Magical negro
Encyclopedia
The Magical Negro, or magical African-American friend, is a supporting stock character
in American cinema, who, by use of special insight or powers, helps the white
protagonist
.
African-American filmmaker Spike Lee
popularized the term, deriding the archetype
of the "super-duper magical Negro" in 2001 while discussing films with students at Washington State University
and at Yale University
. The word "Negro
", now considered by many as archaic and sometimes offensive, is used intentionally to suggest that the archetype is a racial throwback, an update of the "Sambo" and "Noble savage
" stereotypes.
protagonist. He usually has some sort of magical power, "rather vaguely defined but not the sort of thing one typically encounters." He is patient and wise, often dispensing various words of wisdom, and is "closer to the earth."
The Magical Negro serves as a plot device to help the protagonist get out of trouble, typically through helping the white character recognize his own faults and overcome them. Although he has magical powers, his "magic is ostensibly directed toward helping and enlightening a white male character." "These powers are used to save and transform disheveled, uncultured, lost, or broken whites (almost exclusively white men) into competent, successful, and content people within the context of the American myth of redemption and salvation." It is this feature of the Magical Negro that some people find most troubling. Although from a certain perspective the character may seem to be showing blacks in a positive light, he is still ultimately subordinate to whites. He is also regarded as an exception, allowing white America to "like individual black people but not black culture."
To save the white protagonist, however, he would do anything, including sacrificing himself, as Sidney Poitier
does in The Defiant Ones
, the prototypical Magical Negro movie.
There have been numerous appearances of the Magical Negro archetype in film, television, and literature.
Stock character
A Stock character is a fictional character based on a common literary or social stereotype. Stock characters rely heavily on cultural types or names for their personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics. In their most general form, stock characters are related to literary archetypes,...
in American cinema, who, by use of special insight or powers, helps the white
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
.
African-American filmmaker Spike Lee
Spike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983....
popularized the term, deriding the archetype
Archetype
An archetype is a universally understood symbol or term or pattern of behavior, a prototype upon which others are copied, patterned, or emulated...
of the "super-duper magical Negro" in 2001 while discussing films with students at Washington State University
Washington State University
Washington State University is a public research university based in Pullman, Washington, in the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1890, WSU is the state's original and largest land-grant university...
and at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. The word "Negro
Negro
The word Negro is used in the English-speaking world to refer to a person of black ancestry or appearance, whether of African descent or not...
", now considered by many as archaic and sometimes offensive, is used intentionally to suggest that the archetype is a racial throwback, an update of the "Sambo" and "Noble savage
Noble savage
The term noble savage , expresses the concept an idealized indigene, outsider , and refers to the literary stock character of the same...
" stereotypes.
In fiction
The Magical Negro is typically but not always "in some way outwardly or inwardly disabled, either by discrimination, disability or social constraint," often a janitor or prisoner. He has no past; he simply appears one day to help the whiteWhite people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
protagonist. He usually has some sort of magical power, "rather vaguely defined but not the sort of thing one typically encounters." He is patient and wise, often dispensing various words of wisdom, and is "closer to the earth."
The Magical Negro serves as a plot device to help the protagonist get out of trouble, typically through helping the white character recognize his own faults and overcome them. Although he has magical powers, his "magic is ostensibly directed toward helping and enlightening a white male character." "These powers are used to save and transform disheveled, uncultured, lost, or broken whites (almost exclusively white men) into competent, successful, and content people within the context of the American myth of redemption and salvation." It is this feature of the Magical Negro that some people find most troubling. Although from a certain perspective the character may seem to be showing blacks in a positive light, he is still ultimately subordinate to whites. He is also regarded as an exception, allowing white America to "like individual black people but not black culture."
To save the white protagonist, however, he would do anything, including sacrificing himself, as Sidney Poitier
Sidney Poitier
Sir Sidney Poitier, KBE is a Bahamian American actor, film director, author, and diplomat.In 1963, Poitier became the first black person to win an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Lilies of the Field...
does in The Defiant Ones
The Defiant Ones
The Defiant Ones is a 1958 drama film which tells the story of two escaped prisoners, one white and one black, who are shackled together and who must co-operate in order to survive. It stars Tony Curtis, Sidney Poitier, Theodore Bikel, Cara Williams, Charles McGraw, and Lon Chaney, Jr...
, the prototypical Magical Negro movie.
There have been numerous appearances of the Magical Negro archetype in film, television, and literature.
Non-fictional occurrences
Examples of the use of the term Magical Negro as published by commentators in non-fictional contexts include:- Barack ObamaBarack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
, President of the United StatesPresident of the United StatesThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
.- Usage of the title "Obama the 'Magic Negro'" by David EhrensteinDavid EhrensteinDavid Ehrenstein is an American critic who focuses primarily on issues of homosexuality in cinema.-Life and career:Ehrenstein was born in New York City. His father was a secular Jew with Polish ancestors, and his mother was of African American and Irish descent. His mother raised him in her...
for a Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
piece later inspired the song "Barack the Magic NegroBarack the Magic Negro"Barack the Magic Negro" is a song by American political satirist Paul Shanklin who wrote and recorded it for the Rush Limbaugh Show as satire after it was first applied to presidential candidate Obama by movie and culture critic, David Ehrenstein, in a Los Angeles Times op ed column of March 19,...
," written by parodist Paul ShanklinPaul ShanklinPaul Shanklin is an American conservative political satirist, impressionist, comedian, and conservative speaker...
and broadcast on Rush LimbaughRush LimbaughRush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
's radio showThe Rush Limbaugh ShowThe Rush Limbaugh Show is an American talk radio show hosted by Rush Limbaugh on Premiere Radio Networks...
. In 2008 it was included on a CD sent by Chip SaltsmanChip SaltsmanJohn "Chip" Saltsman, Jr. is an American politician who has served as chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party from 1999 to 2001, senior political advisor to former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, and manager of Mike Huckabee's 2008 presidential campaign...
, running for chair of the Republican National CommitteeRepublican National CommitteeThe Republican National Committee is an American political committee that provides national leadership for the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican political platform, as well as coordinating fundraising and election strategy. It is...
, to members of the committee. - The term "magic Negro" was also applied to Barack Obama during a segment on the Daily Show; preceding a segment elaborating on Barack Obama's first year (or 364 days and 23 hours), senior black correspondent Larry WilmoreLarry WilmoreLarry Wilmore is an American writer, actor and television producer.-Early life:Wilmore grew up in suburban Los Angeles, the child of a Catholic family. His father is a doctor...
added that "If there's one thing we've learned it's this: Negroes aren't magic." Larry Wilmore also compares Obama's pre-election image to that of other notable magic Negro archetypes in fiction, such as Bagger VanceThe Legend of Bagger VanceThe Legend of Bagger Vance is a 2000 American film directed by Robert Redford and starring Will Smith, Matt Damon and Charlize Theron. It is based on the 1995 book of the same title by Steven Pressfield and takes place in the U.S. state of Georgia in 1931...
and John CoffeyThe Green MileThe Green Mile may refer to:* The Green Mile , a 1996 serial novel by Stephen King* The Green Mile , a 1999 film based on the Stephen King novel, starring Michael Clarke Duncan and Tom Hanks-See also:* Miles Green...
.
- Usage of the title "Obama the 'Magic Negro'" by David Ehrenstein
See also
- Noble savageNoble savageThe term noble savage , expresses the concept an idealized indigene, outsider , and refers to the literary stock character of the same...
- Romantic racismRomantic racismRomantic racism is a form of racism in which members of a dominant group purportedly project their fantasies onto members of oppressed groups. Feminist scholars have accused Norman Mailer, Jack Kerouac, and other Beatnik authors of the 1950s of romantic racism...
- Stereotypes of African Americans
- XenocentrismXenocentrismXenocentrism is a political neologism, coined as the antonym of ethnocentrism. Xenocentrism is the preference for the products, styles, or ideas of someone else's culture rather than of one's own...