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movie, The American Society of Magical Negroes

I wish I could erase “The American Society of Magical Negros” from my mind, but the universe doesn’t possess enough fairy dust to make such miracles possible. The feature debut from writer/director Kobi Libii is a wild satirical swing about a secret organization of Black people whose sole job is to put white people at ease. It lacks form, edge, politics, coherency, and the grand vision necessary for vast world building. It’s a film that begins on volatile ground only to tumble down a tonally rocky hill before settling on a conclusion so emotionally dissonant that its clang rings louder than the minor laughs the film engenders during its bloated run time.

Its intended spell is immediately jumbled: Aren (Justice Smith), a struggling visual artist, watches as white buyer after white buyer moves past his multicolor yarn sculpture before another confuses him for the help. The experience deflates Aren, an amiable and deferential young Black man who says sorry more than most Canadians. His pliability almost costs him his life when a drunk white woman asks for help with an ATM only to accuse him of stealing her purse. Luckily, Roger (David Alan Grier) saves Aren. Roger sees potential in the artist, inviting him into the magical society (its entrance is located in an unassuming barbershop). Once inside, we’re introduced to the group’s basic rules: Black people must make way for white fragility for fear that white anger will lead to murder; these Black folks are also expected to hide their sincere Blackness from the white person they’re serving. It seems, initially, that Libii is aware of the organization’s regressive respectability politics—the film hilariously lampoons “The Legend of Bagger Vance” and “The Green Mile”—but after a while you begin to question if the picture is in on the joke.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEc0HLk4YHs
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-american-society-of-magical-negroes-2024

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