Engaging with an Imperfect Past: Simultaneity and the Many Stories within Director Rashid Johnson’s Native Son

Adaptations of classic literature are often maligned in conversations of supposed quality, and Richard Wright’s Native Son stands out as an exceptional example within such critical discourse. Like all adaptations, rewritings of Wright’s novel extend in conversations centred on simultaneity—the notion that a work can recognize multiple influences at once—over singular fidelity. Even more vitally, Rashid Johnson’s 2019 film Native Son is a conscious adaptation within this vein, and it therefore showcases how classic American literature can be recontextualized for the 21st century. Considered influences include Wright’s novel, previous Native Son adaptations, social and political structures, and debates on Bigger Thomas’ characterization by the likes of James Baldwin and Ralph Ellison.