Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison (Jeffrey Wright) is a frustrated writer and academic whose incredulity at a publishing industry that ghettoises black authors into trauma narratives (or into urban crime stories featuring drug dealers and gangbangers), ultimately drives him to write a highly satirical novel meant to send up two dimensional depictions of the black experience.
The joke backfires, though; Monk’s agent (played by John Ortiz) loves it and publishers are soon lining up to offer him – or rather, the prison-escapee alter-ego he says wrote ‘Ma Pafology’ – buckets of cash. Hilarity ensues in this biting satire which has earned a clutch of award nominations - including best actor in a leading role for Wright and best picture at the upcoming Oscars.
