| 1 | %% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1320188211012925900 |
| 2 | %% Please do not change or remove without starting a new thread. |
| 3 | %% |
| 4 | [[quoteright:350:[[Film/NotAnotherTeenMovie https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/magical_negro_0.jpg]]]] |
| 5 | [[caption-width-right:350:I'm the Wise Janitor. I impart knowledge and help overcome fears, ''[[VerbalTic foo'!]]'']] |
| 6 | |
| 7 | ->''"Hey, this is the Magical Negro. Like in the movies, where the black character is just there to help the white guy on his journey. And he mainly speaks in folksy sayings. 'I don't know much about'' blah blah.'' But a man's gotta have his ''blah.[='=]''"'' |
| 8 | -->-- '''Kenneth''', ''Series/{{Speechless}}'' |
| 9 | |
| 10 | A minority character will step forward to help the protagonist, with their pure heart and folksy wisdom, and possibly magic. They are usually black, but may come from another oppressed minority. They step into the life of the much more privileged (and, in particular, [[WhiteMaleLead almost always white]]) central character and, in some way, enrich that central character's life. If the Magical Negro (also known as Magic Negro or Mystical Negro) is from a society of [[NobleSavage Noble Savages]], expect an {{Anvilicious}} [[AnAesop Aesop]] about the failings of the protagonist's society — which usually leads to the [[MightyWhitey protagonist]] "GoingNative". |
| 11 | |
| 12 | With such [[CloserToEarth deep spiritual wisdom]] (and sometimes — though not always — actual [[EthnicMagician supernatural powers]]), you might wonder why the Magical Negro doesn't step up and save the day himself. |
| 13 | In fact, the Magical Negro really seems to have no goal in life other than [[TokenBlackFriend helping white people]] achieve their fullest potential; he may even be [[MentorOccupationalHazard ditched or killed outright once he's served that purpose]]. If he does express any selfish desires, it will only be in the context of helping the white protagonists realize their own racism and thereby become better people. |
| 14 | |
| 15 | Bonus points if this character is a priest of Vodoun. If female, they will nearly always also be a SassyBlackWoman. |
| 16 | |
| 17 | See also WhoopiEpiphanySpeech, TokenBlackFriend, and {{Mammy}}. For a similar trope about women, see ManicPixieDreamGirl (as well as DisposableWoman and UsefulNotes/TheBechdelTest); the MagicalGirlfriend may play a similar role for her love interest, but is not necessarily an example of this. For the gay version see MagicalQueer ([[TwoferTokenMinority who may also be black]]). The disabled version of this is InspirationallyDisadvantaged. When a non-minority character is portrayed this way, the character is usually a SidekickExMachina. Similar in vein to the MagicalNativeAmerican, though that trope tends to be more explicitly magical. Also similar to MagicalAsian, when an Asian character, often with supernatural abilities, fulfills a mentor role to a white character. Another related trope is WhiteMansBurden, where the plot is about an ordinary white person who befriends an underprivileged minority character. Related to MagicalRomani, which is about Romani characters having magical abilities (or otherwise associated with the supernatural). Also compare MagicalJew. |
| 18 | |
| 19 | The term "Magical Negro" was popularized by Creator/SpikeLee during a lecture denouncing this trope. |
| 20 | |
| 21 | %% '''NOTE ON WRITING EXAMPLES FOR THIS PAGE:''' Merely having supernatural powers is neither necessary nor sufficient to make a minority character an example of this trope. Simply being a minority character who plays a mentor role is also not sufficient. Think carefully before you add a character to this list just because they're black and serve as a mentor and/or use magic. |
| 22 | |
| 23 | [[noreallife]] |
| 24 | ---- |
| 25 | !!Examples: |
| 26 | |
| 27 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 28 | |
| 29 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 30 | * In the ''ComicBook/BatmanGrantMorrison'' story "Batman R.I.P.", Bruce Wayne is found lost on the street with no memory of who he is, when he comes across a black homeless man named Honor Jackson. Honor helps Bruce start his path to recovery, but then disappears and is revealed to have already been dead. However, while it looks like this trope at first, it's actually a subversion -- it's eventually revealed that Honor is looking for his own personal redemption, saying that he'd never done anything he could be proud of, but was now happy to save one man's life. In a blink-and-you'll-miss-it appearance, Honor Jackson gets a page in the first issue of Morrison's run. Batman gives him a few bucks when the Batmobile is stopped nearby, noting to Robin that there's always time to help people. Honor apparently uses this money to drink himself to death. Arguably the Honor that Bruce met later during "Batman R.I.P." was never anything more than a fragment of Bruce's psyche, which raises a few questions about Bruce. |
| 31 | * In ''ComicBook/SouthernBastards,'' blind Big is clearly this to Euless Boss, helping the young man use football to escape his hard life with a criminal father. However, it ends up being subverted as Big realizes he's turned Boss into a monster willing to kill to keep in power as the high school coach and lets out a literal MyGodWhatHaveIDone. |
| 32 | * Ali Ka-Zoom from ''ComicBook/SevenSoldiers'' fits this trope. He even appears to be acting as a wise mentor of sorts to Shining Knight at the close of the book. |
| 33 | * ''ComicBook/WhatIf ... ComicBook/CaptainAmerica Fought In [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar The Civil War]]?'' reduces the Falcon to a cross between a Magical Negro and a MagicalNativeAmerican (in this version he was raised by the Shawnee tribe and became a shaman). He gives Steve Rogers a [[WhoopiEpiphanySpeech speech about seeing the similarities in people]], uses his [[ReligionIsMagic mystic abilities]] to give Steve superpowers, and then gets killed. |
| 34 | * In ''ComicBook/TheSandman1989'', the character Maisie Hill in the Game of You story arc (otherwise known as the I-don't-like-dogs-lady) changes one main character's perceptions of "subway people" and literally saves another main character's life with the sacrifice of her own. |
| 35 | * An old homeless man named Crackajack Jackson made a huge impression on the Hulk in ''[[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk1968 The Incredible Hulk]]'' #182 by teaching him to read a little bit, and just by being a genuinely loving and nonjudgmental friend. When he was accidentally killed by his own son during a battle with the Hulk, the Hulk mourned his passing for years afterward. |
| 36 | [[/folder]] |
| 37 | |
| 38 | [[folder:Films -- Live-Action]] |
| 39 | * Creator/MorganFreeman has a tendency to be [[{{Typecasting}} typecast]] in such roles: |
| 40 | ** ''Film/{{Wanted}}''. [[spoiler: Actually a subversion, since he's manipulating the Fraternity for profit, and all his talk about "destiny" and "duty" turns out to be a smokescreen.]] |
| 41 | ** The ''[[Film/BruceAlmighty Bruce]]/Film/EvanAlmighty'' films, where the main characters are selfish white guys who need his assistance to find widsom. Given that he plays the role of {{God}}, his character has [[JustifiedTrope actual good reasons]] for mentoring them selflessly. |
| 42 | ** ''Film/TheMagicOfBelleIsle'' was criticized by some for being another vehicle for Freeman to play this trope. In this case, however, Freeman's character is the protagonist, and while he does seem to fulfill the Magical Negro role to his neighbors on the island, they play an equal role in his character's development. Freeman's race is not only a non-factor in the story, it is never even mentioned or alluded to. It seems likely the character (a writer of western novels) was not even written as black. |
| 43 | ** He finally won the Oscar for playing this in ''Film/MillionDollarBaby''. |
| 44 | ** In ''Film/BatmanBegins'', he plays Lucius Fox, a GadgeteerGenius who has hit a career dead-end in Wayne Enterprises' Applied Science Department, the resting place for advanced products that never made it into production. Nevertheless, he still happily agrees to give Bruce Wayne the gear he needs to become Batman, no questions asked. [[spoiler: Subverted at the end when Bruce repays him by promoting him to CEO of Wayne Enterprises.]] |
| 45 | ** Freeman's version of Nelson Mandela in the film ''Film/{{Invictus}}''. |
| 46 | ** The literally magical Vitruvius in ''WesternAnimation/TheLEGOMovie'' serves to play with this trope as a parody of Freeman's usual wise mentor roles, with him being the OnlySaneMan compared to the rest of the cast's antics. Then it's revealed [[spoiler:he made the whole chosen one prophecy up out of desperation, but despite this he gives Emmet some final advice to save the day]]. |
| 47 | ** Subverted again with Thaddeus Bradley in ''Film/NowYouSeeMe'': he seems to be helping the FBI in cracking down on the main characters' magical acts by [[OnceMoreWithClarity debunking the same]], [[spoiler:but he's just doing so since it will boost his ego more.]] |
| 48 | ** Played straight in ''{{Film/Lucy}}'', where Freeman plays a popular college professor teaching his theory on human evolution and the power of the human brain. [[spoiler: He ultimately gives Lucy advice on how to use her powers and leave behind a legacy before she dies.]] |
| 49 | * Harlan, Adam's family's old driver in ''Film/Adam2009'' seems to have nothing better to do than give him advice, and look bemused, of course. |
| 50 | * The mortician Bludworth in ''Film/FinalDestination'' subverts this trope, not only in the fact that his advice essentially boiled down to [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption "you're all screwed, but have fun trying to stay alive"]], but also by the AlternateCharacterInterpretation that he [[TheGrimReaper is death]] taunting them for giggles (although [[{{Jossed}} the creators claim this interpretation to be incorrect]]). |
| 51 | %%* Lamont in ''Film/AmericanHistoryX''. |
| 52 | %%* Harry Mitchell in ''Film/TheAdjustmentBureau'', the Adjuster who decides to help David. |
| 53 | %%* How about the Bogo-Matassalai from ''Film/ArthurAndTheInvisibles''? |
| 54 | * Gloria in '' Literature/BecauseOfWinnDixie'' is a [[TwoferTokenMinority fourfer:]] [[InspirationallyDisadvantaged blind]], black, female, and a dry alcoholic who teaches the protagonist about dealing with grief and not judging others before you know their story. |
| 55 | * In ''Film/{{Daredreamer}}'', Zach's main role is to share wisdom with Winston, recover Jennie's writing, and encourage Winston to share his daydreams with the class. It's a more literal example than normal, as he also appears in the dream world to give advice. |
| 56 | * ''Film/{{Dogma}}'': Rufus is somewhat of a parody. And according to Rufus, UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} is the UrExample. Taking in consideration the Brazilian movie ''Film/OAutoDaCompadecida'', it could be taken literally. |
| 57 | * ''Film/TheFamilyMan'': Cash is the black man who sends Jack to a WhatIf universe to show him what his life might have been if he had taken different choices. It's never stated, though implied, that [[GodWasMyCopilot he's Jack's guardian angel]]. |
| 58 | * [[OneSceneWonder Marshall]], the elderly chauffer in ''Film/JoeVersusTheVolcano'' is an example, giving Joe some good advice (clearly not in his job description) that sets him on the right track. |
| 59 | %% * ''Film/TheGreenMile'' has a character played by the late Creator/MichaelClarkeDuncan. |
| 60 | * Moses the clock worker in ''Film/TheHudsuckerProxy''. He provides sagely narration in a stereotypical patois, is satisfied coaxing the protagonist to success, and apparently has the [[spoiler:unexplained power to stop time by obstructing the gears of the Hudsucker Building's clock]]. He's a bit of a parody of the trope, though, by being a blatant, ''literal'' Magical Negro. |
| 61 | * ''Film/TheLegendOfBaggerVance'': Bagger Vance; notably, the film is very loosely based on the ''Bhagavad Gita'', with Vance in the role of Krishna, so it's implied that Bagger Vance is actually ''{{God}}''. Admittedly, this is a fairly appropriate translation of the original story. However the fact remains that Bagger Vance, an African American in the south during the 1920s, has only one concern in the story: helping a white man improve his golf game. |
| 62 | * Although the entire film takes place in Africa, only one character in ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994'' is presented as African: the mystical baboon Rafiki. |
| 63 | * In LifetimeMovieOfTheWeek ''Series/OddGirlOut'' the bullied protagonist's TokenBlackFriend Emily shows up in the plot to warn her not to trust the bullies, to tell her how wonderful she is after she tries to kill herself, to speak up on her behalf in class and to lead the assembled teenage crowd in a round of applause when she finally tells the bullies off at the end of the movie. This is compounded by the fact that Emily doesn't even make an appearance on the cover. |
| 64 | %%* ''[[http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0316465/ Radio,]]'' the 2003 film. Despite being [[BasedOnATrueStory based on the true story]] of James Robert "Radio" Kennedy. |
| 65 | * ''Franchise/TheMatrix'' The Oracle, however, is an absolutely textbook example in the first movie, although the sequels give her a wider role. |
| 66 | * ''Film/TheKillingBox'': Rebecca is a mute escaped slave who is knowledgeable about the magic behind thwarting the zombies and makes Strayn question some of the Confederacy's beliefs after he falls in love with her. |
| 67 | %%* ''Film/OBrotherWhereArtThou'' kicked off with a Magical Negro version of Teiresias from Homer's ''Odyssey''. A bit of a parody. |
| 68 | * A historical/film example which seems to play with or subvert the trope is the movie ''Something the Lord Made''. It tells the story of a white surgeon (Alan Rickman) aided in his cardiac research by a black assistant (Mos Def) who is clearly the greater genius of the two. However, against type, the black assistant is not shown as being happy having another take credit for his work, but realizes this is the only way for him to do what he is interested in rather than being a janitor. There is also an implication that despite his goodness and supposed liberalism, the white doctor was essentially a plagiarist taking advantage of the racist system. Based on the true story of Vivien Thomas and Alfred Blalock, whose relationship the Wikipedia summarizes as "complicated and contradictory". |
| 69 | * Uncle Remus from ''Film/SongOfTheSouth'' epitomizes this trope. Even the horrors of Jim Crow can't dampen his determination to be a cheerful mentor for the children. |
| 70 | * ''Film/{{Waiting}}'' gives us Bishop, a [[RefugeInAudacity ridiculously blatant execution of this trope]]. He's the only black character in the movie, and apparently is a fully trained behavioral psychiatrist who chooses to work as a dishwasher at some random restaurant. He exists only to give complex advice to everyone's social and psychological problems, and does so with a calm, deep-voiced, wise demeanor. |
| 71 | %%* Djimon Hounsou also seems to be playing this sort of role A LOT since his role as Maximus' friend in ''Film/{{Gladiator}}''. |
| 72 | %%** He plays a textbook example in the film adaptation of ''Literature/SameKindOfDifferentAsMe.'' |
| 73 | %%** Inverted in his portrayal of Caliban in Julie Taymor's ''Film/TheTempest2010''. He might be magical, being the son of a witch (and possibly a demon) but he sure isn't there to help any of the other characters. |
| 74 | * ''Film/NotAnotherTeenMovie'' has a parody of a Magical Negro in the "[[AlmightyJanitor Wise Janitor]]"... played by Creator/MrT (shown above). |
| 75 | * In M Night Shyamalan's ''Film/{{Unbreakable}}'': Elijah Price (Creator/SamuelLJackson), the black and physically-handicapped mentor to Creator/BruceWillis' burgeoning hero is one of these. [[spoiler:Until the ending when it's subverted. He is revealed to be an EvilGenius who has been murdering and destroying in the hope of finding a "True Superhero," and [[UnwittingPawn any help he gives Bruce is purely manipulative]]. All he wanted to do is find his opposite, because it meant there was a ''reason'' for someone like him to exist.]] |
| 76 | * ''Film/{{Hitch}}'' manages to subvert this trope just by changing the focus. Creator/WillSmith plays a character whose job is ''literally'' teaching white guys how to be as cool as he is - he's a "date doctor" who coaches socially clueless men on how to woo women. However, since Hitch himself is the protagonist, not the white guys -- and, accordingly, he gets a real character arc instead of remaining a static figure -- he's really not at all a Magical Negro. |
| 77 | %%* The handicapped (black) golf instructor/mentor Chubbs Peterson, whose hand got eaten by a crocodile in ''Film/HappyGilmore''. |
| 78 | %%* ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Man Holy Man]]'' starring Creator/EddieMurphy. |
| 79 | %%* Shaquille O'Neal in ''Film/{{Kazaam}}'', with plenty of UnfortunateImplications. |
| 80 | * ''Film/TwilightZoneTheMovie'': In "Kick the Can", Mr. Bloom is an African-American man who has the ability to make elderly people young again so that they can live their lives over again. Prior to his arrival at Sunnyvale Retirement Home, he had previously done so at six or eight other retirement homes. |
| 81 | * The prisoner in the ''Film/{{Bedazzled 2000}}'' is implied to be God himself. |
| 82 | %%* Solomon from ''Film/HandThatRocksTheCradle'' is an example of this character type as well. |
| 83 | * In ''Film/TheBasketballDiaries'', Ernie Hudson plays the only black character in the film, who does a lot to help the protagonist. |
| 84 | * Played with in ''Film/{{A Patch of Blue}}'': Selina, who is blind, white and incredibly sheltered, thinks Gordon is this (in a good way), but he's really just a regular, non-stereotyped guy who wants to help her become independent. |
| 85 | * Vadinho from the ''Film/ThePumaman'', whose job it is to hand the protagonist the magic belt with the mystical powers of the Puma Man and make him realize his destiny without using these awesome powers for himself, instead becoming the hero's {{sidekick}}. The problem is, the hero is so ineffectual that Vadinho ends up looking like TheHero by comparison and making the film unintentionally subvert the trope. |
| 86 | * Mateo in Jim Sheridan's ''Film/InAmerica''. Despite his appearance as StarvingArtist, he turns out to really be one of those RichPeople, so he's able to pay the Sullivan family's hospital check. Along with teach the family's father how to feel again. |
| 87 | * Averted in ''Film/ThePreachersWife''. While Denzel Washington plays a Magical Negro sent from heaven, he does so to help a black woman save her marriage to a black pastor. |
| 88 | * The acclaimed French film "Les Intouchables" ''(The Intouchables)'' falls into the Magical Negro trap, being the story of a jaded and rich (although disabled) white man who magnanimously hires an unqualified poor black man as a caretaker who, with his sassy urban ways, teaches the white man to appreciate life again, subsuming his entire existence to that goal. This movie is based on a true story, but it is worth noting that in real life, the caretaker was not black. |
| 89 | * Inverted in ''Film/DjangoUnchained'', with the escaped slave Django in the lead and the white Dr. King Schultz in a mentor role that hits every beat of the standard Magical Negro plot arc. |
| 90 | * Averted in ''Film/TheVerdict''. Deprived of his star expert witness, Frank brings in Dr. Thompson, a Simple Country Doctor type from the East Hampton Women's Hospital. He's an older black man whose slightly bumbling affect makes you think he's doing ObfuscatingStupidity. He's not. When he leaves, you have a strong sense that his parting words ("People have a great ability to hear the truth") are going to give Frank a brilliant idea. Nope. He's just a nice guy who picks up a little extra cash by being an expert witness for hire. However, if anyone had really been listening to his testimony, he reveals everything that must have happened (and in fact did happen). |
| 91 | * Viola Davis plays a literal magical negro mammy/librarian in ''Film/BeautifulCreatures'' whose only purpose and desire in life is to help the white characters solve their problems. |
| 92 | %%* In ''Film/ThePunisher2004'', Candelaria the local Witch Doctor is a textbook example. |
| 93 | %%* Mr. Fortune in ''Film/{{Rudy}}''. |
| 94 | * ''Film/CloudAtlas'' shows black people as the technologically advanced elites in the far future setting. Notably, the white characters live a primitive, tribal lifestyle. In many ways, this comes off as a satirical inversion of the classic Victorian WhiteMansBurden setup. |
| 95 | * A very literal example appears [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment inexplicably]] at the end of Film/SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand. The statue of Sgt. Pepper (a white guy) comes to life as Creator/BillyPreston, using the power of The Beatles' "Get Back" to [[DeusExMachina rewind the protagonist's suicide-in-progress and resurrect his sweetheart]]. (This was no simple RaceLift. Preston had played on a number of Beatles tracks, and the original "Get Back" was credited to "The Beatles with Billy Preston".) |
| 96 | * In ''Film/{{Annabelle}}'', [[spoiler: Evelyn, who has knowledge of the occult, steps in and sacrifices her soul so Mia and her baby can live.]] |
| 97 | * {{Subverted}} in ''Film/TheSunsetLimited'' with Black who not only fails to give White any hope, but nearly loses all hope himself after White's DespairSpeech. |
| 98 | * Da Mayor from ''Film/DoTheRightThing'' is an old black drunk who is clearly trying to be this. [[AvertedTrope He's not very good at it,]] as most of his advice is nonsensical and no one respects him. While he is one of the film's more moral characters and does gain some respect by the end of the story, he's largely unable to handle the film's conflicts. |
| 99 | %%* Basquiat - biographical drama film based on the life of American postmodernist/neo expressionist artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. |
| 100 | * Averted by Vivica A Fox's FairyGodmother character Lucinda in "Film/EllaEnchanted". Not only does she [[BlessedWithSuck make the protagonist hyper obedient as a baby]], when she's called upon in the climax she only [[FromBadToWorse makes everything worse]] |
| 101 | * [[Creator/SamuelLJackson Samuel L. Motherfuckin' Jackson]] who chained Christina Ricci to correct her sinful ways in the film ''Film/BlackSnakeMoan''. |
| 102 | %%* Bradley, Henry's physical rehabilitation therapist in ''Regarding Henry ''. |
| 103 | * An elderly Jamaican woman (no name given) in ''Film/MeetJoeBlack'' who is the only person who can see who "Joe" is (Death), and later gives him sage advice on his situation. |
| 104 | * ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'': |
| 105 | ** How Nick Fury is largely portrayed in the films (bonus points for being another Creator/SamuelLJackson example) while also combining this with being the BigGood and BaldOfAuthority, as despite being the leader of SHIELD, and a badass in his own right, he still leaves the world-saving largely up to the (all white) Avengers, and as time goes on he's seemingly became more of this. PlayedWith at least in that [[RaceLift Fury was white in the original comics]], but there he actually had his own story as the lead character and was more functionally a HeroOfAnotherStory or ReasonableAuthorityFigure. |
| 106 | *** ''Film/TheAvengers2012'' has Fury explicitly going out of his way to unite the Avengers and encourage them to become Earth's Mightiest Heroes, though it's played as him being something of a MagnificentBastard who took advantage of the crisis to get his super-team pet-project off the ground, and he has something of his own arc. |
| 107 | *** ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'' again portrays him as being quite a bit more underhanded in these efforts, faking his death to encourage Steve and Natasha to stop the HYDRA conspiracy he had uncovered, and he at least takes a more active role in stopping the badguys (personally killing the BigBad), and gets a bit of CharacterDevelopment when he comes to realise how he had allowed SHIELD to slip into fascism under his control. Basically, he still takes on the "there to make the white heroes do their job/complete there arc" aspect, but he's not a magical, idolised saint, but a flawed man who learns as much from Steve as Steve learns from him. |
| 108 | *** ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' plays this the most straight, with him only showing up briefly to give the Avengers some sage advice; he helps coordinate the evacuation of Sokovia using leftover SHIELD resources, but otherwise does little else but help the white guys get off their asses after getting their asses kicked by Ultron. |
| 109 | *** ''Film/CaptainMarvel2019'' largely averts it, as a younger Fury instead is more the AudienceSurrogate and his relationship with Carol Danvers is more akin to a FriendOnTheForce type, with him acting as the deuteragonist of the movie. He doesn't give her any kind of sage advise and has his own character arc, which sees him beginning to grow into the mentor/commander he'll eventually be (the film is a prequel and is chronologically his earliest appearance). |
| 110 | ** Downplayed but still there with Sam Wilson, ComicBook/TheFalcon. |
| 111 | *** In ''Captain America: The Winter Soldier'', he's a PTSD counselor who helps military vets coming home readjust to civilian life and gives Steve some emotional support, but it turns out he works well in this role because he's a HeroOfAnotherStory, having piloted an experimental Stark Tech wingsuit for the military under the codename Falcon. He comes out of retirement and helps Steve defeat HYDRA and save his friend Bucky from Brainwashing. |
| 112 | *** Interestingly PlayedWith in ''Series/TheFalconAndTheWinterSoldier'', where he's TheProtagonist and the show is largely spent on him trying to be this to a budding BombThrowingAnarchist in an attempt to stop her from JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope (unfortunately he fails), but she herself is also black. And, though both are resistant to it, he ends up helping the former Winter Soldier, Bucky, deal with his trauma in a way reminiscent of this trope, but Bucky also helps him deal with his own hang-ups. The show ends with Sam taking over the Captain America legacy, in large part because his compassion and skill for reaching to vulnerable people actually makes him a pretty good leader, which is the exact quality needed for a good Captain America. |
| 113 | * Lampshaded and parodied by ''Film/TheAmericanSocietyOfMagicalNegroes'', where a young black man is recruited into a secret society of Magical Negros whose mission is to make white people’s lives easier. |
| 114 | [[/folder]] |
| 115 | |
| 116 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 117 | * Creator/StephenKing seems to have issues on this subject; many of his writings and their [[TheFilmOfTheBook film adaptations]] include examples of this trope. To be fair to King, he does acknowledge his tendency to write characters such as Dick Hallorann and Mother Abigail as superblack heroes (his words) and says [[WriteWhatYouKnow they are products of his white liberal guilt]]. |
| 118 | ** ''Literature/TheGreenMile'': John Coffey, the gentle black man who calmly dies so as not to cause a fuss while using his powers to help those who guarded his cell. There is a [[MessianicArchetype Christ-metaphor]] at work there, showing the white audience how their structural racism killed Coffey. |
| 119 | ** ''Literature/TheStand'': Has Mother Abigail, who is positioned as the "good" magical counterpart of the evil Flagg. It's her visions that lead the various protagonists to Boulder, and it's around her that the first post plague society organizes itself. |
| 120 | ** ''Literature/TheTalisman'' (and to a lesser extent the sequel ''Black House''): Young, white hero Jack Sawyer is guided along his way by aging blues-man Lester "Speedy" Parker and his Territories twinner, Parkus. |
| 121 | ** ''Literature/DumaKey'' is about a man who loses an arm and gets serious brain damage in a construction accident. He also gets mysterious painting powers along with it. He's not the sidekick; [[AvertedTrope he's the main character]]. |
| 122 | ** ''Literature/TheShining'': Dick Hallorann, although he's much more proactive than some of King's other examples and is a hero in his own right. Also, as a much-sought-after chef in high-class hotels, he's actually richer than the protagonists. |
| 123 | ** King's fondness for the Magical Negro trope was discussed in an episode of ''Series/KeyAndPeele'', with the comedians eventually wondering aloud if Maine (where King grew up) is full of psychic black people. |
| 124 | * Richard Matheson's ''Stir of Echoes'' has Neil the cop, who's introduction scene plays almost exactly like Hallorann's in ''The Shining'' above, even more so in the filmed version. |
| 125 | * Creator/RobertRMcCammon: |
| 126 | ** In ''Literature/BoysLife'', Moon Man and The Lady are typical Magical Negroes. |
| 127 | ** Solange in ''Literature/TheyThirst''. |
| 128 | * Brom's ''Literature/ThePlucker'' casts the character Mabelle as a blatant Magical Negro: she uses forbidden magic to help the white family, then [[spoiler:dies unpleasantly and returns as a ghost]] to tell the little boy how to [[spoiler:dispose of the Big Bad's remains.]] |
| 129 | %%* The title character in Bernard Malamud's short story "The Angel Levine" is an early (and very blatant) example. |
| 130 | * ''Literature/TheCay,'' by Theodore Taylor, features an old black man who rescues a racist white boy who had become blinded when their ship sinks. The two live together in a tropical island and the black man lives long enough to make the boy a better person before [[DeathByNewberyMedal dying in a hurricane.]] The book won a number of awards before suffering a backlash due to accusations of racism. Nonetheless it remains a classic children's book. |
| 131 | ** Taylor later told the old man's backstory in the sequel/prequel, ''Timothy of the Cay''. |
| 132 | * Jim from ''Literature/HuckleberryFinn'' is a nice subversion. While he is Black, and into magic, it doesn't Flanderize him and certainly isn't portrayed typically. Bonus points for averting HollywoodVoodoo. |
| 133 | * Dobby from the Franchise/HarryPotter franchise plays this to a T: oppressed ethnic minority (house-elf), kept as a slave, speaks pidgin English, is eternally grateful that main character (Harry) treats him decently, has enormous magical powers but rarely uses them, later freed by main character and basically becomes his slave, eventually sacrifices his life to save Harry. |
| 134 | * Hassan, from ''Literature/TheKiteRunner''. Not black (he's Hazara), but hits the rest of the criteria so heavily to demand recognition. |
| 135 | * Burton Galilee in ''Literature/LittleGreenMen''. His great talent is said to be making white people feeling good about themselves. |
| 136 | * Stuart "Straight" Rathe in the ''Literature/UndergroundZealot'' series. Straight leads Paul, the white (and atheist) hero to Christ. He then spends his time driving Paul to chess tournaments, giving him Biblical advice on his relationship, and getting him in touch with other Christians. |
| 137 | * Parodied--or something--in Bill Fitzhugh's ''Pest Control''. Just when the protagonist Bob Dillon ([[RunningGag no relation to]] Music/BobDylan) is at his lowest ebb; his wife left with his daughter, and he doesn't even have enough money to even buy a nice dinner. He stumbles upon a southern Black woman who runs the Beebe Avenue Mission. While she gives him some advice, snark, and soup, she happens to mention that she opened the mission specifically to fix people's "broken dreams". Which means she's not there just to help Bob, she's doing her best to help ''everyone''. |
| 138 | ** In the climax, Bob [[spoiler:pays it forward by giving hope to Klaus, the depressive, suicidal hitman who's been helping Bob. Specifically, he comes up with a plan that will let Bob's family and Klaus fake their deaths, and start over with a shedload of money.]] |
| 139 | ** At the end of the book, [[spoiler:Bob sends her a good portion the money. She says that she can fix a lot of dreams with it.]] |
| 140 | * August Boatwright in ''The Secret Life of Bees'' invites white runaway teenager Lily and her black servant Rosalee to live with her when they show up at her door. She becomes Lily's spiritual guide and healer. |
| 141 | * ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' plays with this trope in ''Literature/SmallFavor'', including a folksy, semi-magical, elderly African-American janitor called Jake, who provides philosophical and religious advice to Dresden when he's in the hospital chapel having a RageAgainstTheHeavens moment. So far, so standard. Then, at the end of the conversation, he suddenly comes out with something that's less spiritual advice, more tactical information, then literally vanishing before Dresden can turn around. This is immediately followed by TheReveal that he's actually [[spoiler: the Archangel Uriel]], and 'Jake' was just AFormYouAreComfortableWith - and his occasionally vague remarks are a product of the fact that he's TheFettered and has to be very careful about not crossing certain boundaries. In following appearances, he mixes it up, appearing as 'Jake' (to Dresden's mild incredulity, since he ''knows'' who he's talking to and there's no point in a disguise), a blond young white man (i.e. the traditional Western image of [[spoiler: an angel]]), and most recently, in ''Literature/SkinGame'', as a young man with greenish eyes from somewhere in the Middle East. |
| 142 | * Played with/averted in ''Literature/ArielBlock''. The elder black woman who advises Roberta that haunts cannot harm you seems reassuring enough, but the ghost in the Jardell home seems at least to warn Roberta that her baby will die. When he does, Roberta returns to the riverfront but can't find the old lady. |
| 143 | * In ''[[Literature/SpecialCircumstances Princess of Wands]]'', a black mystical woman who tells fortunes points Detective Lockhart towards the swamps in search of a pimp to question about a murder, and along with warning him to watch out for danger tells him to keep an eye out for Barbara, who's only indirectly identified by the sign of a Tarot card, the [[TitleDrop Princess of Wands]]. |
| 144 | * Played with in ''Literature/SorcererToTheCrown'': Zacharias Wythe is black and uses magic. But then, as the titular Sorcerer to the Crown, the magic is kind of expected. He takes on a mentor role to Prunella, who is not ''quite'' white, and also doesn't need to have her life fixed at all - that she should learn magic is Zacharias' idea, which she agrees to go along with as part of a deal. |
| 145 | * Ancash in ''Literature/AutobiographyOfRed'' has shades of this, being a quechuaphone Peruvian who serves up traditional wisdom for the benefit of the anglophone North American protagonist. |
| 146 | * Minty Fresh in ''Literature/ADirtyJob'' is arguably this. Lampshaded by the man in the yellow suit in the sequel Secondhand Souls. |
| 147 | * Averted in ''Literature/TheElementals''. The elderly African-American servant to the wealthy Alabama family the Savages, Odessa, does perform magical rituals that are supposed to keep the titular Elementals at bay, but in the end she concludes they've been ineffective and she protests that she doesn't know much more about what the Elementals are or what they want than anyone else. [[spoiler:In the end, the Elementals do kill her, although she does supernaturally pass on her insight by having the teenager India eat the eyes from her corpse.]] |
| 148 | * Reverend Ray Branson plays this role in ''Literature/WarsOfTheRealm'', acting as a sort of mentor figure to Drew while he (Drew) is in hiding in the ghettos of Chicago. The "magical" shoe fits to some degree because Ray is a pastor. There's even a point where he seems to know inexplicably what is going on in Drew's life... |
| 149 | --> '''Ray''': God and his mighty angels go with you! |
| 150 | [[/folder]] |
| 151 | |
| 152 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 153 | * ''Series/LifeOnMars2006'': Nelson TheBartender, whose main purpose is to offer advice to the FishOutOfTemporalWater protagonist (and occasionally hint that he may know more about Sam's situation). |
| 154 | -->'''Sam:''' What part of my subconscious do you hail from? |
| 155 | ** In the GrandFinale of, ''Series/AshesToAshes2008'' [[spoiler: he turns out to be an angel.]] |
| 156 | * Parodied in a series of ''Series/TheManShow'' sketches. A hapless white guy is presented with an opportunity to cheat on his wife, and as he agonizes over the decision, a self-identified Magical Negro appears to him, sings a song about "Listening to your penis's heart," and helps him find a way to rationalize the infidelity. |
| 157 | * The premise of ''Series/NewAmsterdam2008'' is that a MightyWhitey saves the life of a MagicalNativeAmerican and in return they use their magic to make him immortal. Naturally, it never occurs to them to make the members of their own tribe immortal, perhaps because the immortal magic only works on superior white genes. However, they only made him immortal until he found his true happiness (BlessedWithSuck?), at which point he'd become mortal again. Since they're not around anymore, the implication is that they were already quite happy the way they were, making it less Magical Negro and more NobleSavage (recovering MagicalNativeAmerican). |
| 158 | ** A bizarre twist and possible subversion -- the protagonist's mentor who gives him sagely advice and a beer whenever he needs to unwind and talk about his troubles, while a very stereotypically grizzled and kindly old black man, is also... the protagonist's son. Such are the vagaries of being an unaging immortal (the kind who can have kids but can't pass on the immortality). |
| 159 | * ''Series/{{Lost}}'': |
| 160 | ** Rose consistently dispenses sensible, down-to-earth wisdom. She leads Charlie in prayer after his DisneyDeath. She mystically "knows" her husband is alive elsewhere on the island. In general, if she believes a character is good, she's correct. However, Rose later grew a bit, becoming a character in her own right in season 2 with a back story and her own side plot. And by season 4, she's actively snarking at Jack. And then she decides to [[spoiler:just give up and just live in "retirement" with Bernard]]. |
| 161 | ** On the other hand, it's completely subverted by Eko. While he seems to be a Magical Negro priest who tries to restore Locke's "faith", he's actually [[spoiler:not a real priest, but a former brutal drug lord in disguise]]. Oh, and he's [[TooDumbToLive so idiotic he tries to use dynamite to blow open a blast door]].... |
| 162 | ** Walt was apparently intended to have this type of role as he’s a child implied to have psychic connection with the island, but his character was soon minimized due to the logistical difficulties of keeping a child actor in a show that went on to spend several seasons on less than a year passing in the story. Still, he continues to pop up every now and then (sometimes in the course of visions by other characters), where he does fulfill this sort of role. |
| 163 | * ''Series/TheTwilightZone1985'': Inverted in the episode "[[Recap/TheTwilightZone1985S1E7 Paladin of the Lost Hour]]", which has a magical white man help the young black protagonist find his destiny. In the short story upon which the episode is based, author Creator/HarlanEllison states, "One of these men was black, the other white" and refuses to say which one is which. Of course, for a visual medium, they had to make a choice, and it seems that they deliberately chose to avoid the Magical Negro trope. |
| 164 | * Guinan in ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'', played by Whoopi Goldberg, is an El-Aurian, a member of a race with an almost supernatural sense of time and space. She's Picard's TokenBlackFriend, but she's happy to give a WhoopiEpiphanySpeech to anyone who asks--or anyone else she thinks needs one. She can tell when history has been altered, has centuries of experience and accumulated skills, is a better shot than the Enterprise's chief of security, and is the only person on the ship who scares Q. Despite the fact that she could probably replace anyone on the crew, she chooses to work as a bartender in Ten Forward. |
| 165 | * ''Series/AmericanGothic1995''. Although Mrs. Holt is certainly mysterious, wise, and spiritual enough to be a Magical Negro. The extent of her 'magic spell' to help sway the judge in Caleb's custody hearing is... a nice big bowl of homemade chicken soup. Aside from some hints at African tribalism in her ancestry, a bit of voodoo, and some understanding of how the Afterlife works, she dispenses only common sense advice. |
| 166 | ** In one episode her [[GoodIsImpotent ineffectiveness in protecting Caleb from evil]] is [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] when Buck, after being thwarted by her interference, apparently makes her verge on choking to death -- presumably he does not kill her because [[NotWorthKilling she's that small a blip on his radar]] (or such a petty thing would be beneath him). And the advice she gives Caleb regarding Merlyn's spirit being laid to rest is quite sound, namely "don't mess with the dead." Too bad Caleb doesn't listen, and in trying to help her move on instead brings her back... with [[WellIntentionedExtremist unfortunate]] [[LightIsNotGood results]]. |
| 167 | ** By the end of the show, though, she has indeed been ditched from the plot, and without even really serving a real purpose other than to give Caleb her halfway house to stay in. We can only speculate whether her role was cut due to ExecutiveMeddling, or if it might have been expanded had the show not been CutShort. |
| 168 | * Examples from ''Series/DegrassiHigh'': |
| 169 | ** Maya is a wheelchair-bound girl who is always the voice of reason in her circle of friends, and (unlike every single one of those friends) never gets a spotlight episode. |
| 170 | ** BLT also fit this trope. He was instrumental in helping [[ShrinkingViolet Michelle]] overcome her insecurities and even confront her parents about their own racism. He then helped her overcome her addiction to caffeine pills. Magnificently subverted later when BLT cheated on and dumped Michelle showing how flawed he was. |
| 171 | ** Strangest of all is Patrick, who is a Magical ''Irishman.'' He befriends Liz and Spike (the two grimmest girls in the show). Then he teaches them to live and enjoy life again, to a degree where he's like a mild male version of the ManicPixieDreamGirl. The effect -- a boy dressed like a stock Irish laborer from old movies, singing Celtic love songs (which he writes and composes) in a thick brogue -- is hard to describe. We never see him do ''anything'' that doesn't involve helping these girls, and he eventually [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome vanishes without a trace]]. |
| 172 | ** Speaking of Degrassi, Jimmy Brooks from ''Series/DegrassiTheNextGeneration'' counts as well. He was always right and always good and always the voice of reason before and after he was crippled. |
| 173 | * Larry Wilmore, "Senior Black Correspondent" on ''Series/TheDailyShow'', explicitly referenced the trope one episode. A disbelieving Jon Stewart repeated, "Magical...?" "Negro. It's okay, you can say it." "Magical... I'm sorry, I'm a little uncomfortable--" "Good. [[NWordPrivileges That was a test]]." |
| 174 | ** A subsequent incident involving "imaginary black crime" featured the other party pointing out that the "imaginary black people who help whites", such as most Morgan Freeman characters, "aren't ''imaginary'', they're ''magical''!" |
| 175 | ** On an episode of ''Series/TheDailyShow'' from around the time of Barack Obama's one-year anniversary as President, Larry Wilmore had to convince Jon Stewart that Obama was ''not'', in fact, a Magical Negro, by painting a lackluster picture of his Presidential track record thus far. |
| 176 | * Usutu in Volume 3 of ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' bears deep, ''deep'' elements of this. His sole purpose seems to be to send Parkman (and later, Hiro) on spiritual visions of the future and the past, and then die. |
| 177 | ** And apparently the poor guy can't even rest in peace, because Volume 4 has him appearing to Parkman in visions, explaining that Matt is destined to become a prophet to the world. |
| 178 | ** Charles Deveaux is pretty bad, too. In the season one finale, he appears in Peter Petrelli's dreams to tell him about the power of love, and about Peter's very special destiny to save the world. |
| 179 | * ''Series/{{Benson}}'' is an odd subversion -- it's about a wise black servant employed in the household of a wealthy governor's family, who solves all their problems. And is secretly the governor's most trusted political adviser. But unlike most Magical Negroes he is the main character and often has problems of his own to deal with, he constantly insults the Governor and the staff behind their backs and to their faces, and is often dragged into their problems whether he wants to help them or not. Eventually Benson seeks his own political office, running against his former mentor plus a [[DarkHorseVictory dark horse]] in a close political race. The show was deliberately ended in a CliffHanger, though WordOfGod states that, yes, Benson did win that office. |
| 180 | * ''Series/DoctorWho:'' In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E1RemembranceOfTheDaleks Remembrance of the Daleks]]", the Doctor is helped out by a black man who serves tea in a café while inexplicably offering philosophical insights based on the enslavement of his ancestors. |
| 181 | ** The Doctor DID start the philosophical train of thought, however, by commenting on how the demand for sugar started off a long string of events. Also, that was in an era where random extras would suddenly go on prolonged philosophical digressions (culminating in the immortal exchange: "What are you doing here?" "That's a very difficult question. Why is everyone around here so preoccupied with metaphysics?"). |
| 182 | ** Despite receiving applause for introducing Jo Martin as the first black female incarnation of the famous Time Lord (officially dubbed "The Fugitive Doctor"), showrunner Chris Chybnall couldn't help but have her fall back into this trope - the Fugitive Doctor appears as a vision to the Thirteenth Doctor during "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS38E10TheTimelessChildren The Timeless Children]]", purely in order to give her a motivating pep talk. Later appearances of the Fugitive Doctor show her having her own adventures and working to her own agenda, though these are still framed as inspiration for her later, white incarnation. |
| 183 | %%** Earl Sigma in the following story "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E2TheHappinessPatrol The Happiness Patrol]]". |
| 184 | * Referenced in an early episode of ''Series/{{Bones}}'', when Angela is talked out of quitting by Dr. Goodman. |
| 185 | -->'''Bones:''' What happened?\ |
| 186 | '''Zack:''' Apparently all Angela needed was to hear her job description in a deep, African-American tone. |
| 187 | * In ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'', season 4 episode 21, Barney and Marshall are aided in a prank by an African-American security guard they randomly meet at "the bar" ([=McLaren=]'s). He speaks in a deep, resonant voice and quotes Pablo Neruda ([[ContinuityNod Ted's favorite poet, as stated in "The Naked Man"]]). He then walks out of their lives.... |
| 188 | * ''Series/{{Firefly}}'': |
| 189 | ** Neatly subverted by Shepherd Book. He may be Serenity's resident mentor and act as TheConscience for the white crew members, but he's not the holy man he appears to be -- [[spoiler:he's the man who killed him.]] |
| 190 | ** ''Film/{{Serenity}}'', however, is sometimes accused of reducing Book to this role. Since he's no longer part of the crew any more, he only shows up briefly when the crew needs help and gives Mal some advice. [[spoiler:He dies not too long after]]. On the other hand, the scene in which he refuses to tell Mal about his background can be taken as a subversion -- the classic Magical Negro would have happily told his life story and used it as a metaphor to help the white hero figure himself out. |
| 191 | --->'''Book:''' I wasn't ''always'' a Shepherd.\ |
| 192 | '''Mal:''' You'll have to tell me about that sometime.\ |
| 193 | '''Book:''' No, I don't. |
| 194 | * Heylia on ''Series/{{Weeds}}'' subverts this thoroughly; she's always giving Nancy advice both on pot dealing and on life in general, but whenever it looks like the show might follow this trope, she proves that while she likes Nancy well enough, it's ultimately a business relationship and her first priority is herself and her own family. Whenever Nancy can't pay for her product, she either takes something for collateral or simply tells her "Tough shit." |
| 195 | * From ''Series/RobinHood'': Brother Tuck. Yes, ''Tuck'' was turned into a Magical Negro. The fact that they dropped the "Friar" and referred to the only black man in England as a "Brother" who never once gave any kind of spiritual or moral guidance was another way in which the combined forces of Political Correctness and Narm beat this show to death. |
| 196 | * ''Series/{{Community}}'': |
| 197 | ** In the pilot episode Jeff poses a question at a random black cafeteria worker, to her confusion. |
| 198 | --->'''Jeff:''' Oh jeez, I'm sorry. I was raised on TV, and I was conditioned to believe that every black woman over 50 is a cosmic mentor. |
| 199 | ** In Season 6, new character Elroy Patashnik explains how being a Magical Negro became an ''addiction'' for him. |
| 200 | --->'''Elroy:''' I learned the cheat code: White people like encouragement. It really doesn't matter what for. |
| 201 | * Parodied on ''Series/ChappellesShow''. In one sketch, Dave helps a young white woman appreciate her special gifts by showing her how they are responsible for her having a career and friends... and the only thing averting a nuclear holocaust. Subverted when Dave reveals he's no angel, just a janitor. |
| 202 | -->'''Woman:''' Then how did you show me all those places?\ |
| 203 | '''Dave:''' Girl, I am high on PCP! I was gonna ask you how you was followin' me. |
| 204 | * ''Series/TheSarahSilvermanProgram'' has Sarah learn the lesson that older black women are wise beyond their years [[spoiler::and younger black women are prostitutes]]. |
| 205 | * Averted in ''Series/HomicideLifeOnTheStreet'' in that Frank is better educated but far more egotistical than Tim. Gee is certainly wise and a mentor, but prefers to let people figure things out for themselves. |
| 206 | * Averted in ''Series/{{Oz}}''. While Kareem Said is a brilliant leader and fiercely intelligent, he deals with many of his own problems. Character depth also prevents him from just being a cliche. His friendship with Tobias Beecher is also more destructive in a sense than helpful; if anything, Beecher is the one who enriches Said's life rather than the other way around, [[HonestAdvisor by calling him out on his ego and martyr complex]]. |
| 207 | * Played straight in ''Series/NedsDeclassifiedSchoolSurvivalGuide'' with the Lunch Lady, who occasional dispenses real, down-to-earth wisdom, but whose primary role is to divine the future through baked beans. |
| 208 | * Played in the first season of ''Series/TrueBlood'' were Tara's mother; [[AbusiveParents an abusive alcoholic highly religious woman]], becomes a "normal person" after an afro-american voodoo lady who lives in the middle of the forest exorcises the "demon" she had inside. [[spoiler: Subverted: she is just a normal person who works on a drug store. She uses the voodoo thing to maintain her children, so the exorcism wasn't real (...Or was it?)]] |
| 209 | * Ogion the Silent becomes this in ''Series/{{Earthsea}}'', Scifi Channel's version of Ursula K. Le Guin's ''Literature/AWizardOfEarthsea''. Go [[https://ghostarchive.org/archive/60BXI here]], [[http://www.infinitematrix.net/faq/essays/noles.html here]] and [[http://andweshallmarch.typepad.com/and_we_shall_march/2006/01/the_shame_of_ea.html here]] for a detailed analysis of the racial miscasting in ''Earthsea''. |
| 210 | * ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' plays this painfully straight with their take on the ComicBook/MartianManhunter, who even winds up sacrificing his powers for Clark. |
| 211 | ** [[UnexplainedRecovery He got better.]] |
| 212 | * ''Series/TheDailyShow'' makes an argument that those who voted for him expected UsefulNotes/BarackObama to be one of these. Video [[http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-january-19-2010/the-first-364-days-23-hours here]] |
| 213 | ** Music/MitchBenn would probably agree: |
| 214 | --->''He stands for the people, they're hopin' and dreamin',\ |
| 215 | It's gonna be just like voting for Morgan Freeman.'' |
| 216 | ** The political Right often claims that President Obama is viewed this way by the Left. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N08ZIsSPKuo Paul Shanklin,]] an impressionist-singer-comedian for ''The Radio/RushLimbaugh Show'', composed a song (called -- what else? -- "[[LampshadeHanging Barack the Magic Negro]]") sung in the impersonated voice of Al Sharpton speaking through a megaphone to just that effect, based in turn upon a column written by ''Los Angeles Times'' columnist [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Ehrenstein David Ehrenstein]] in which Mr. Ehrenstein referred to Obama as one. |
| 217 | ** The sensitivity of this depiction may be in question, but he does seem to be able to calm babies in a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uNoNn0KjZA semi-magical way.]] |
| 218 | * Approached directly in the monologue of a recent ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' (hosted by Steve Buscemi) in which a bunch of character actors stand up in the audience, one of them being "Chance," the "Magical African American Character" that "chews straw and gives the pretty white guy ad-vice, and then after the ad-vice works, he disappears." |
| 219 | * ''Series/TheVampireDiaries'' is known for its portrayal of Black Witches. Witches on the show are predominantly Black, and most Black characters are witches. Witches, the most powerful supernatural characters, are shown to be descendants of slaves, although this is not openly acknowledged or referenced. Although they are incredibly powerful, witches- or black witches are subservient to the white characters. What rare insights we are given to the world of witches, we are made to understand that most magic is done selflessly for the benefit of white characters, or to "preserve the balance" of nature. Notably, Emily Bennett worked as Katherine's handmaid. In addition, she used her powers to provide her and other vampires immunity from sunlight. ''Why'' she would do this despite obviously not approving of the "vampire lifestyle" is apparently a IOweYouMyLife situation that is never expanded on. The subtext isn't really helped by the series being set in the American South. |
| 220 | ** One of the main characters of the show, Bonnie Bennett, is given very little screen time or character development. Her plot lines are rarely taken out of the context of being a witch. Like the other Black witches, she selflessly aids the Caucausian characters in the show. Furthermore, Bonnie is used a vehicle for plot development and white character growth. Bonnie's love interests often use her as a pawn; the love interests are usually villains that first, attempt to get to Bonnie for her magic, and second, and more importantly, their use of magic always involves a white character (revenge on a vampire, saving Elena, etc.). Bonnie's dynamic reinforces the master-slave dynamic in this way; while Bonnie is powerful, because she is Black and powerful, the purpose of her magic is to serve the white characters. |
| 221 | * The sketch comedy series ''[[Series/KeyAndPeele Key & Peele]]'' has two such [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jInlO6-JTww magical African-Americans]] (one also qualifying as an [[AlmightyJanitor Almighty Janitor]]) fighting to the [[spoiler: mutual]] death over who would get to enlighten a success-weary white man. |
| 222 | ** The sting in the tail comes when a middle-aged black woman enters and the white man mistakes her for yet ''another'' Magical Negro, to which she replies, "Who you calling a [[NWordPrivileges negro,]] bitch?" |
| 223 | * ''Wingin' It'', a show about an inexperienced (black) angel who alters reality to help a socially awkward (white) student. |
| 224 | * Parodied in an episode of ''Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir'' where Jameson Whitworth, a wealthy eccentric, comes to believe [[Creator/WillSmith Will]] is his good luck charm. He goes so far as to make his "Young homie" into his financial adviser, with the belief that Will has the supernatural ability to make him richer. |
| 225 | * Discussed in ''Series/ThirtyRock'' regarding the ShowWithinAShow ''God Cop'': "God can't just ''tell'' him who did it. Watch the pilot, Lemon, it's all explained at the end by the wise black man played by Karl Malone". |
| 226 | ** Another episode shows Tracy plying one of these characters. [[WordSaladPhilosophy Badly]]. |
| 227 | * Constable Frank Gladstone from ''Series/TheThinBlueLine'', thankfully to a very mild degree. |
| 228 | * Constable Benton Fraser from ''Series/DueSouth'' is arguably an example of this trope - as a magical Canadian. He has an unusual outlook, resolves problems in the "white" world of urban America (Chicago, suffering from reverse [[CaliforniaDoubling California doubling]] as it was shot in Vancouver!), and has a stock of "exotic" wisdom. He even wears a distinctive suit (red serge rather than white) which never gets dirty. Thank you kindly, eh? |
| 229 | * Lampshaded by Patti in ''Series/TheLeftovers.'' |
| 230 | -->'''Patti:''' What would you have done if I'd told you the solution to all your problems was a magical black man sitting out on the edge of town? That's borderline racist, what that is. |
| 231 | * Kenneth discusses this trope on ''Series/{{Speechless}}'' (cited in the Page Quote above) when he realizes JJ is similarly pigeonholed as InspirationallyDisadvantaged. |
| 232 | * Henry from ''Series/{{Eureka}}'' is one of the smartest people in a [[PlanetOfHats town full of geniuses]], but unlike the majority of local scientists, who work in the [[ResearchInc sleek GD facility]], Henry wears [[AlmightyJanitor overalls with a nametag]] and works out of a gas station/garage. He spends most of his time solving the problems of other people, particularly the (white) main character [[IdiotHero Sheriff Jack Carter]]. Eventually subverted to some extent, as he suffers his own crises and gets his own storylines, but to the end he dresses like a grease monkey and solves people's problems with wise homilies and [[ClarkesThirdLaw magical know-how]]. |
| 233 | * ''Series/TheQueensGambit'': Jolene, Beth's TokenBlackFriend from the orphanage, shows up again in the last episode while Beth is at her lowest point. Although much is made about how Jolene is disadvantaged at the orphanage, being an older black girl in a setting where couples would prefer to adopt younger white girls, Jolene prevails in the intervening years[[note]]in TheSixties, no less![[/note]] and shows up to [[spoiler:bring Beth to Mr. Shaibel's funeral and Methuen. This serves as a wake up call for Beth.]] Later, when it seems Beth [[spoiler:can't afford to go to Moscow, Jolene loans Beth $3000 from her law school fund so Beth can play]]. Lampshaded when she says she's not here to be Beth's guardian angel or savior despite narratively being exactly that. |
| 234 | * ''Series/TheIrregulars'': The Linen Man rescues Jessica from the Plague Doctor with a magical cloud of butterflies, explains what she is and why she is seeing things, and advises her on how to figure out what is going on. But he can't solve her problems directly as Jessica is in London and he is physically in Louisiana. [[spoiler: Subverted when he shows up in London for real and starts killing people.]] |
| 235 | * Subverted in ''Series/TheGoodPlace''. Former moral philosophy professor Chidi is initially presented as the wise and altruistic foil to the immensely selfish Eleanor, who got into Heaven with him due to a cosmic mistake. She begs him to give her lessons on ethics so she won't get kicked out, and he complies - even though she barely listens to him, expresses casual racism such as [[AfricaIsACountry referring to Africa as a country]], and expects him to do all her chores. Eventually it all gets too much for him, and he vents about how burdensome it is that his entire afterlife revolves around her. It also turns out he has a ton of his own issues, and instead of solving problems for his friends in life, he caused them with his [[TheDitherer chronic indecisiveness]] and unmanaged anxiety. |
| 236 | * ''Series/TheWhiteLotus'': Season 1's Belinda deconstructs this. She acts as the source of wise advice for Tanya, a wealthy white woman going through an emotional crisis, but their relationship is entirely transactional. Tanya latches onto Belinda for the sake of her own codependency, and her promises of helping Belinda strike out on her own are an attempt of keeping her around. When Rachel starts feeling like she needs advice, she also goes to Belinda, [[spoiler:who by the end is too burnt out to care and refuses any advising]]. In essence, she is treated as one by the wealthy white characters that need some help, but none of them have a care for her as a human being. |
| 237 | [[/folder]] |
| 238 | |
| 239 | [[folder:Music & Music Videos]] |
| 240 | * Political satirist Paul Shanklin made a song called "Barack the Magic Negro." The song was, [[PoesLaw naturally]], called [[EverythingIsRacist racist]]. However, it was [[ComicallyMissingThePoint really poking fun at the media]] for helping to create Obama's image, which can be called reminiscent of this trope. |
| 241 | * When you think about it, the novelty song ''The Witch Doctor'' is this: the protagonist seeks out the "guy who's so much wiser" for the magic words to win a girl's heart. |
| 242 | * In the music video to country singer Chris Young's "The Man I Want to Be," we are introduced to an older black man in a suit sitting on a bench outside of bus depot. Chris Young takes a seat, and is first offered food, but denies the offer in favor of spiritual advice. The older black man chuckles as he hands Chris Young a magical quarter that will allow him to make a phone call to God. |
| 243 | [[/folder]] |
| 244 | |
| 245 | [[folder:Theatre]] |
| 246 | * Played oddly straight by the black playwright August Wilson, many of whose ''Century Cycle'' plays include characters of this nature as parts of all-or-nearly-all-black casts (Stool Pigeon in ''King Hedley II'', Elder Barlow in ''Radio Golf'', Aunt Ester in ''Gem of the Ocean'' and offstage in other plays). |
| 247 | * Papa, the old steam engine from ''Theatre/StarlightExpress'', although he at least takes part in one race (and wins). In the original London cast, Rusty, the young steam engine under his tutelage, was also black, but later productions cast white actors as Rusty. Electra, the bisexual electric engine, is usually cast as black, but he is definitely not magical. |
| 248 | [[/folder]] |
| 249 | |
| 250 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 251 | * [[InNameOnly Literally true]] but otherwise completely inverted by Akafubu from ''VideoGame/GoldenSun: The Lost Age'', who is a ([[FantasyCounterpartCulture fantasy tribal-African]]) [[PlayingWithFire Mars Adept]] with [[HotBlooded typical Mars Adept personality]], only helps Felix [[UnwittingPawn unwittingly and indirectly]], and [[JerkAss thinks it unfair]] that his people's deity wants to reward Felix, a foreigner, for doing all the actual work. |
| 252 | * ''VideoGame/SilentHillDownpour'' has Howard Blackwood, who [[CanonImmigrant first appeared]] in the comic ''Silent Hill: Past Life''. He's a mailman who appears to be [[WeirdnessCensor oblivious]] to everything going on in town, but still dispenses some wisdom to the protagonist, Murphy. [[spoiler:This is because he's a manifestation of the town and has been present since before 1867.]] The [[MultipleEndings Full Circle ending]] also implies that [[spoiler:he was the HeroOfAnotherStory, but failed and became trapped in [[GroundhogDayLoop Silent Hill limbo]] as a result.]] |
| 253 | * In ''VideoGame/FarCry3'', Dennis Rogers is a Liberia native whose an outsider to the Island. He becomes a Tattoo Warrior and fights with the [[ProudWarriorRace Rakyat]]. He even works his way up to being the second-command of the leader Citra. However, instead of becoming the hero and leading the Rebels to victory against the Pirates, he waits until the game's Protagonist [[MightyWhitey Jason Brody]] shows up and decides to guide him in becoming the hero of the Island. [[spoiler:Ultimately, though, Dennis deconstructs this trope. His advice ultimately guides [[BloodKnight Jason]] further down the road of SanitySlippage, and eventually presents him with a SadisticChoice: kill his wife and friends, and stay on the island with the Rakyat, or reject their lifestyle and let your friends live. If Jason goes with the second choice, Dennis, by this point [[CrazyJealousGuy overwhelmed by his jealousy of Citra's attraction to Jason]], pulls a knife on him and tries to kill him, only to end up stabbing Citra to death instead. So, in this case, Dennis is not a Magical Negro whose advice you want to take]]. |
| 254 | * Tensay the shaman from ''VideoGame/FarCryPrimal'' appears to be a literal version of this trope. He's a dark-skinned man who communes with the spirits and gives protagonist Takkar {{Vision Quest}}s to undertake in order to [[TheBeastmaster tame the wildlife]] of Oros and fight rival tribes. That said, Tensay is a very hands-off mentor, preferring to let Takkar work things out for himself, and he's not unrealistically perfect: he's constantly doing creepy things like getting in Takkar's personal space, giving him {{Squick}}y blood potions, and taking a leak on a stone mask before letting Takkar put it on. Also, compared to the above-mentioned Dennis, Tensay doesn't look like a man you'd want to take advice from. |
| 255 | * Phineas from ''Videogame/DMCDevilMayCry'' is a demon whom like Sparta, rebelled against Mundus. But he was captured and imprisoned. He uses a magical eye, that you must retrieve first, to open the next path for Dante in limbo. |
| 256 | * The Enchantress who rules the Sunhook Spire in the ''Videogame/{{Awakening}}'' series is a literal case: she's an extremely powerful enchantress capable of holding off an attack on her tower. Played with in that in protecting her domain, she put herself into a magical coma and does not actually provide help to Sophia until the final chapter of the game. |
| 257 | * ''Videogame/SouthParkTheFracturedButWhole'' has Creator/MorganFreeman helping the player unlock new [[{{Fartillery}} Timefarts]] through special Tex-Mex recipes and appearing as a ghostly specter to give you encouragement. |
| 258 | %% * In ''VideoGame/BalanWonderworld'', the main character is dark-skinned magical trickster with locked hair who comes to the blonde, blue-eyed, self insert protagonists to guide them in their time of great need. This trope is subverted however, as [[spoiler: Balan is actually a fair-skinned {{Bishonen}}; his skin only appeared dark because of the shadow his hat cast over his face.]] |
| 259 | [[/folder]] |
| 260 | |
| 261 | [[folder:Web Animation]] |
| 262 | * ''WebAnimation/HowToKillAMockingbird'' jokingly portrays Calpurnia this way. |
| 263 | [[/folder]] |
| 264 | |
| 265 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 266 | * Spoofed by ''Website/{{Cracked}}'', who pointed out some of the UnfortunateImplications of this trope in their list of [[http://www.cracked.com/article_15989_hollywoods-6-favorite-offensive-stereotypes.html Hollywood's 6 Favorite Offensive Stereotypes]]. |
| 267 | * ''Blog/TheComicsCurmudgeon'''s description of "Clambake" from ''ComicStrip/GilThorp'': |
| 268 | -->Clambake pretty much exudes that vibe, associated with nice old black men in too many movies and books to count, of "Here's a nice old black man who's going to help you white people solve your problems with his folk wisdom/instinctive understanding of human nature/magical powers, but isn't going to do anything to make you uncomfortable, like have sex with white women or vote or speak in that damn 'izzle' language." |
| 269 | [[/folder]] |
| 270 | |
| 271 | [[folder:Web Videos]] |
| 272 | * Subverted in ''WebVideo/GemmaAndTheBear''. Bear states that his goal in life is to help Gemma, yet he is such a bumbling oaf with plenty of his own problems that he tends to only make things worse. She just wants him to ''go away''. Also inverted in that Bear and Gemma are actually [[JekyllAndHyde aspects of the same person]]. |
| 273 | * ''WebVideo/ATrailerForEveryAcademyAwardWinningMovieEver'' features "friendly, black, optimistic advice". |
| 274 | [[/folder]] |
| 275 | |
| 276 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 277 | * This is one trope that ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' did not subvert for the first time, though they did have fun with it. Lisa Simpson had her own personal Magical Negro in the form of Bleedin' Gums Murphy, who noted that she should listen when people tell her to brush her teeth and that she sang the blues pretty good for someone with no actual problems. |
| 278 | ** They finally did outright subvert this in the episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS13E7BrawlInTheFamily Brawl in the Family]]", with the character Gabriel, an apparent Magical Negro (who Homer thinks is an angel) and social worker assigned to help the family with their dysfunction. He's also voiced by Delroy Lindo. Homer expressly compares him to the aforementioned Bagger Vance example. Gabriel, confronted by Homer's [[NegativeContinuity long lost Vegas wife]], gives up on the family, telling Homer, "Your seed should be wiped from the Earth!" |
| 279 | * ''The Wrong Coast'' had one movie parody with the title ''Magical Black Men''. Starring Morgan Freeman, Will Smith, Don Cheadle and Lawrence Fishburne (all four of whom are or have been typecast into this trope) teaming up to solve the problems of white men in a moral crisis. |
| 280 | * Subverted and parodied by Toots in ''WesternAnimation/CloneHigh''. Toots is a blind jazz clarinetist who tries to give sagely advice, and really, ''really'' fails. |
| 281 | * ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'': |
| 282 | ** Subverted by Chef, whose advice usually amounts to him singing passionate soul songs about sex. That, or imparting information an 8-year-old really shouldn't know. |
| 283 | --->'''Stan:''' Chef, how can I get a girl to like me?\ |
| 284 | '''Chef:''' Oh, that's easy! You just have to find the clitoris. |
| 285 | ** And on one occasion where Chef ''could'' have given Stan useful information, he didn't. |
| 286 | --->'''Chef:''' Hello there, children!\ |
| 287 | '''Stan:''' Hey, Chef! What would a priest wanna stick up my butt?\ |
| 288 | '''Chef:''' ...G'bye! |
| 289 | ** Despite this, he still plays this somewhat straight by virtue of having been the OnlySaneMan and the one consistent adult the children can go when things go strange [[spoiler:at least until his death that is.]] |
| 290 | * Inverted in ''WesternAnimation/YvonOfTheYukon''; the title character, a ludicrously uncouth, unkempt, vulgar and crusty Frenchman becomes a "sagely" mentor to the thoroughly ordinary teenager Tommy, who happens to be Inuit. |
| 291 | * Somewhat parodied with Mashed Potato Johnson on ''WesternAnimation/{{Metalocalypse}}'', in that he gives the boys advice on how to become successful blues musicians, when they're already the most popular musicians in history. |
| 292 | * Played with in season four of ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'': Hank wonders if the UPS man is psychic, and Dr. Venture points out "Just because he's black doesn't mean he has Film/TheShining!" [[spoiler:Turns out, he does.]] |
| 293 | * In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', Zecora fits the bill in a way. She is the only Zebra in a world of ponies and other mythical creatures with a whole episode about not judging someone because they're different. Plus, Zebras are from Africa. And her voice actress is black. Lampshaded since she's not a unicorn with inborn magic, but rather a shaman/witch doctor with access to magic the unicorns do not have. She also happens to live in a hut ... in the forest ... with a cauldron ... and tribal masks. Her help does have its limits though, as in "Swarm of the Century" she's able to identify the Parasprite but tells Twilight "[[DoomyDoomsOfDoom You're doomed!]]", and one one occasion ''she'' had to be saved from a fatal disease by Fluttershy, by using the research of an ancient hero of Equestria who specialized in the same kinds of potions and cures Zecora normally deals in. According to WordOfGod, she was even moreso this in [[WhatCouldHaveBeen the original pitch for the series]] as Creator/LaurenFaust originally pictured her as a mentor and sage who the ponies would go to for information on their quests -- while that was ultimately dropped and she was retooled into a misjudged loner, and her helpful knowledge of unfamilar aspects was [[TheArtifact a leftover of her original characterization]]. |
| 294 | * In ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'', Star wanders off into hiding after accidentally destroying a police car. A kind black lady with quite an obsession with hair comes to give her food and shelter for a short amount of time, and later [[spoiler:uses a tin-can telephone to tell authorities where they can find Star]]. |
| 295 | [[/folder]] |
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/context.php
FollowingContext Main / MagicalNegro
Go To
- Show Spoilers
- Night Vision
- Sticky Header
- Wide Load
