Cord Jefferson is an award-winning writer and director best known for directing “American Fiction,” a 2023 comedy-drama. On Feb. 19, Jefferson visited Archer to speak with English teacher James Russo’s Hyperreal class about “American Fiction,” which students in the class were required to watch as part of the curriculum. He discussed how the movie, inspired by Percival Everett’s novel “Erasure,” critiques the publishing and entertainment industries’ narrow expectations of Black writers. After the panel, multimedia reporter Dara Alitoro (’28)  interviewed Jefferson, who elaborated on his creative process and the themes explored in the film. She also interviewed Vivi Arnold (’26) and Russo to get additional information about the film’s correlation to the themes explored in the Hyperreal class.