Universal’s Focus Features has unveiled the first trailer for the upcoming comedy “The American Society of Magical Negroes,” envisioning a scenario where black people are enlisted as self-sacrificing guardian angels for whites.
“What’s the most dangerous animal on the planet?” one character asks. “White people when they’re feeling uncomfortable.” He later adds: “The happier they are, the safer we are.”
The film, hitting theaters on March 22, features Justice Smith as a young Los Angeles hipster recruited into a covert group of “magical black people” tasked with making life more convenient for white people.
His assignment is to assist a young white man, but complications arise when they both develop feelings for the same hipster woman.
David Alan Grier co-stars as a leading member of said society.
The term “magical negro” is a pejorative literary and cinematic term to describe a black character whose main role is to assist and sometimes change the white protagonist for the better.
Notable cinematic examples include films like The Green Mile, The Legend of Bagger Vance, and Driving Miss Daisy.
Mark Twain’s ‘The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’ has been accused of using “magical negro” stereotypes for the character Jim.
WATCH the trailer below:
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