personality is how he shields himself from the inner workings of the publishing and literature industries. His ability to do so alongside each of the characters in the film is what gives the storytelling an extraordinary and well-needed push. Without the excellent costuming, this movie would have fallen flat.