Percival Everett's "Erasure" came out in 2001 as a response to the commercialization of rap culture and the ensuing in da ghetto stereotypes. This much belated adaptation, which would have been perfectly timed ten years ago, does a good job in bringing the main points across, but the novel is far more enjoyable and uncompromising.
I understand why the death of the protagonist's sister has been watered down, that part was the most difficult to accept in the original text. But the book he writes as a response is printed in full there, and I don't get why this was just briefly alluded to with a completely different characterization. In the real "My Pafology", the protagonist is a youngster with four kids by four mothers whom he abuses and cheats, and his downfall is copied from Richard Wright's "Native Son" replacing murder with rape. That is way more revealing as to the perverse satisfaction white Americans derive from confirming their stereotypes of the good-for-nothing black male, a service they compensate with recognition and money.
The film rushes through the talking points without giving due credit to its own title, the work of fiction it's based on. There is one nice add-on, a dialogue between the protagonist and the author of the stereotypical book that initially draws his ire, but overall those who have read "Erasure" will likely feel disappointed, while those who only watch the film will not know how much they've been missing.
I understand why the death of the protagonist's sister has been watered down, that part was the most difficult to accept in the original text. But the book he writes as a response is printed in full there, and I don't get why this was just briefly alluded to with a completely different characterization. In the real "My Pafology", the protagonist is a youngster with four kids by four mothers whom he abuses and cheats, and his downfall is copied from Richard Wright's "Native Son" replacing murder with rape. That is way more revealing as to the perverse satisfaction white Americans derive from confirming their stereotypes of the good-for-nothing black male, a service they compensate with recognition and money.
The film rushes through the talking points without giving due credit to its own title, the work of fiction it's based on. There is one nice add-on, a dialogue between the protagonist and the author of the stereotypical book that initially draws his ire, but overall those who have read "Erasure" will likely feel disappointed, while those who only watch the film will not know how much they've been missing.