Imagine a world where a society of Black people uses magic to reduce white people’s rage. That’s the world that director and screenwriter Kobi Libii conjures in his debut film, “The American Society of Magical Negroes.”
Playing off the Spike Lee-coined trope of the “Magical N-gro,” where Black characters in movies or television shows have special skills, insight, or even powers that are used to selflessly help white main characters, Libii’s film follows Aren, a young Black man played by Justice Smith. Aren, an overly cautious guy, is recruited into the society and carries out his first assignment for a client named Jason.
An actor and comedian himself, Libii shared in the press notes that, “White people write the ‘Magical N*gro’ trope as a kind of ‘Happy Slave’ archetype that imagines Black people truly enjoy contorting themselves to fit into white systems of power. I’m hijacking the trope to explore some of what it really costs Black people to do so.”
The world Libii creates in “The American Society” is not just Black and white so to speak. There is also Lizzie played by An-Li Bogan, a Taiwanese Irish actor, making her feature film debut. We talked to her about the film’s concept and her experience on the project.
Over the course of the film, it becomes clear that Lizzie’s challenge in a white, patriarchal society is two-fold: that of gender and race. She competes with Jason, the white man that Aren is assigned to, at the startup they both work at and comes up short — not because of skill but because of the usual concerns around “fit” — being that Jason is just a better fit for giving presentations or leading teams.
Libii said he was also interested in exploring and reflecting on the experience of being in a community with other people who are undermined for different reasons and finding kinship, support, and power across racial and gender lines.
“I do think…
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