Zack Sharf Digital News Director One of the boldest movies premiering at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival is “The American Society of Magical Negroes,” directed by Kobi Libii.
The film takes aim at the Magical Negro stereotype and centers on a young man (Justice Smith) who is recruited into a society in which African American members are tasked with ensuring that white people’s lives remain easy.
Libii, Smith and co-star David Alan Grier visited the Variety Studio presented by Audible and spoke about the reactions to their button-pushing satire. “Some members of the white community will see it and say, ‘We’re tired of hearing about race.’ Well we’re tired of talking about it,” Grier said. “We’re tired!
We’re tied, too. We all want to get past this, but you can only get past it by going through it.” Smith remembered reactions to the film during focus screenings.
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