White People Think Black People Are Magical

[Mageth]

And when were blacks villains in film?

 

[Unbeatable]

Reese Witherspoon and Brendan Fraser are white. Most of the main characters in these movies are white. When a white person helps out a white person in a mostly white movie, it might, depending on other factors, be some sort of cliche, but it's not one that needs to have the word "white" in the title, because whiteness isn't a feature which distinguishes the unqualified helper character from the rest of the cast.

I can't tell if you are agreeing with me or not.

Like I noted, for some reason race enters into this equation. I don't understand why. The role is a seemingly unqualified character that becomes a massive inspiration or workload carrier.

What makes them seem unqualified? A superficial impression of them. Various traits, including attire, speech patterns, mannerisms, occupation, and race.

For some reason, if this character is black, they become a "magical negro" to some people, because the idea of a black helping out is magical, where as a Hotel Doorman writing hundreds of pages of legislation or a homeless guy who worked around asbestos offering a thesis on Constitutional Law is completely non-magical and expected?

It's unexpected because he's a doorman, or homeless, not because he's white.

This implies people are only noticing the race of this particular plot device character when they are not white.

Black paint on a white canvas is more noticeable than white paint on a white canvas. Calling Pesci's character a Magical White Guy is like calling him a Magical English Speaker.

 

[Emily Lake]

I am curious... How should black people be portrayed by media?

As people, not props

Can people of other ethnicities be portrayed as props in a story line?

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Black paint on a white canvas is more noticeable than white paint on a white canvas. Calling Pesci's character a Magical White Guy is like calling him a Magical English Speaker.

This seems to speak more to your own expectations and stereotypes. It comes across as "Oh my, dear! There's a black man in our white movie!"

Actually, most of this thread seems to speak more to the expectations and prejudices of the viewers than of some grand conspiracy. Maybe I'm just not seeing it.

 

[AthenaAwakened]

As people, not props

Can people of other ethnicities be portrayed as props in a story line?

They often are.

 

[Nice Squirrel]

And when were blacks villains in film?

Moar jungle stampeded and cliff fights to the DEATH!!!!

 

[Unbeatable]

I am curious... How should black people be portrayed by media?

The same way as whites should be portrayed-- diversely.

 

[Unbeatable]

Black paint on a white canvas is more noticeable than white paint on a white canvas. Calling Pesci's character a Magical White Guy is like calling him a Magical English Speaker.

This seems to speak more to your own expectations and stereotypes. It comes across as "Oh my, dear! There's a black man in our white movie!"

So you're saying that like Jimmy, you also don't understand why, when a black guy is surrounded by white people, people would be more liable to notice his race than if he was a white person surrounded by white people? How about a Japanese guy wearing a blue shirt surrounded by Japanese guys wearing red shirts? Do you understand why people would be more likely to notice and remark upon the color of his shirt than if he was surrounded by Japanese guys wearing the same color shirt as him? It's the same reason in both cases.

Actually, most of this thread seems to speak more to the expectations and prejudices of the viewers than of some grand conspiracy.

I agree. And the prejudices of the writers also play a role.

 

[Emily Lake]

Can people of other ethnicities be portrayed as props in a story line?

They often are.

And is that a problem for you as well?

 

[AthenaAwakened]

They often are.

And is that a problem for you as well?

Undeveloped and underdeveloped characters, hacknyed tropes, plot devices instead of plot, and a narrative that stereotypes white folks as little more than parasites should be a problem for everyone, donchathink?

 

[untermensche]

Undeveloped and underdeveloped characters, hacknyed tropes, plot devices instead of plot, and a narrative that stereotypes white folks as little more than parasites should be a problem for everyone, donchathink?

Sounds like 90% of the movies made today.

 

[AthenaAwakened]

Undeveloped and underdeveloped characters, hacknyed tropes, plot devices instead of plot, and a narrative that stereotypes white folks as little more than parasites should be a problem for everyone, donchathink?

Sounds like 90% of the movies made today.

Exactly

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

For some reason, if this character is black, they become a "magical negro" to some people, because the idea of a black helping out is magical, where as a Hotel Doorman writing hundreds of pages of legislation or a homeless guy who worked around asbestos offering a thesis on Constitutional Law is completely non-magical and expected?

It's unexpected because he's a doorman, or homeless, not because he's white.

And the same can be said of the other two characters. Smith isn't a golfer, the other guy is in prison.

This implies people are only noticing the race of this particular plot device character when they are not white.

Black paint on a white canvas is more noticeable than white paint on a white canvas. Calling Pesci's character a Magical White Guy is like calling him a Magical English Speaker.

Please, give me several examples of "magic negroes"?

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

This seems to speak more to your own expectations and stereotypes. It comes across as "Oh my, dear! There's a black man in our white movie!"

So you're saying that like Jimmy, you also don't understand why, when a black guy is surrounded by white people, people would be more liable to notice his race than if he was a white person surrounded by white people?

I identify characters in a movie as characters based on their contribution to the film, not their race.

There is no difference between Newhart's and Smith's character in the the two films previously cited. They both offer an absurd amount of help in a manner wholly unexpected based on the origins or lack there of those characters.

I agree. And the prejudices of the writers also play a role.

Not until you give a bunch of examples.

 

[AthenaAwakened]

Anyone interested in exactly what the magic negro is and how very often it is used, check out

Black Magic: White Hollywood and African American Culture

Why do so many African American film characters seem to have magical powers? And why do they use them only to help white people? When the actors are white, why is the sound track so commonly performed by African Americans? And why do so many white actors imitate black people when they wish to express strong emotion?
As Krin Gabbard brilliantly reveals in Black Magic, we duly recognize the cultural heritage of African Americans in literature, music, and art, but there is a disturbing pattern in the roles that blacks are asked to play-particularly in the movies. Many recent films, including The Matrix, Fargo, The Green Mile, Ghost, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Pleasantville, The Bridges of Madison County, and Crumb, reveal a fascination with black music and sexuality even as they preserve the old racial hierarchies. Quite often the dependence on African American culture remains hidden-although it is almost perversely pervasive. In the final chapters of Black Magic, Gabbard looks at films by Robert Altman and Spike Lee that attempt to reverse many of these widespread trends.

 

[AthenaAwakened]

So you're saying that like Jimmy, you also don't understand why, when a black guy is surrounded by white people, people would be more liable to notice his race than if he was a white person surrounded by white people?

I identify characters in a movie as characters based on their contribution to the film, not their race.

There is no difference between Newhart's and Smith's character in the the two films previously cited. They both offer an absurd amount of help in a manner wholly unexpected based on the origins or lack there of those characters.

I agree. And the prejudices of the writers also play a role.

Not until you give a bunch of examples.

 List of Magical Negro occurrences in fiction

Just how many do you need?

That list is only the tiniest tip of that iceberg.

We can go deeper.

We can show more and together we can dissect each to the minutest detail

How much life do you have left?

 

[Blahface]

When I was real young (maybe two or three) I saw a picture in the newspaper that looked like a black lady shooting webbing out of her hand like spider-man. For a while I thought that black women just had that power.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

I identify characters in a movie as characters based on their contribution to the film, not their race.

There is no difference between Newhart's and Smith's character in the the two films previously cited. They both offer an absurd amount of help in a manner wholly unexpected based on the origins or lack there of those characters.

I agree. And the prejudices of the writers also play a role.

Not until you give a bunch of examples.

 List of Magical Negro occurrences in fiction

Just how many do you need?

I already said several.

That list is only the tiniest tip of that iceberg.

Red from Shawshank? How is he a "magic negro"? He is a guy that has been in prison for several decades and transformed into a guy who can get things. There is nothing magic about him, not only is he is the best character in the film, he is also one of the main characters, not a supporting one. What makes Morgan Freeman in Seven not a magic negro relative to Shawshank Redemption?

Rufus in Dogma? Shall we whine about Alanis Morrisette being God? It is the same gag.

Morpheus? That is perhaps the worst one. Morpheus is one of the major leaders of a revolt against the machines, and he has a history. Neo was the magical one.

Lamont in American History X? You mean the character that helps explain how a neonazi is able to survive in prison without protection from his former neonazi brothers? That isn't a magic, it is necessary for the development of Norton's character. How the heck is a neo-nazi supposed to just unneo-nazi up without having some sort of experience that involves a black guy who's magical power is apparently the ability to fold laundry. This is probably the second worst comparison as Lamont isn't a plot device. It is how the main character wakes up. It isn't a device, it a major part of the plot.

Bubba from Forrest Gump? Seems like any black guy can be considered a "magic negro" as long as they contributed to a plot positively.

Shazzam? What? Are we upset that Yul Brenner didn't get casted?

Happy Gilmore, Holy Man? Are we scraping the bucket?

We can show more and together we can dissect each to the minutest detail

May need to. There are a lot of characters there that don't seem to fall under the category that the wiki article is talking about.

There is no doubt that media can have an issue with the portrayal of blacks. I've already noted the desert sparse attempts to allow blacks to act on screen for 30 to 40 years. That in general, the best role they could get was sassy housekeeper (and while Hattie McDonnell could really pull off that role... see The Male Animal or Alice Adams, she was capable of more, see In This Our Lives). Butterfly McQueen would give up the screen altogether because of the disturbing cast typing.

But this thing about "magic negroes" really seems to be ignoring a plot device that applies to whites as well, it is just for some reason, people seem to pick up on it because the character is black.

Bob Newhart in Legally Blonde II
Joe Pesci in With Honors
If Morpheus counts, then so would Frances McDormand in Fargo
Cary Grant in Topper
Aunt Josephine in Anne of Green Gables
Matthew McConaughey in Contact

People seem to be noticing the race which helps a race instead of just seeing the plot device.

 

[NobleSavage]

Obi-Wan Kenobi wasn't black.... Has anyone done a statistical analysis on the number of white wizards and helpers vs Magical Negros? If not there has to be some good grant money out there to figure this out.

 

[EricK]

Every time in a film they need a pool ball to predict the future, they use a magical black one. I don't think we need look any further to expose the rampant racism in Hollywood.

 

[Derec]

Obi-Wan Kenobi wasn't black....

I wonder if there is a Redeemed Negro Traitor trope ...