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[Ulysses 31]

It could be good if it digs at both sides but my gut tells me it won't.

‘The American Society of Magical Negroes’ Trailer: Justice Smith Belongs to a Club That Makes White People’s Lives Easier

Written and directed by Kobi Libii, the film premieres at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.

www.indiewire.com

 

[pel1300]

Looks like a movie that was greenlit during or shortly after summer 2020...As Critical Drinker says, we gotta be patient and wait for the movies that were greenlit in 2022 onwards (when hollywood higher ups finally started getting the message) to come out - which will be around 2025.

Also the ERA thread on this movie is something else.

 

[SJRB]

Isn’t this the movie with the remarkable quote that the most dangerous animal on the planet is white people?

 

[Kilau]

I saw this trailer on twitter and black twitter was having none of it in the reactions. Seems like a misfire all around.

 

[DeepEnigma]

Keep the racial/ist narratives alive, bad actors. Pun intended.

 

[LordCBH]

Damn the Harry Potter film franchise has gotten weird as fuck.

 

[ChuckeRearmed]

Not sure what the target group is for this movie.

 

[NeoGiffer]

 

[StreetsofBeige]

White people are supposed to have issues, yet the black actor dude goes after a white chick. Given the movie's premise, you'd think he'd go after good looking chill Black woman.

As Howard Stern said in an old interview to a black celeb..... "C'mon admit it. White women are the prize. Hehehe!" And that celeb giggled in acceptance.

 

[Bojji]

Isn’t this the movie with the remarkable quote that the most dangerous animal on the planet is white people?

So it's a racist movie?

 

[DeafTourette]

White people are supposed to have issues, yet the black actor dude goes after a white chick. Given the movie's premise, you'd think he'd go after good looking chill Black woman.

As Howard Stern said in an old interview to a black celeb..... "C'mon admit it. White women are the prize. Hehehe!" And that celeb giggled in acceptance.

She's Asian. Not white.

And unfortunately, some black men really believe white women are better than women of color.

 

[Wildebeest]

I hope they belabour the point enough, it would be a terrible shame if anyone was entertained in a movie theatre.

 

[Embearded]

She's Asian. Not white.

And unfortunately, some black men really believe white women are better than women of color.

People who believe that color makes someone better than someone else are stupid as fuck no matter their color.

 

[bitbydeath]

She's Asian. Not white.

And unfortunately, some black men really believe white women are better than women of color.

American’s focus too much on skin colour.

 

[Ownage]

I saw this trailer on twitter and black twitter was having none of it in the reactions. Seems like a misfire all around.

Let them all consume each other. Say and do less, they'll implode eventually.

 

[Ownage]

Keep the racial/ist narratives alive, bad actors. Pun intended.

An actor needs to act. Gigs are gigs, get paid, get laid. But there are limits.

 

[Saber]

Good lord, the name itself is cringe as fuck.

 

[newtypepilot]

rofl this is not some kind of satire/parody movie???

 

[Faust]

Great, another tired, racist film written by people who care more about skin color and pushing immutable characteristics than saying anything of substance.

 

[Fake]

The memes are better than the film. Is this a Morbius sucessor?

 

[MayauMiao]

"10/10!!" - Grace Randolph

 

[DeepEnigma]

"The Citizen Kane of Black America." The View, probably

 

[SJRB]

Great, another tired, racist film written by people who care more about skin color and pushing immutable characteristics than saying anything of substance.

Can see the "Anyone not liking this movie is a racist" rhetoric coming from a mile away.

 

[DeafTourette]

This is based on the Magical Negro trope in movies. With a romcom forced in there.

 

[RavageX]

I wouldn't watch this just based from the name alone.

 

[Clear]

This is based on the Magical Negro trope in movies. With a romcom forced in there.

And it'll fail because post-modernist concept pieces are long on irony, and short on sincerity. Who wants to watch a knowingly insincere rom-com?

Its like a perfect microcosm of why people are not connecting with modern movies and tv. Most people aren't offended by "the message", but when it feels the whole thing is being used to deliver "the message"... or its so heavy-handedly rammed in it makes you consider every other creative choice primarily in the context of "the message"...

If you are sincerely trying to convert somebody to your way of thinking by way of entertainment, then you need to hook them emotionally or dramatically first. Then when they're bought-in, you can make your point persuasively. Do it the other way around, and people tired of being lectured are just going to be defensive or simply tune-out.

Front-loading expectations with an obvious high-concept "meta", like this movie does in its title, is priming them to deal with uncomfortable issues. Which isn't going to make them receptive to, or expectant of the wish-fulfilment fantasy of a rom-com.

As someone noted already, what audience exactly is this movie aimed at?

 

[StreetsofBeige]

As someone noted already, what audience exactly is this movie aimed at?

It'd probably be someone like in the GIF I posted. Someone who enjoys politically slanted material. Even if it's goofy comedy like Scary Movie mocking horror flicks deep down they kind are rooting for whites to lose in a "well, you're supposed to be all rich white people overlording over everyone else, so let's all enjoy a movie dishing some comedic lumps making white people as problematic, as they can laugh it off while their butler makes them espressos".

Parody movies like Scary Movie dont have a political slant to it. Its goofing on horror movies. But when you get to political content even when parodied it gets hopping on thin ice.

For example, let's say there was a political movie where it's "American Society of Magical Whites" where every white person lived in a mansion and the parody was all minorities are down in the dumps losers needing a ghost white guardian angel to get through life, it's been shot down asap.

When it comes to parodies and satire, everyone understands that it's easier to make fun of a rich guy or CEO (class based tiers where every gender or ethnic background are similar when it comes to money and career), but when you get into ethnic tiers it's a red flag of stupidity because no ethnic group is blanket this or that.

 

[jason10mm]

The concept I get and am kinda interested in, this is gonna be a "get some whisky, dim the lights, and take this ride" kinda thing. Will it be provocative? Undoubtedly. Will it have black culture taking any responsibility? We'll see. Are there aspects of white society and how they treat black people that need to be highlighted? Absolutely!

I have hopes for this, though I'm sure it will be hard to walk the line between both camps.

 

[jason10mm]

It is funny that they cast Justice in this as the "magical negro" when he said he was too light for black roles though...

Justice Smith on being a biracial actor: "I'm not black enough for the black roles, and I'm not white enough for the white roles"

Regardless how people on Lipstick Alley believe, being a non-Hispanic light skinned actor isn't easy. I'd say non-Hispanic light skin actors have it better than non-hispanic light skin actresses. As handsome light skin male actors can always be cast as the love interest in black films. But light...

www.lipstickalley.com

 

[j0hnnix]

 

[DeafTourette]

The concept I get and am kinda interested in, this is gonna be a "get some whisky, dim the lights, and take this ride" kinda thing. Will it be provocative? Undoubtedly. Will it have black culture taking any responsibility? We'll see. Are there aspects of white society and how they treat black people that need to be highlighted? Absolutely!

I have hopes for this, though I'm sure it will be hard to walk the line between both camps.

This is a thoughtful take! It's satire and meant to be weird. It's why they have The Blackening (based on that Funny or Die skit).

 

[Atrus]

The concept seems wasted on it being a romance comedy and the trailer seems to pretty much spell out the story.

 

[DeafTourette]

It'd probably be someone like in the GIF I posted. Someone who enjoys politically slanted material. Even if it's goofy comedy like Scary Movie mocking horror flicks deep down they kind are rooting for whites to lose in a "well, you're supposed to be all rich white people overlording over everyone else, so let's all enjoy a movie dishing some comedic lumps making white people as problematic, as they can laugh it off while their butler makes them espressos".

Parody movies like Scary Movie dont have a political slant to it. Its goofing on horror movies. But when you get to political content even when parodied it gets hopping on thin ice.

For example, let's say there was a political movie where it's "American Society of Magical Whites" where every white person lived in a mansion and the parody was all minorities are down in the dumps losers needing a ghost white guardian angel to get through life, it's been shot down asap.

When it comes to parodies and satire, everyone understands that it's easier to make fun of a rich guy or CEO (class based tiers where every gender or ethnic background are similar when it comes to money and career), but when you get into ethnic tiers it's a red flag of stupidity because no ethnic group is blanket this or that.

There's lots of movies that make people feel uncomfortable... Joker, killers of the flower moon, etc. Like I said, the title of the movie, and part of the story, is based on the trope. Your example isn't a thing so it makes no sense to compare. You can't compare something that exists to a hypothetical thing that doesn't and can't. It's like when people compare a fictional character to a real life person.

And while you're only partially correct, I don't think they're making fun of white people because what the protagonist is up against is the "system" of the society. Not white people. The charter of the society is to help white people so they're less afraid or suspicious of black people and see us in a better light. That's the whole premise of the magical negro trope.

Movies like How to Be a Menace While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood or Scary Movie are satire masquerading as silly comedies (at least the first Scary Movie was a satire).

 

[IDKFA]

The most dangerous animals on the planet are white people feeling uncomfortable? And their job is to make white people feel more comfortable?

What? I'm a loss of how anybody thought this was a good idea.

 

[Fake]

The most dangerous animals on the planet are white people feeling uncomfortable? And their job is to make white people feel more comfortable?

What? I'm a loss of how anybody thought this was a good idea.

Creativity is not the strong part of the generation z to be honest, nor being smart.

 

[AJUMP23]

Every modern cliché in a film.

 

[Billbofet]

Holy shit, this looks terrible. On top of it being overtly racist, it looks unfunny and completely cliched. Who the fuck is this for?

 

[Scotty W]

Formerly negative stereotypes are now immutable characteristics. What could go wrong?

 

[Sonik]

Not sure what the target group is for this movie.

White upper/upper middle class coastal city liberals, the really pretentious kind. It's the same kind of people who made this atrocity

 

[diffusionx]

These movies are made for AWFLs, the sort who pay thousands of dollars to get yelled at by Saira Rao at dinner. What can you do at this point except tune it out.

Kinoplex Robert wouldn't be like that, he's good people.

 

[midnightAI]

Is this the full title of the Disney film... Snow White and the American Society of Magical Negroes?

(I'm sure someone will post the nsfw screenshot )

 

[OmegaSupreme]

Do black people want a movie like this? This seems aimed solely at self-hating whites.

 

[SF Kosmo]

rofl this is not some kind of satire/parody movie???

Yes, it is a very obvious satire, based in the very real literary trope of the Magical Negro.

I think that idea is a pretty funny one, although this movie seems to be trying awfully hard to avoid a racially stereotypical portrayal of its characters which seems a bit like having your cake and eating it too.

 

[Represent.]

This seems aimed solely at self-hating whites.

The movie is being funded/financed/produced almost entirely by white people too lol

Here are the films producers:

Julia Lebedev

Leonid Lebedev

Oren Moverman

Eddie Vaisman

Rita Walsh

Only ones missing are Angel Lopez (Latino) and the director himself, Kobi Libii (black/white mix)

edit: not for me to call them self hating, but definitely in it for a quick buck. Racial tension is very high right now so they probably looking at this with dollar sign eyes. little do they know it will probably be the biggest flop of the year

 

[DeepEnigma]

Holy shit, this looks terrible. On top of it being overtly racist, it looks unfunny and completely cliched. Who the fuck is this for?

TikTokers.

 

[thefool]

Looks like dogshit.

 

[DrFigs]

I think maybe they chose the wrong person for the main role going by this trailer. I dont believe this light skin, nerdy, well spoken black guy has trouble navigating around white people. it's just not very believable.

 

[TransTrender]

This is based on the Magical Negro trope in movies. With a romcom forced in there.

Yeah, it's framed as a satire so it could be funny.

Creativity is not the strong part of the generation z to be honest, nor being smart.

But also this. These people's hearts and brains are soo rotten they're incapable higher order thoughts or nuanced emotions.

 

[KyoZz]

black guy

Did... did you just assume his gender???

 

[DeafTourette]

I think maybe they chose the wrong person for the main role going by this trailer. I dont believe this light skin, nerdy, well spoken black guy has trouble navigating around white people. it's just not very believable.

I'm a well spoken black man who isn't tall and muscular or looks "stereotypically" like movies like to portray as being from the hood... I'm from the hood and education was pushed when I was growing up...

Even I have had trouble navigating around white people... Been given dirty looks in stores or just around in the park, white women clutching their purses tighter when I am not even near them... I fear a Karen more than I fear a white man.

Edit: I've seen light skinned black men who experienced the same things I have. Despite being a nerdy black guy.