I'm Jonathan Kapart and welcome to Kapart.

American Fiction is a sharp satire about a disgruntled novelist who writes a pandering narrative

rife with black stereotypes that becomes an accidental success.

Jeffrey Wright, who plays that disgruntled novelist,

is nominated for the Oscar for Best Actor

for his leading role in the film,

which is nominated for the Oscar for Best Picture a film the post

calls a racial parody rooted in wincingly familiar honesty. In this

conversation first recorded for Washington Post live on February 23rd

Jeffrey Wright gets into how American fiction fits into our nation's ongoing and

tortured conversation on race.

We in America lack of fluency in race.

We, and therefore, we don't have conversations well around these issues.

We have discourse that is difficult and fearful and stunted,

and therefore we tend very often to be unproductive at least within our film you don't have to be afraid

you can you can come in take it in and you can you know you can laugh at us you can laugh at yourself, you can laugh at yourself,

and maybe come out at the end with, you know,

at least a fresher take on all of this adness. this.

Jeffrey, welcome to K Park on Washington Post live.

Thank you, Jonathan.

Thank you.

Really, really pleased to be here.

...