Hello everyone
I hope you had an enjoyable festive period and that 2025 is off to a good start.
Coming of age books and movies come around quite regularly. These are the kind of stories where, typically, a child (often a younger teenager) is exposed to the realities of the adult world and through that experience matures. It is a pivotal moment for the child and through the event, their world is irrevocably changed.
There’s another, similar, genre out there but for older characters: the coming of middle age.
The Coming of Middle Age
Coming of middle age stories are less common than their teen equivalent, but there is a parallel. Typically, these stories are set at a turning point where a character becomes the elder, accepting the senior adult responsibilities that come with that role, while maybe gaining wisdom and some inner peace.
One example of this type of story came in the movie American Fiction which was released at the end of 2023/start of 2024.
Before I Continue…
Before I continue, some warnings and disclaimers…
American Fiction is based on the novel Erasure by Percival Everett. There are differences between the novel and the movie—in this email I am talking about the movie.
There will be spoilers here, so if you haven’t watched the movie, go watch it now! You’ll enjoy it.
And if you’re wondering how to define middle age, here’s my definition: middle age is what you think it is. You’re middle aged if you feel middle aged.
American Fiction
If you’ve seen American Fiction or watched the trailer for American Fiction, then you probably think the movie is about racism in the book industry.
And it is.
But it’s about more.
The movie starts with racism and racism runs through the entire story, even if that racism is coupled with large doses of humor. However, there is another aspect to the story: the characters growth.
My Pafology
At the start of the movie we meet Thelonius “Monk” Ellison (played by Jeffrey Wright). Monk is an author—a well-regarded, but obscure and not commercially successful author—who makes a living as a university professor.
When his latest novel is rejected by publishers, Monk is upset by the novels he sees being successful—in particular “black” novels. As Monk tells his agent, his novel is a black novel—Monk is black and the book is his novel. However, what the publishing industry wants is a “black” novel. In other words—as Monk sees it—a not particularly well written novel featuring stereotypical black characters: deadbeat dads, rappers, and crack.
Monk determines to expose the publishing industry by writing his own “black” novel, My Pafology. His intent is to rub the industry’s noses in a book he regards as contemptuous.
He insists his agent sends out My Pafology to publishers under a pseudonym, even though he is certain they’ll reject it. However, publishers love the book and he is offered the largest advance he has ever been offered.
Seeing the absurdity—and the obscenity—of the situation, Monk refuses to take the deal.
The Real Story Begins
Monk has been spending time with his fractured, somewhat dysfunctional, family. Everything changes when his sister, Lisa dies.
Slowly the family—Monk’s brother Clifford, their mother’s housekeeper Lorraine—start to understand the extent of the weight Lisa was carrying to support the family, and in particular, the financial support she was providing their mother who is suffering with the early stages of dementia.
Nursing Costs
Their mother’s dementia presents a challenge for the family when she needs to go into residential care. Soon comes the realization that the costs of the nursing care will be considerable—more than either brother can afford.
For Monk, this is the moment where he needs to act to help his mother. And there is only one option for him to meet the costs of his mother’s nursing home: sell the book (and later movie) rights for My Pafology.
Monk is not thrilled with this option—and there are several twists and turns as he fights and tries to undermine the work still further—but gradually, he comes to see that he he has no real choices.
Reconciliation
It’s easy to think that people come of age sometime during their teenage years (or slightly later) and that’s it. We’re here. We’re done. But as Monk’s struggles show us, we’re always growing—there’s always another step we need to take.
And in American Fiction, not only does Monk reconcile himself with his own feelings, he also reconciles with his brother—the final scene of the film sees the two brothers (literally) driving off into the sunset.
Until February
If you haven’t seen American Fiction watch it. If you’ve already seen it, watch it again. It’s worth watching for the “obvious” story and the searing humor, but the underlying family drama and Monk’s coming of middle age makes it a movie you can watch many times.
I’ll be back in February. Until then.
All the best
Simon