“The American Society of Magical Negroes” doesn’t have its theatrical wide release until March 22, but it’s already causing controversy with audiences. The trailer was met with extremely negative reactions from Black Twitter. Based on the teaser, some users thought the movie wasn’t clever enough with the subject matter. As it went through its promotional tour at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, the project was compared to critically acclaimed awards contender “American Fiction.”
If you’ve seen films like “The Legend of Bagger Vance” or “The Green Mile,” you’re familiar with the “magical negro” movie trope. It’s where a mysterious Black person uses their magical powers to help the white lead solve their problems. It’s a ridiculous plot that became a Hollywood favorite in the ‘90s and 2000s.
Here’s the thing: The instant urge to pit these two films against one another in a “tale of the tape” style checklist, is the exact issue the movies are taking aim at.
Yes, both projects take a satirical approach to tackling race. However, that is where the similarities end. “American Fiction” is a deep character study of Jeffrey Wright’s Monk, his family and peers as he tries to find his place as a Black artist in the literary world. It’s a grounded story that tackles real life issues.
“The American Society of Magical Negroes” follows Aren, a young man who finds himself inexplicably drawn into a mysterious group who makes life easier for white people, so Black people will feel safer. It takes a much more fantastical, unorthodox approach to its story. If they didn’t both feature Black casts and have a fresh take on race, there’s no way you’d ever compare these movies.
This isn’t about which film is better. There’s room for both to address race in their own unique way. The problem here is that Black stories aren’t given the space to have multiple different perspectives of the same issue. When we say Black people aren’t a monolith, that means our experiences and thoughts are wide-ranging and varied. And so are our stories and art.
With “American Fiction” deep into its awards run, and “Magical Negroes” rolling toward its March 22 release, this is just the first step in a months-long journey of pieces comparing the two films. Or, before we go too far down this road, everyone could take a step back and let each project offer its unique message on race, react specifically to one film at a time and allow both movies to exist independently of one another.