Department of English and American Studies English Language And

Masaryk University Faculty of Arts

Department of English and American Studies

English Language and Literature

Jana Nováková

The Magic Negro in Recent American Film Bachelor‘s Diploma Thesis

Supervisor: doc. PhDr. Tomáš Pospíšil, Dr.

2009

I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography.

…………………………………………….. Jana Nováková

Acknowledgement I would like to thank my supervisor doc. PhDr. Tomáš Pospíšil, Dr. for his valuable advice and comments. I would also like to thank my friends Barbora and Naděžda for keeping me sane while writing this thesis.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Introduction ...... 1

1.1. Film as a Reflection of Race Relations ...... 2

2. Who Is the Magic Negro? ...... 8

2.1. Synopses ...... 8

2.2. Characteristic Traits ...... 11

2.2.1. Primary Objective: Salvation of the White Character ...... 14

2.2.2. Getting in Touch with Oneself ...... 17

2.2.3. Family ...... 19

2.2.4. Sexual Magic ...... 21

2.2.5. Invoking the Ghost of Uncle Tom ...... 22

2.2.6. For Mere Five Dollars, Guaranteed ...... 25

2.2.7. What about the Brothers? ...... 28

2.2.8. The Importance of Being Magical ...... 29

2.2.9. Washing Hands ...... 31

3. Current State of Race Relations ...... 36

3.1. Amalgam of Influences ...... 36

3.2. Wanting to be Forgiven ...... 39

3.3. Shift in Time ...... 42

3.4. Stereotypes and the Audience ...... 45

4. Conclusion ...... 47

5. Works Used and Cited ...... 49

1. INTRODUCTION

The focus of this thesis is a phenomenon referred to as the Magic Negro—a type of character appearing in a number of recent1 American films. The aim of this thesis is to illustrate by means of an analysis of a number of selected films what this cinematic concept embodies as well as to explain the significance of the character‘s emergence at the end of the 20th century.

Even though there have been some occurrences of unearthly African American characters throughout the history of American films,2 the sudden abundance of films featuring African American characters possessing different kinds of supernatural powers at the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the new millennium is striking. These characters ―generally focus their abilities toward assisting their [w]hite lead counterparts‖ (Glenn and Cunningham 1) whose ―problems are the centerpiece[s] of the film[s]‖ (Entman and Rojecki xvii). Their assistance lies in making use of their supernatural powers as well as spreading valuable pieces of advice based on folk wisdom (Entman and Rojecki xvii). By means of these, they make the characters realize and appreciate things that really matter in life. Even though such depiction of African

Americans might seem contributing to improvement in black/white race relations in contemporary United States (Entman and Rojecki xvii), this thesis will attempt to demonstrate that such notion is largely illusory.

The films the thesis will initially focus on are The Green Mile (1999), The

Legend of Bagger Vance (2000), and The Family Man (2000). However, the number of

1 Even though some instances of movies featuring characters with similar kinds of abilities appeared in films earlier in the 20th century, the concept of the Magic Negro as understood by today‘s society appeared in movies in the late 1990s and at the beginning of the new millennium (Gabbard 154). 2 Probably the very first Magic Negro, as Gabbard notes, appeared in the 1943 film Cabin in the Sky (151). However, here the character was assisting a black person (Gabbard 151). One of the first Magic Negroes that came to assist a white male was the title character (Harry Belafonte) in The Angel Levine (1970). This movie was followed, for example, by John Sayles‘ The Brother from Another Planet (1984) which featured a black alien who happened to land in Harlem (Gabbard 153). 1 films depicting Magic Negroes (or characters with very similar traits) is lot higher.

Given the limited space of the thesis, the choice was made to focus on films that are considered essential to the concept, i.e. they best embody the Magic Negro characteristics as established by the authors whose works this thesis uses as secondary materials.

Since the three aforementioned films have already been analyzed by some of these authors—most notably by Krin Gabbard in his book called Black Magic: White

Hollywood and African American Culture, and Cerise Glenn and Landra Cunningham in their essay ―The Power of Black Magic: The Magical Negro and White Salvation in

Film‖—they will serve mainly as a basis for a demonstration of what the concept of the

Magic Negro embodies. The thesis, as indicated earlier, will rather focus on what conclusions about the state of race relations in today‘s United States can be drawn from the emergence of the concept. Simultaneously, the characteristic traits of the concept will be compared with two other films—Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) and

Bruce Almighty3 (2003)—in order to demonstrate the ways the depiction of the Magic

Negro has changed within a short period of time. However, before attempting to analyze the concept of the Magic Negro itself, it is necessary to explain why this (seemingly) mere cinematic device is important to address in the first place.

1.1. Film as a Reflection of Race Relations

The reason why it is so important to study films involving black/white interaction is that according to Entman and Rojecki, authors of The Black Image in the White Mind, beyond reflecting the state of race relations in current society, they ―also act as a casual agent: they help to shape and reshape the culture‖ (3). However, it is not just the case of

3 Bruce Almighty is also included in Gabbard‘s as well as Glenn and Cunningham‘s works; however, neither of these works discusses it in much detail.

2 contemporary society; race relations in the United States have always been ―intimately bound to the process of representations within and through the mass media‖ (qtd. in

Glenn and Cunningham 2).

Regarding blacks inferior due to their physiological distinctness and, at the same time, lacking knowledge of their culture and abilities that would prove the former notion wrong, white Americans had long ago succumbed to stereotypical believes of them. These believes, for instance, perceive African Americans as violent, lazy, highly sexual, having inferior intelligence etc. (Sigelman and Tuch 94). As author bell hooks argues, whites had long ago realized (2) what crucial role such images can play ―in defining and controlling the political and social power‖ (5). In order to maintain a

―system of racial domination‖ (hooks 2) in American society, it was essential for whites to hold united views. When lacking a contact with members of other ethnic groups

(Aronson 496), ―it is from the stereotype that we get our ideas about [them]‖ (qtd. in

Grant 5). Thus, in order to persuade other whites to hold the same ideas, it is essential that they be exposed to such stereotypes. Therefore, ever since the era of slavery, stereotypical characters representing African Americans had existed; these had appeared both in literature and minstrel shows.4 However, with the emergence of the film industry, realizing the new media‘s potency to address even wider audiences (Colombe

3), white supremacists transformed the ―preexisting stereotypes […] from antecedent media to film‖ (Shohat and Stam 195). Since whites, due to their majority status as well as economic superiority, have had for a long time an exclusive control over the images projected in films (Grant 5), the way other ethnic groups were to be depicted was based solely on whites‘ discretion. Thus ―the history of [b]lack performance [has become] one

4 The minstrel show was a type of American entertainment performed both by actual blacks as well as blackfaced whites (Strausbaugh 101) in outlandish costumes and various disguises (67). It involved dancing, singing as well as comic cross-dressing (Strausbaugh 104). It was popular mainly after the 1850s (Strausbaugh 104). 3 of battling against confining types and categories, a battle homologous to the quotidian struggle of three-dimensional Blacks against the imprisoning conventions of an apartheid-style system‖ (Shohat and Stam 195).

The effort to maintain a controlling power within the society was especially evident in the emergence of a number of archetypal cinematic stereotypes5 such as the

Toms, ―the kindly older Negro house servants‖ (Strausbaugh 202); the Mammies, ―the fat, cantankerous but ultimately sympathetic female servant[s] who [provide] the glue that keeps households together‖ (Shohat and Stam 195); the Coons, ―the shuffling black clowns‖ (Strausbaugh 202); or the Bucks, ―the brutal, hypersexualized Black m[e]n‖

(Shohat and Stam 195). John Strausbaugh, author of the book Black Like You:

Blackface, Whiteface, Insult & Imitation in American Popular Culture, notes that

―[b]efore World War II, the roles Blacks were offered in Hollywood were almost all restricted within [these] stereotypes‖ (229).

Thomas Cripps, author of Making Movies Black, notes that when World War II had revealed the evils of the Nazi propaganda, it had also drawn attention to the racial problem in general (ix). Thus it ―became the occasion for a freshened liberal culture that restored racial issues to a national prominence they had not held since Reconstruction6 days‖ (ix). However, African American film director Melvin Van Peebles sees the issue from not as congenial point of view: ―What had happened was that to win the war, the government needed everybody‘s helps, not just white folks‘‖ (qtd. in Strausbaugh 253).

He further asserts that ―[i]n the flush of victory over the Nazis, America actually bought into its own propaganda‖ (qtd. in Strausbaugh 253). Thus, as Strausbaugh adds, in order

5 All these characters have been documented by Donald Bogle in his groundbreaking Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies, and Bucks: An Interpretive History of Blacks in American Films (Strausbaugh 202) and by director Marlon Riggs in his documentary Ethnic Notions.

6 ―‗Reconstruction‘ is a term that refers to the policies implemented between 1863 and 1877 when the nation was focused on winning the Civil War, abolishing slavery, defeating the Confederacy, and reconstructing the nation and the Constitution‖ (Wikipedia). 4 to depict African Americans ―in a new, more humane and sympathetic way, Hollywood often went overboard, and simply replaced the old, negative Negro stereotypes with new, positive stereotypes that were just as unrealistic and awfully patronizing‖ (253).

However, as cultural theorist Kwame Anthony Appiah states, ―[t]hat changes in the representation of blacks do not ipso fact lead to changes in their treatment is not, by any means, a new thought‖ (77). Nevertheless, the original stereotypes started to ―gradually

[disappear] from public view‖ (Entman and Rojecki 1). However, as this thesis will reveal shortly, they did not disappear entirely.

Shelby Steele, author of White Guilt: How Blacks and Whites Together

Destroyed the Promise of the Civil Rights Era, notes that ―in the mid-sixties, after the strongest antidiscrimination laws in history had been passed‖ (33) and after white

―America‘s acknowledgment of racial hypocrisy‖ (30), a new social morality emerged

―in which white racism [has come to be] seen as disgraceful‖ (27). Thus, as Entman and

Rojecki assert, in order to increase visibility of blacks in the media—which would

―inherently [deny] the precepts of traditional racism‖ (57)—in the years since the mid-

1960s, blacks have been depicted in ―a variety of roles from news anchors to fictional doctors, judges, and detectives‖ (57). Nevertheless, these roles ―still contain traces of long-standing cultural presumptions not only of essential racial difference but of the hierarchy that idealizes ‗[w]hiteness‘‖ (Entman and Rojecki 57).

―Real signs of promise and hope for challenging the [demeaning] stereotypes‖

(Grant 2) appeared in the late 1960s and early 1970s when the blaxploitation7 films introduced new types of characters and storylines (Grant 2). However, as William

Grant, author of a study called Post-Soul Black Cinema: Discontinuities, Innovations,

7 Blaxploitation is a movie genre that emerged in the United States in the 1970s as a result of ―powerlessness and […] heightened exploitation of the [b]lack audience [as well as] further marginalization of Blackness in the motion picture industry‖ (Grant 27-28).

5 and Breakpoints, 1970-1995, notes, the ―success was short lived as the early efforts‖ visible in Melvin Van Peebles‘ Sweet Sweetback‘s Baadasssss Song (1971) and Gordon

Parks‘ Shaft (1971) ―were quickly co-opted and the films fell back into the old standard stereotypes with some variation‖ (2).

In the 1970s, as Gabbard notes, in order to lure (mainly black) audiences away from blaxploitation films, studios released a number ―of conventional Hollywood films starring interracial couples‖ (175). The list of these so called ―buddy movies,‖ i.e. films featuring a stereotypical ―dark-skinned man [as] the loyal retainer to a white male hero‖

(Gabbard 174), as Gabbard points out, goes ―well into the past‖ (174). In fact, the pattern for such an interracial couple can be perceived even in Mark Twain‘s

Huckleberry Finn and Nigger Jim (Gabbard 174, Colombe 1).

―With the emergence of a new group of Black film writers, directors and producers in the 1980s and 1990s,‖ as Grant notes, ―many hoped to get beyond the narrow typecasting and themes so prevalent since film‘s earliest days‖ (7). Directors like John Singleton, Spike Lee, and Charles Burnett ―have attempted to make films that audiences find entertaining while simultaneously […] introducing new practices and illuminating issues central to African Americans‖ (Grant 7). These films feature black people in both positive and negative roles (Appiah 79). Nevertheless, as Appiah puts it, these films were ―black‖, i.e. they were not created by mainstream white Hollywood filmmakers (79). However, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, as Appiah further asserts,

―where blacks had first and second-rank roles‖ (82) in what he calls ―white movies,‖

African American characters started to appear, if not saintly, then, ―to varying degrees, on the side of the angels‖ (82).

These unduly positive images of African Americans illustrate that, in the wake of the new social morality mentioned earlier, ―media producers have, like the great

6 majority of Americans, rejected the most blatant forms of racial differentiation to a point some critics have derisively described as ‗political correctness‘‖ (Entman and

Rojecki 3). However, ―prejudice has not been eradicated. Instead, it has become more subtle‖ (Aronson 492). This is notable even in an experiment carried out in the mid-

1990s, which proved that the negative stereotypes whites used to hold of blacks earlier in the century have not really faded at all. Instead, ―people were [now only] more reluctant to state them openly‖ out of fear of being labeled as racist[s]‖8 (Aronson 492).

According to Audrey Colombe, author of the essay ―White Hollywood‘s New Black

Boogeyman,‖ current representations of African Americans in American films reflect the fact that ―the [w]hite U.S. mainstream is both aware of […] and in denial about […] the problems of race and power‖ (1). She explains this notion by stating that a large number of white Americans ―[feel] under attack by ‗political correctness‘ and demographic figures that threaten to put [them] in a minority in the U.S. with the next couple of decades‖ (1). Colombe believes that whites fear that when deprived of their majority status, they would also lose their age-long political and economic supremacy

(1). Entman and Rojecki assert that whites‘ ―mixture of emotions, beliefs, hopes, and fears about [b]lacks‖ results in the fact that ―[b]lacks in American culture are now [in fact] liminal beings‖ (51). The fact that ―whites are no longer entirely comfortable with the old racist mythology‖ (Gabbard 175) coupled with whites‘ aforementioned fear of losing the majority status to other ethnic groups (Colombe 1) at the end of the 20th century represents such a ―serious racial crisis in American life‖ (Gabbard 144) that it calls for some kind of a ―millennial solution‖ (Gabbard 143). The solution, at least in the cinematic world, has been provided by the emergence of a new stereotypical character that has come to be known as the Magic Negro (Colombe 1).

8 This issue will be addressed in more detail in chapter 3.2.. 7

2. WHO IS THE MAGIC NEGRO?

As it was outlined in the introduction, The Green Mile, The Legend of Bagger Vance, and The Family Man provide the most transparent evidence of what the Magic Negro embodies. Even though they all contain more or less the same characteristic traits, there are nevertheless some minor occasional exceptions to the rule which make it impossible to choose just one representative of the concept. The traits characteristic for these films will be, as stated earlier, compared with the ones characteristic for Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and Bruce Almighty since these films, given their release dates, demonstrate the changes in the depiction of the Magic Negro, and consequently indicate changes in white people‘s perception of African Americans.

It should be stated beforehand, however, that Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is not a genuine Magic Negro film; even though Gabbard (174) and Appiah (82) consider it to be a ―buddy movie,‖ this thesis will treat it rather as a predecessor of a Magic

Negro film since its African American character‘s resemblance to the Magic Negro is striking. However, before attempting to summarize the common traits that define these characters, it is necessary to briefly present the films‘ synopses.

2.1. Synopses

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

At the beginning of the film, Robin (Kevin Costner) is incarcerated by the Turks in the

Holy Land during the third Crusade. He manages to escape and, at the same time, saves the life of a Moor, Azeem (Morgan Freeman). Azeem swears to accompany Robin on his way to England and protect him until he saves his life in return. Arriving home,

Robin finds out his father was killed by the Sheriff of Nottingham (Alan Rickman), who has taken over Robin‘s father‘s land and attempts to take over King Richard‘s throne as

8 well while he is still in the Holy Land. Robin takes an oath to avenge his father; however, unable to defeat the Sheriff by himself, he and Azeem seek refuge in

Sherwood Forest, where they eventually join with a group of excommunicated villagers.

Backed up by the group as well as Azeem, Robin defeats the Sheriff, and at the same time saves his beloved Maid Marian (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) who had been forced to marry the Sheriff.

The Green Mile

The Green Mile is a 1930s story focusing on a Louisiana death-row prison warden Paul

Edgecomb (Tom Hanks) and his encounter with a large African American, John Coffey

(Michael Clarke Duncan), wrongfully accused of raping and murdering two little girls.

At first, all the wardens are convinced of John‘s guilt; however, their believes gradually change owing to John‘s incredible docility and, more importantly, his ability to work miracles. Thanks to this encounter, Paul realizes how prejudiced people tend to be and that his current job is not what he is meant to do in life.

The Legend of Bagger Vance

The Legend of Bagger Vance is also a 1930s story of a former golf champion Rannulph

Junuh (Matt Damon), who, ten years after he had fought on the battlefields of the World

War I, comes back to his hometown, Savannah, Georgia, still incapable of recovering from the trauma the war has inflicted upon him. Thus, instead of reconciling with his former girlfriend, Adele (Charlize Theron), Junuh seeks solitude and drinks heavily.

When the Great Depression hits the town and Adele is forced to sell her late father‘s non-profiting golf course, in order to attract clients, she decides to organize the greatest exhibition match ever—with Junuh as a local representative. When Adele‘s efforts to

9 persuade Junuh to participate fail—Junuh claims he has ―lost his swing‖ (The Legend of

Bagger Vance)—a mysterious African American by the name of Bagger Vance (Will

Smith) appears one night and offers to be Junuh‘s caddy. Thanks to his assistance and moral guidance, Junuh wins the tournament as well as Adele‘s heart.

The Family Man

Thirteen years after Jack Campbell (Nicholas Cage) parted with his girlfriend Kate (Téa

Leoni) at the airport in a pursuit of a new career, we see him as a successful Wall Street banker living a loner's life. On Christmas day, being told that Kate has tried to contact him, Jack refuses to call back. On his way home from work, stopping by at a convenient store, he witnesses an African American, Cash (Don Cheadle)—dressed and talking like a gang member—holding the cashier at gunpoint. Jack mitigates the situation and, as he and Cash walk out of the store together, he prompts Cash to change his way of life.

Possibly convincing Cash he is not as cold a person as he may come off, through a glimpse of time, Jack is against his will granted the opportunity to see for a period of few weeks what his life would have been like with Kate.

Bruce Almighty

Not being satisfied with his ―mediocre job‖ for a local TV station, Bruce Nolan (Jim

Carrey) blames God (Morgan Freeman) for everything in his life that does not go exactly as he planned. He verbally assaults God one day for not doing his job properly.

In order to convince Bruce that having divine powers is not as happy-go-lucky as one might think, God decides to bestow them upon Bruce for a short period of time. This way Bruce gets his dream job, but he also eventually realizes that the incidental lack of

10 time and his growing self-conceit is suddenly drawing him apart from what is really important to him: his girlfriend, Grace (Jennifer Aniston).

2.2. Characteristic Traits

Film critics seem to be unable to agree on what term to use to denote the concept of the

Magic Negro. Therefore, a range of alternative names exists: the Magical Negro

(Kempley), the magical Black man (Colombe), the Magical African-American Friend

(Farley), super-duper magical Negro (qtd. in Gonzales), or the Saint (Appiah 81).

However, these authors share the view of what the concept embodies: in Appiah‘s words, the Magic Negro is a ―noble, good-hearted black man [(or woman9)]‖ (80) ―who is too good to be true‖ (83). As Washington Post writer Rita Kempley notes, the function of this character in a story is to assist a white (and also attractive, as Gabbard notices (143)) protagonist set his life on the right path somehow. The circumstances in which the protagonists find themselves vary; however, they certainly do not require intervention from up above (Kempley) since the protagonists‘ lives per se are never at risk (there are, nevertheless, a few exceptions). The assistance, as Entman and Rojecki state, does not lie merely in making use of the Magic Negro‘s supernatural powers but also in granting the protagonist valuable pieces of advice based on folk wisdom (xvii).

As Gabbard notes, even ―[t]he degree to which [the Magic Negroes] are connected to some divine force […] varies widely‖ (173); however, it is always a kind of ―powerful personal magic, never mere trickery‖ (Colombe 3).

Through the Magic Negro‘s assistance, the protagonist always becomes a better person (Kempley) since he is expected to discover and utilize his own spirituality as well (Glenn and Cunningham 11). Utilizing his senses, as opposed to mere intellect

9 Female Magic Negroes could be perceived in the characters of Oda Mae Brown (Whoopi Goldberg) in Ghost (1990) (Appiah 81, Gabbard 154) and the Oracle (Gloria Foster) in Matrix (1999) (Gabbard 166).

(Glenn and Cunningham 11), the protagonist also realizes what kinds of things are worth cherishing in life. Among these, the one the Magic Negro seems to put the most emphasis on is relationships. Thus, it is appropriate to say that, as a matter of fact, the

Magic Negro films endorse the ―‗family values‘ that America‘s cultural right has so carefully constructed‖ (Gabbard 144-145).

Although the Magic Negroes take great pains to provide the protagonists with the opportunity to entice the women they are in love with (or to set their already existing relationships on the right path again), they are never depicted as having any love affairs of their own. In fact, they do not even have families. Closely connected to the trait last mentioned is the African American character‘s lack of background

(Kempley)—this is, aside from having supernatural powers, also the reason the Magic

Negroes are associated with a kind of mystery: the films do not mention anything about their history or where they come from (Kempley). As Colombe notes, the characters simply emerge one day, introducing suspense and stereotype (2), and leave again right after their work is done (Jones 36). Sometimes, while attempting to protect the white protagonist in some way (even emotionally), they even ―[die], or [sacrifice] something of great value‖ to them (Okorafor-Mbachu). Closely related to the issue of sacrifice is, needless to say, the notion of complete selflessness which all the Magic Negroes share as well. It demonstrates itself in various ways, most commonly, though, in the fact that the African American characters never expect anything in return for their help (Glenn and Cunningham 15).

Possibly one of the most striking traits of these films is, as Glenn and

Cunningham note, the Magic Negro‘s inability (or maybe reluctance) to use his powers to help himself—this is especially true in John Coffey‘s case; however, as Heather

Hicks—author of the essay ―Hoodoo Economics: White Men's Work and Black Men's

Magic in Contemporary American Film‖—points out, the inability to help oneself can be understood even in economic sense and therefore, it could be applied to other Magic

Negroes as well. According to Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu, author of an analysis of the frequent employment of Magic Negroes in novels by Stephen King, quite often, the character occupies ―a low position in life.‖

And last but not least is the fact that the Magic Negro does not necessarily have to be the only African American in the film, but he is usually the only one with a role of any significance (Okorafor-Mbachu).

On the one hand, ―casting the [b]lack and [w]hite leads in this manner seems to provide examples of [b]lack and [w]hite characters relating to each other in a constructive manner‖ (Glenn and Cunningham 1). Such depiction might therefore make it seem that films featuring Magic Negroes contribute to racial comity between blacks and whites in the United States (Glenn and Cunningham 1). On the other hand, further analysis shows that these movies, as Entman and Rojecki argue, also involve ―images that separate and subordinate [b]lacks‖ (xvii). By analyzing individual traits of the aforementioned films, using particular scenes for illustration, the thesis will try to trace back the aspects that have contributed to the emergence of the Magic Negro.

Simultaneously, it will attempt to explain what conclusions about the current state of racial relations in the USA can be drawn from the findings. Since the concept of the

Magic Negro is highly complex, each trait will be discussed in a separate chapter for clarity.

2.2.1. Primary Objective: Salvation of the White Character

As has been already stated, the Magic Negro‘s main function in these films is providing some kind of assistance to the white protagonist in variously serious life situations which, nevertheless, do not require employment of supernal powers (Kempley). Thus, for example, Bagger Vance appears when Junuh is unable to recall his golf skills before participating in the golf tournament and also, more importantly, overcome his past traumas. John Coffey is brought into the prison when Paul has been suffering from urinary infection for some time; beyond that, he has not so far come to the realization that putting (possibly innocent) people to death is not what gratifies him. Cash comes into Jack‘s life only to make him realize that happy family life is worth much more than a career. God materializes in Bruce‘s life because Bruce feels that making homely local reports belittles his potential; however, thanks to the divine powers God bestows on him, Bruce eventually atones for his selfishness as well as lack of attention he has paid to his girlfriend. Azeem represents an exception to the rule since, apart from helping

Robin fight the oppressive Sheriff, he literally saves his life when Robin is attacked by a witch, the Sheriff‘s minion.

Despite possessing some kinds of unearthly powers (this issue will be closely discussed in chapter 2.2.8.), the African American character rarely uses them to help anyone but the protagonist (Crowdus and Georgakas). This is closely connected to the fact that it is the protagonist the Magic Negro interacts with almost exclusively; it seems that the Magic Negro is not even interested in anyone else (Gabbard 163). Thus, for example, despite the fact that John Coffey cures Paul‘s boss‘ wife, as Glenn and

Cunningham point out, he does not act so much ―of his own volition‖ (8) rather than according to Paul‘s wishes (8). Also, in spite of being surrounded by a number of cells with fellow prisoners, it is Paul John talks to almost exclusively. Similarly, despite

14 being a part of the biggest tournament in the history of Georgia and therefore surrounded by masses of people, instead of enjoying the publicity of being the caddy of one of the stars, Bagger chooses to tacitly follow Junuh around. However, the most explicit example of this issue can be seen in Bruce Almighty: despite disseminating utterances regarding the uniqueness of each individual human being, by focusing his attention solely on Bruce and letting him do whatever he pleases, God virtually allows

Bruce to cause a complete mayhem (floods being probably the best example) in the world and thus, assumedly, kill other people. Again, Azeem represents a minor exception to the rule since he can be seen as teaching some of the fellowmen to fight in order to be able to defeat the Sheriff‘s troops. Nevertheless, as regards the spiritual guidance, Azeem focuses his attention exclusively on Robin.

The fact that the white protagonists and their problems are always in the center of events in these films is closely connected to the concept of distribution of power in films which dates back to D.W. Griffith‘s 1915 highly racially offensive film Birth of

Nation (Grant 6). In American films featuring interracial interaction, ―space is related to power and powerlessness, in so far as those who occupy the center of the screen are usually more powerful than those situated in the background or completely absent from the screen‖ (qtd. in Grant 6). Therefore, having only a liminal role possibly renders the

African American character less powerful even in the audience‘s subconsciousness. Be that as it may, the overall exaltation of the main white character might be considered as evidence of the way whites still tend to think of African Americans. According to Glenn and Cunningham ―[w]hites have not completely accepted [b]lacks as equals and remain ensconced in attitudes that confer superiority to [w]hites‖ (2).

Moreover, connected to the white protagonist‘s centrality and his emphasized importance in comparison with the Magic Negro is the fact that, even though, as

Colombe observes, all the white characters are quite ordinary, the Magic Negroes always see some potential in them straightaway (1). Thus, when trying to talk Cash out of shooting someone at the convenient store, Jack proves to Cash as well as the audience that he is a good person. Similarly, when taking the blame for stealing bread on himself in order to save a friend from having his hand chopped off, Robin proves to

Azeem he is a courageous and honest man. In other words, the ―[w]hite male main character is given an opportunity to show that he is not prejudiced, that he is fair, has faith, and is a reasonable human being‖ (Colombe 2). Thus, the movies seem to suggest that despite all their failings, in the end, ―[it is] the white men [—not the black ones who, after all, die or disappear—] that embody‖ (Colombe 1) the hope for the future generations since they ―are the ones who occupy the realm of ideal humanity‖ (Entman and Rojecki xvi). Thus, Paul is transferred, by his own request, to a youth penitentiary in order to prevent youths from committing serious crimes, and Bruce finds fulfillment in making thousands of people happy through his reports. Similarly, Robin is destined to become the leader of the excommunicated villagers.

However, not all the white characters in these films prove that there is some good in them, and yet the Magic Negro finds them to be worth assisting. Sadly, it does not work the other way round: whereas the white character is willing to cast away prejudice and accept the Magic Negro‘s assistance only after the black character proves himself to be beneficial to him in some way (Colombe 2), as already mentioned, the

Magic Negro does not want anything in return (Glenn and Cunningham 15). Since neither of the protagonists seem to openly admit to themselves that there is something wrong in their lives (with the exception of Bruce; this issue, however, will be addressed in chapter 3.3.), when offered assistance by the Magic Negro, they all condemn it as

16 being useless at first. Moreover, they mostly find the Magic Negro himself quite annoying.

2.2.2. Getting in Touch with Oneself

As mentioned earlier, aside from the Magic Negro‘s unearthly powers he also spreads valuable pieces of advice based on folk wisdom (xvii). This kind of spiritual guidance is essential to the plot since it makes the protagonist ―discover and utilize his [own] spirituality‖ (Glenn and Cunningham 4) as well. Thus, for instance, when Bagger

―points to mystical meanings in the most mundane aspects of golf‖ (Gabbard 172), he, in fact, provides Junuh with metaphors of life. This in turn enables Junuh to get ―back in touch with himself‖ (Jones 36) as well as to find his ―lost swing‖ (The Legend of

Bagger Vance). The wisdom John imparts to Paul lies in making Paul see how evil and prejudiced people can be. And this is not meant only figuratively: by touching him,

John actually provides Paul with a revelation of Wild Bill‘s murdering of the two girls.

Azeem‘s wisdom lies rather in providing Robin with comfort: first after his father dies and, later on, after his father‘s old faithful servant (and also Robin‘s former custodian) is killed when Robin‘s fellowship is ambushed in the forest by the Sheriff‘s troops.

Because of this event, Robin starts to question his leading qualities as well as his motivation. Nevertheless, Azeem always has some enlightening quotation immediately at hand to cheer Robin up. It is even safe to state that Azeem, in fact, represents a substitute for Robin‘s father. In Bruce‘s case, God‘s advice is aimed at steering Bruce toward his realizing the importance of modesty and appreciation of the things that really matter in life. Therefore, God brims over with utterances like ―Parting a soup is not a

17 miracle,10 Bruce. It‘s a magic trick. […] A teenager who says no to drugs and yes to an education, that‘s a miracle‖ (Bruce Almighty).

The apparent trend of the Magic Negro films to depict the African American characters as spreading wisdom draws on a notion rooted deeply in Whites‘ minds that blacks are highly spiritual (Gabbard 166). As Gabbard points out, given the fact that ―their ancestors have endured greater hardships than the typical white person, blacks are represented as more effective at coping with misfortune and with dispensing soul- healing advice‖ (166). However, since they are depicted as ―more in tune with their primitive powers, the magic of the [Earth] and spirits‖ (Okorafor-Mbachu), the characters might also evoke the stereotype of blacks being seen as ―more primitive than whites‖ (Okorafor-Mbachu). Similar drawing on the stereotype can be perceived in the fact that, as Glenn and Cunningham note, the changes the Magic Negro endorses take place in the realm of feeling rather than thinking (11). This is best illustrated by Bagger, who instructs Junuh not to think about the game but rather feel it (Gabbard 172), and

Azeem, who is reluctant to enter Sherwood Forrest for the first time because he feels it

―has eyes‖ (Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves). This is not meant to state that these films depict African Americans necessarily as intellectually inferior (John Coffey is the exception here since he openly ―admits that he is not intellectually gifted‖ (Glenn and

Cunningham 10)); however, since the Magic Negro‘s own intellectual capacity is never important to the plot—because the character follows predominantly his intuition and aforementioned innate wisdom—in comparison with the white character, who is strictly rational (and therefore connected with the ―world of intellect, power, and success‖

(Entman and Rojecki xvii)), the African American character might evoke the notion that

10 This is God‘s reaction to Bruce‘s previous attempt to part his soup the way Moses parted the sea.

―[b]lacks [actually] cannot handle the world of intellect and power‖ (Entman and

Rojecki xvii).

2.2.3. Family

The Magic Negro films‘ emphasis on the importance of happy family life could probably best be seen in The Family Man—as its title directly predicates—in which

Cash is trying to convince Jack as well as the audience that ―having a loving wife and children in a middle-class New Jersey suburb is superior to even the most affluent existence in Manhattan‖ (Gabbard 162). The same kind of emphasis on the idealized model of American family (Gabbard 164) is depicted in Bruce Almighty: whereas

Bruce craves a prestigious career as an anchorman, Grace wants to get married and start a family. After having a fight and living separated for some time, Bruce realizes he will be the happiest when living according to Grace‘s wishes. Moreover, he decides do give up his newly obtained anchor job to his old job of making small local reports because he realizes that there is ―nothing wrong with making people laugh‖ (Bruce Almighty) and that happy families is what makes ―Buffalo the sweetest place to live‖ (Bruce

Almighty). Even though the rest of the films do not center around family per se, they nevertheless hint at it by emphasizing the protagonist‘s need to end up with the love of his life. By displaying images of characters living contented family lives, the

―screenwriters [are] clearly intent upon appropriating dominant ‗couple‘ ideology and connecting with audiences who can feel proud that they handle their own lives with children, pets, [or] a mortgage‖ (Gabbard 163).

Interestingly enough, the Magic Negroes do not have families of their own. Or maybe they do; in the case of Bagger and Cash, however, the films never mention them.

Neither does Bruce Almighty mention anything about its African American character‘s

19 family. Nevertheless, since God is the ultimate deity, he is not even expected to have any humanly relationships. The exception here is, again, Azeem. He does have a family, but due to his vow not to leave Robin until he fulfills his Allah-given command to stay with Robin until he repays him for saving his life, Azeem leaves them back in his homeland. The issue of his love life is addressed here as well. When asked by Robin whether the reason he was to be executed was falling in love with a woman, from

Azeem‘s reluctance to answer, it is obvious Robin‘s suspicion is right.

With the exception of Azeem, the audiences never get to know whether the

Magic Negro himself has at least love life. He never tries to entice any woman that appears in the story. However, it should be pointed out that the number of roles for women in these stories is quite limited: usually, only one woman gets to play a role of any significance—the one that is destined to be with the white protagonist.

Nevertheless, the Magic Negro, as Farley notes, never uses his powers in order to seduce this woman for himself. In fact, the Magic Negroes seem to be completely uninterested in women. This is surprising, considering the fact that one of the deep- seated stereotypes about African Americans has, according to Patricia Collins, author of

Black Sexual Politics, always been their hypersexuality (28).

As bell hooks explains, this stereotype draws on the fact that white people have always perceived non-white people as having ―more life experience, being more worldly, sensual, and sexual because they were different‖ (hooks 23). However, according to Shohat and Stam‘s explanation, the cinematic ―[ebony] saints inherit the

Christian tradition of sacrifice and tend to be desexualized, deprived of normal human attributes‖ (203). A possible explanation for the Magic Negro being, in a way, desexualized can be provided by hooks‘ assertion that the ―primary ‗evil‘ of racism has been the refusal of the dominant culture to allow [African Americans] full access to

20 patriarchal power, so that in sexist terms they [were] compelled to inhabit a sphere of powerlessness, deemed ‗feminine‘‖ (147). In other words, if the African American character was not desexualized, he would constitute a sort of a threat to the white protagonist. Since the sexuality of the black people has been perceived as ―a quality of maleness that eludes white men‖ (hooks 161), it is conceivable that the woman the white protagonist longs for might become attracted to the African American character instead.

2.2.4. Sexual Magic

Even though the Magic Negro is, as has been already established, a ―figure for whom

[not only] interracial sexual congress holds no interest‖ (Ehrenstein), surprisingly enough, his role in the film is to ―enhance the sexuality of white people‖ (Gabbard 149).

According to hooks‘ further assertion, in the past, a contact with an African American

―was [also] considered a ritual of transcendence, a movement out into a world of difference that would transform, an acceptable rite of passage. The direct objective […] was to be changed in some way by the encounter‖ (23-24). Thus, if the aforementioned rite of passage is understood as coming of age (i.e. becoming sexually active), the change brought upon the white protagonist by the contact with the Magic Negro could be perceived in the protagonist‘s ability to perform sexually again. The word ―again‖ is apropos since some of the films suggest the protagonist‘s sexual potency has been hindered by various factors lately. For example, as Gabbard notes, after John cures Paul of his urinary infection by simply placing his hand on Paul‘s crotch, not only is Paul able to urinate without pain again, he is also endowed with extraordinary sexual potency: after he arrives home, he is able to pleasure his wife four times in one night

(150). In Junuh‘s case, the inability to play golf is a metonym for his impotence

(Gabbard 171-172). As Gabbard explains, when Adele is trying to seduce Junuh in order to get him to take part in the tournament, at first, Junuh‘s ―hand [reaches] up to touch her body [;]‖ however, ―before [it] makes contact, it goes limp [again] and falls away‖ (171-172). However, after Junuh wins the tournament (thanks to Bagger‘s guidance), his masculinity is restored and, of course, he becomes Adele‘s lover again

(Gabbard 172). Similarly, thanks to God‘s powers, Bruce is able to pleasure his girlfriend in a way she has never experienced before. Interestingly, according to

Gabbard‘s astute observation, in The Legend of Bagger Vance and The Green Mile, music by African American interprets, Duke Ellington and Billie Holliday, resp., is used in order to ―raise the level of romance for whites‖ (150). Similar use can be perceived even in Bruce Almighty: in order to seduce Grace, Bruce turns on Barry White‘s Never,

Never Gonna Give You Up. As was already stated in the previous chapter, white masculinity (as opposed to a kind of black emasculation) depicted in these films serves as an assurance of the white protagonist‘s power. As Colombe suggests, the protagonist

―feel[s] effective and in control [when] sexually vital‖ (3).

2.2.5. Invoking the Ghost of Uncle Tom

As Glenn and Cunningham argue, ―the helpful aspect of Black roles partially has its roots in traditionally racist stereotypes‖ (4-5). Both Gabbard, and Glenn and

Cunningham perceive the Magic Negroes as updated versions of the Uncle Tom controlling image (145, 14, resp.) which was mentioned in chapter 1.1. The stereotype, as Glenn notes, stems from Harriet Beecher Stowe‘s novel Uncle Tom‘s Cabin (1852)

(5). Even though the character of Uncle Tom was originally aimed to promote the abolitionist movement (Glenn and Cunningham 5) by ―expos[ing] the moral failure of slavery‖ (Asim 152), it soon changed into a racial stereotype (152). Shohat and Stam

22 point out that ―the role of the Uncle Tom was not to represent Blacks [in general] but rather to assure [w]hites with a comforting image of Black docility‖ (199). This need had stemmed from the fact that African Americans had long been seen as dangerous savages capable of rebellion. However, since they did not possess any political or economic influence (Entman and Rojecki 3), they did not pose any ―threat to white male

[economic] hegemony‖ (Hicks). Nevertheless, the situation changed when Blacks acquired ―new political assertiveness and power after World War II‖ (Entman and

Rojecki 3), and started to emigrate in large numbers from the South. As a result white anxiety and resentment started to spread throughout the nation, despite the fact that the blacks‘ achievement ―rendered open proclamations of racial inferiority passé‖ (Entman and Rojecki 3).

At the present time, in spite of the marked cultural progress, the Uncle Tom still exists, only in a slightly modified version—the Magic Negro. However, today, the character is not meant to assure the Whites that the African Americans pose no threat to their very lives as it was the case with the original Uncle Tom. Instead, he embodies a kind of ―[w]hite fantasy about power and authority‖ (Colombe 3).

Of all the Magic Negroes discussed in this thesis, John Coffey is the one that bears the most resemblance to Tom, whose characteristic traits ―include his friendliness with one of his [w]hite slave owners [—in the case of John it is the wardens, of course—], selfless assistance to [w]hite characters in the novel [to the point of sacrifice], and strong religious convictions‖ (Glenn and Cunningham 5). As Glenn and

Cunningham further assert, ―Like the Uncle Tom character, Coffey is kindly, loyal, ignorant, and unable to escape his punishment‖ (14). Moreover, he too seems to

―[know] his place while denying his own humanity‖ (Glenn and Cunningham 6).

Drawing on Linda Williams‘ book Playing the Race Card: Melodramas of Black and

White from Uncle Tom to O. J. Simpson, Gabbard asserts that ―white Americans tend to conceive of race relations primarily in terms of exaggerated virtue and villainy‖

(Gabbard 145). Williams‘s view is similar to the one of African American author Toni

Morrison, who asserts that in whites‘ minds, African Americans ―[o]n the one hand,

[…] signify benevolence, harmless and servile guardianship and endless love,‖ and on the other ―insanity, illicit sexuality, chaos‖ (qtd. in Shohat and Stam 203). These contradictory perspectives in turn converge in the character of the Magic Negro: on the one hand, the character is a ―supremely benevolent figure‖ (Gabbard 154), on the other hand, as stated earlier, most of the Magic Negroes introduce suspense when they appear in the story for the first time (Colombe 2) due to their menacing appearance (Hicks).

Thus, in contrast to The Green Mile, which features the giantlike Coffey, The Family

Man, for example, ―immediately activates white fears‖ (Gabbard 160) for a slightly different reason. Wearing ―a thick [silver] chain around his neck[,] a [hat] with the bill turned backward‖ (Gabbard 160) and track pants with one pant leg rolled up,11 Cash is drawing on a stereotype of a violent gang member many white people are familiar with due to its frequent display on the news. Azeem is feared by everyone when encountered for the first time because of his physical distinctness. And, surprisingly enough, even

God can be menacing: annoyed by Bruce‘s constant complaining and not taking his words seriously, God adopts quite a scary tone.

Since ―the signal of dark skin color is enough to trigger associations among many [w]hites with pollution and danger‖ (Entman and Rojecki 52), it should not be surprising that, when watching a Magic Negro film, ―white audiences automatically direct [their antipathetic feelings] toward [the] black character on screen‖ (Hicks); especially if the character‘s depiction—before his divine powers are revealed—

11 Rolling up one pant leg probably functions as an identifier of gang affiliation (―Significance…‖). 24 corresponds with the audiences‘ expectations for an African American. And since, as established at the beginning of the paragraph, the character does embody negative stereotypical traits, it is inevitable that these will indeed correspond with audiences‘ expectation. Therefore, the audiences‘ aforementioned reaction to the character can be anticipated.

However disappointing this reaction might be as regards the racial relations, in case of the Magic Negro, it is obviously something the filmmakers count on—they intentionally use some of the stereotypical images of African Americans to create a story featuring a character the audience will immediately recognize—before his unearthly qualities are revealed, that is. ―The script actually plays on our assumption that‖ (Appiah 80) the African American character will not be a likeable one (possibly with the exception of Morgan Freeman who, according to Appiah, is the ultimate example of an actor often playing saintlike characters (82)). This is how the filmmakers make sure that when confronted with the revelation of the unearthly qualities the Magic

Negro possesses, the audience will be completely surprised (and probably even pleased).

2.2.6. For Mere Five Dollars, Guaranteed

As mentioned earlier, the Magic Negro is usually at a low position in life (Okorafor-

Mbachu): John Coffey is a prisoner, Bagger Vance is a vagabond, Cash, as already mentioned, looks like a gang member (possibly, as Jack assumes, living on welfare), and Azeem, when introduced for the first time, is virtually a prisoner as well.

Surprisingly enough, when encountered by Bruce for the first time, even the God

Almighty does a menial job: he is mopping the floor, wearing overalls. It is safe to state that, as a matter of fact, all of the characters, to a certain degree, draw on some kind of

25 social stereotype white people hold of African Americans (Colombe 1) before the movies reveal that they are actually supernatural beings. It is surprising that, despite possessing the power to, for instance, shift time (Cash) or even kill (John through the medium of Percy), the black characters never seem to attempt to improve their own situation (Glenn and Cunningham 12)—just like Uncle Tom. They all seem to be content with what they have. Nevertheless, as discussed in chapter 2.2.1., they do everything they can when it comes to helping white men (Gabbard 144). John actually

―constantly refers to Paul as ‗Boss,‘ suggesting that […] he understands himself to serve

Paul's interests in his actions‖ (Hicks). Moreover, in order to provide spiritual guidance for Paul, John does not take advantage of his powers even if by doing the contrary, he could save himself from being executed (Crowdus and Georgakas). This kind of sacrifice, again, draws on the Uncle Tom stereotype (Gabbard 145). Except for John, the Magic Negroes discussed by this thesis seem to ―sacrifice‖ merely their time for the protagonists. Nevertheless, there are other examples of films featuring Magic Negroes that willingly put their lives in danger only for the protagonist.12

Another example of utter selfishness can be seen in The Legend of Bagger

Vance: from the way Bagger instructs Junuh and even shows him his own ―swing‖ at their first encounter, it is evident that he, too, knows how to play golf—possibly even better than Junuh—and would probably make a successful golfer himself if he decided to pursue a golfer‘s career. Yet he never does. He says he does not play golf. He seems to be perfectly satisfied with becoming just a caddy. It is as if he ―[knew] his place‖

12 One of such films is Ghost (1990), in which a ―bogus medium‖ (Gabbard 154) Oda Mae Brown (Whoopi Goldberg) risks her own life in order to save the life of Molly (Demi Moore), the wife of a young man named Sam (Patrick Swayze), who has been murdered and whose ghost has now asked Oda to protect Molly from his murderer (Gabbard 154). Another example is The Shining (1980), which was based on a book by Stephen King. It depicts a telepathy-operating hotel cook Dick Halloran (Scatman Crothers) who is brutally slain by the hotel‘s newly appointed (and also deranged) winter caretaker (Jack Nicholson), the father of a little boy whose ―calling‖ for help Halloran attempts to answer (Okorafor- Mbachu).

(Glenn and Cunningham 6) in society and did not even try to reach higher. He is not interested in money, either (Glenn and Cunningham 9). Even though he could earn a thousand dollars in case Junuh wins, he is willing to settle for ―five dollars, guaranteed‖

(The Legend of Bagger Vance). In this sense, Azeem and God constitute an exception to the rule: Azeem‘s protection of Robin arises from his aforementioned obligation to fulfill his oath. Nevertheless, it is evident he would be willing to stand by Robin regardless of the oath since he has grown fond of him. In the case of Bruce Almighty, bestowing divine powers upon Bruce is motivated by a sort of God‘s vanity; he is simply offended by Bruce‘s insults and wants to teach him a lesson.

There are a number of ways the low social status of the Magic Negroes can be understood. Drawing constantly on the same stereotypes of African Americans being janitors, vagabonds and prisoners (Colombe 1), these movies provide evidence that

―[b]lack males are [still] not allowed a full range of skills and experiences in most

Hollywood films with majority-[w]hite casts‖ (Entman and Rojecki xvii). Moreover, D.

Marvin Jones, author of Race, Sex, and Suspicion: The Myth of the Black Male, argues that the reality of dutifully serving the interests of white males, in a way, also ―defines the approved parameters of black male aspiration‖ in life (36). Furthermore, according to Entman and Rojecki, by depicting the black characters as being of low social status, these movies, in fact, reflect the actual social situation of a considerable number of

African Americans (xvii). They also suggest that, as already mentioned in chapter

2.2.2., African Americans cannot handle the world of power (Entman and Rojecki xvii).

According to Glenn and Cunningham, these movies, to a certain degree, acknowledge

African Americans‘ talents and abilities, yet at the same time they suggest that blacks do not know how to utilize these abilities unless instructed by whites (16). Therefore, it

27 can be concluded that, as Entman and Rojecki assert, in today‘s society, African

Americans are neither fully accepted nor completely rejected‖ (46)

2.2.7. What about the Brothers?

As already established, the Magic Negro does not necessarily have to be the only

African American in the film; nevertheless, he is the only one with a role of any significance (Okorafor-Mbachu). At the very beginning of The Green Mile, for example, there is a short scene featuring a group of black convicts working in the field;

The Legend of Bagger Vance depicts a number of African Americans as being a part of the crowd that has gathered on the occasion of the opening of the tournament; and The

Family Man features an African American receptionist. Nevertheless (and this is probably the most startling trait of the Magic Negro films), despite all the special powers the Magic Negro possesses, the film never mentions (let alone depicts) him as having tried to help out other African Americans even though, given the time in which some of the films take place, there were undoubtedly some who sorely needed it. This issue will be further addressed in chapter 2.2.9.

The depiction of the Magic Negro‘s ―overriding desire to participate beneficently in the lives of white people while pursuing no connection whatsoever with other African Americans‖ (Gabbard 173) might be understood in two ways. One might reflect the belief still held by some white Americans that only the white people are worth ―saving.‖ Okorafor-Mbachu perceives the evidence of this belief in the fact that

―the white main character's well-being comes before the Magical Negro‘s.‖ In her view, this signals that ―the main character is [perceived as being] of more value, more importance‖ (Okorafor-Mbachu). The other way of understanding the lack of connection with other African Americans might reflect whites‘ conviction that African

Americans, in fact, do not need to be ―saved,‖ i.e. that the current state of affairs for

African Americans in the USA is not as serious as it is often claimed by them. As a matter of fact, there are reasons to believe that both of these views have contributed to the emergence of the Magic Negro. The first belief has its roots in the prejudice against

African Americans which still has its place in the minds of some white Americans and which holds that African Americans ―are a lower order of humanity than [w]hites, with consistently negative traits‖ (Entman and Rojecki 18). The belief that the African

Americans do not need to be ―saved‖ probably stems from the fact that some of the white Americans perceive them as being lazy and constant complainers13 (Sigelman and

Tuch 88) who could be a lot better-off if only they tried a little harder (Entman and

Rojecki 103) as well as the fact that a ―large majority of [w]hites deny that racial discrimination persists as a major impediment to African Americans‖ (47).

2.2.8. The Importance of Being Magical

The Magic Negro‘s special power ―[does not] make things appear and disappear so much as it influences things that the [w]hite main character […] cannot control—events, circumstances, biological processes‖ (Colombe). Cash, for example, can put Jack in a kind of ―alternative life‖ (Gabbard 161) with Kate, two children and a dog—a kind of life ―the film suggest[s] was once in store for him‖ (Gabbard 161). John, on the other hand, possesses the ability to heal—whether it is Paul‘s infection or his boss‘ wife‘s brain tumor—John is able to suck the ailment (which is depicted as ―a black cloud of what looks vaguely like swarming flies‖ (Gabbard 150) into himself. Moreover, he is subsequently able to literally breathe it into Percy Wetmore (Doug Hutchinson), ―the

13 According to a study by Peffley and Hurwitz conducted in 1991, 31 percent of the respondents perceived African Americans as lazy, and 40 percent ―considered blacks complainers‖ (Sigelman and Tuch 88).

29 only unsympathetic guard‖ (Gabbard 147) in the ward, who in turn ―marches zombie- like to the cell that holds ‗Wild Bill‘ (Sam Rockwell) and shoots him […] in the chest‖

(Gabbard 147). Due to his other gift, when grabbed by the arm by Wild Bill, John is also able to see that Wild Bill was actually the one who committed ―the crime for which

[John] was convicted‖ (Gabbard 147). Bruce Almighty represents a special case among the rest of the Magic Negro films since here the white character becomes as powerful as the Magic Negro, i.e. omnipotent. Azeem, on the other hand, does not possess any unearthly powers at all since he is ordinary human; nevertheless, he comes to be labeled as a wizard by Robin‘s companions owing to his unprecedented knowledge: he uses a telescope, designs charges using gunpowder, and even carries out a Caesarean section when the wife of one of his companions has difficulties while delivering a baby.

According to Kempley‘s essay, Damon Lee, producer of a hard-hitting satire

Undercover Brother, thinks that the reason these characters possess magical powers is that since whites have been taught not to listen to black people, even now ―[they] are more comfortable with black people telling them what to do when they are cast in a magical role.‖ It seems like whites cannot process the information in any other way

(Kempley). Lee further explains that ―whoever is king of the jungle is only going to listen to someone perceived as an equal‖ (qtd. in Kempley). The equality can be understood both in social terms as well as in economic terms since, as Hicks asserts, the

―power‖ of black men in the films actually serves as an expression of their economic vulnerability (as discussed in chapter 2.2.6.). This ―inversion or real-life power structure,‖ as Glenn and Cunningham suggest, is possibly a certain step to racial comity on the part of white filmmakers (16). Appiah explains the issue of supernatural powers by stating that African American characters, who would otherwise be looked down upon by the white audience, need to be given unearthly qualities in order to be

30 perceived as socially equal to the ordinary white characters (82). However, it is important to realize that no matter how racial-comity-promoting the Magic Negro might seem, it is still a sort of stereotype created by whites, and the fundamental function of stereotypes is ―to enhance one‘s own group and to disparage out-groups‖ (qtd. in

Sigelman and Tuch 87).

2.2.9. Washing Hands

As discussed in chapter 2.2.2., the Magic Negro films do not mention anything about the black characters‘ families or love interests. However, one does not have to pay extra attention when watching these films to realize that the characters, in fact, do not have any background at all either. They just mysteriously appear one day (Colombe 2); some are even depicted as ―[walking] out of the mists‖ (Kempley). This is especially true of

Bagger, who literally appears ―out of the night‖ (Colombe 2) right when ―Junuh begins slugging away at golf balls‖ (Gabbard 172) in a futile effort to find his lost swing.

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves also introduces its Magic Negro by having him peep out of the gloom of the dungeon where he and Robin are being held prisoners. Even though

God makes his very first appearance in Bruce Almighty in the role of a janitor mopping the floor, when the audience first gets the idea that he might be someone unearthly—i.e. when the character adopts a solemn voice for the first time—he is climbing down a ladder from a dark shaft in the ceiling. Despite his giantlike figure, no records of John

Coffey‘s past existence can be found. It is as if he had ―dropped out of the sky‖ (The

Green Mile). Moreover, it seems like he himself does not even know where he comes from (Colombe 2).

Of course, when granting the African American characters magical gifts, these films, in a way, ―abandon credibility‖ (Gabbard 170). However, when it comes to the rest of the

31 plot, as Gabbard states, certain Hollywood conventions are faithfully observed (170): for instance, in The Green Mile and The Legend of Bagger Vance it is the authenticity of clothing styles and cars used in the 1930s South. It is surprising then that obvious issues regarding race relations in that era are completely ignored (Gabbard 170): The

Legend of Bagger Vance does not mention anything specific about the social conditions of African Americans in 1930s Georgia (Gabbard 170): in the mass scenes—for instance during the grand opening of the tournament—African Americans can be seen in a reasonable number standing side by side with whites, all enjoying the joyous occasion. There are no signs of animosity on the part of the whites toward them even though, as Spike Lee says, ―Georgia has always been one of the roughest states for black people, a lot of Negroes were castrated, lynched and whatnot in Georgia‖ (qtd. in

Crowdus and Georgakas). Moreover, as Gabbard notes, even Junuh, who spends most of the time with Bagger, ―[seems] completely oblivious to the fact that [he] is black‖

(170). Similarly, John is paid the same courtly respect by the wardens as are his white inmates (Gabbard 170). These discrepancies, according to Gabbard, are, in fact, something the ―audiences are not invited to notice‖ (170) for, as he explains, the black/white ―reconciliation scenes are most effective when racial, social, and cultural formations remain unmentioned and unquestioned‖ (Gabbard 144). According to Ariel

Dorfman, a Chilean playwright, poet and cultural critic (Kempley), ―the magic Negro is an easy way of making the characters and the audiences happy‖ (qtd. in Kempley) since it avoids confrontation on the issue of genuine black/white relations (Kempley).

Dorfman further explains, ―Since there is no cultural interchange, the character is put there to give the illusion that there is cultural crossover to satisfy that need without actually addressing the issue‖ (qtd. in Kempley).

This is also the reason why, as Kempley notes, the Magic Negro—unlike the white protagonist, whose personality evolves throughout the plot—is a one-dimensional character. He is a mere plot device (Jones 36): when the Magic Negro, as Glenn and

Cunningham note, does not eagerly come to the assistance of the White character, he completely lacks purpose (15). Moreover, he does not stay long: feeling he is no longer needed, i.e. when the protagonist‘s ―reformation‖ is done, the Magic Negro, as Colombe notices, disappears as mysteriously as he arrived (2). Thus, Bagger, for example, does not leave Junuh the moment he wins the tournament, but instead right after Junuh openly admits to have moved a ball accidentally with his golf-club before actually hitting it even though no one else has seen it and despite the fact that by doing it he forfeits a stroke. Seeing that Junuh has overcome his drinking problem as well as his compulsive need to show off, ―Bagger [contentedly] strolls off along a beach‖ (Gabbard

172) at sunset. Similarly, Jack‘s last encounter with Cash takes place at a time when

Jack has already realized how much he loves his new alternative suburban life and does not want to give it up. However, since Cash wants to teach Jack a lesson, he sends him back in time so that he can earn everything he has had until now on his own. The last time Bruce encounters God is after he finally admits to himself that having the power to do anything in the world means nothing if he cannot be with the one person he loves.

Being devastated after seeing Grace crying and asking God to allow her to get over

Bruce, Bruce kneels down in the middle of a highway and gets hit by a truck. However, seeing how unselfish Bruce has become, God has mercy on him and brings him back to life. In the case of Azeem, the film does not depict his return to his homeland since it ends with Robin and Marian‘s wedding; nevertheless, given the fact that he has fulfilled his oath, it is highly probable that he leaves Robin after the wedding.

Since, as already mentioned, ―the racially charged nature of the perceptions and sentiments remain camouflaged [, they] do not threaten [w]hites‘ moral self-images‖

(Entman and Rojecki 88). Thus, the Magic Negro films ―often [provide] the audience with an emotional, even cathartic moment[s]‖ (Gabbard 144). Seeing such warm- hearted and beneficial (and, in the case of John Coffey, even suffering) African

American characters makes the white audience feel inclination or even compassion for them, which consequently also allows the audience to feel morally uplifted (Gabbard

145). The huge box-office success of these films as well as the fact that Michael Clarke

Duncan was nominated for the Academy Award (Gabbard 145), and Whoopi Goldberg even won it (Gabbard 154), provides a clear evidence of the ―continuing need among whites to feel‖ (Gabbard 145) this way. Spike Lee supports this view by saying, ―I mean, Michael Clarke Duncan gave a good performance in The Green Mile, but when I saw that movie I knew he was going to get an Academy Award nomination. The

Academy just loves roles like that because it makes them feel so liberal‖14 (qtd. in

Crowdus and Georgakas).

Another problem with these scenes lies in the fact that by denying the character a background, the film, in fact, ―separate[s] the character from any real connection with

African American culture‖ (Gabbard 158). According to Gabbard, most of the Magic

Negroes are rooted in black culture only superficially (163), and often they only ―[play] at being black‖ (Gabbard 158). In his very first scene in the convenient store, for example, Cash ―uses gestures that many white Americans would associate with rap artists‖ (Gabbard 160) and speaks in urban African American vernacular (Gabbard

161). However, right after he and Jack leave the store, he drops the vernacular (Gabbard

161). Nevertheless, the best example of the Magic Negro lacking African American

14 This issue will be discussed in connection with the concept of white guilt in chapter 3.2. 34 background is God. The issue of God being devoid of African American culture, as opposed to Azeem, will be discussed in more detail in chapter 3.3.

The character‘s lack of background does not serve merely as a screenwriters‘ device for saving time for scenes that might have more appeal to the audiences; it might actually be understood as a tool for maintaining the status quo in American society.

According to Cedric Robinson, "males, more problematic in the American imagination, have become ghostly. The black male simply orbits above the history of white supremacy. He has no roots, no grounding. In that context, black anger has no legitimacy, no real justification‖ (qtd. in Kempley). In other words, once devoid of any explicit evidence of racist behavior on the part of whites, the African American loses his right to demand any kind of amelioration of his or her situation. This latent tendency can be proved even by the fact that, as Entman and Rojecki point out, that ―blacks emphasize present discrimination more than past while [w]hites do the reverse‖ (47). In accordance with the aforementioned shift in the perception of discrimination by whites, this makes sense. Since discrimination has been more latent lately, whites assume it is not as pressing an issue as it once used to be. Since there are, in comparison to the pre- civil rights era, not as many examples of explicit racist behavior, it is easy for whites to deny it.

3. CURRENT STATE OF RACE RELATIONS

3.1. Amalgam of Influences

Having stated that these covert negative meanings the Magic Negro represents contribute to maintaining the status quo in American society, a question arises whether it is appropriate to state that the creators of these films are racist. Some of them might be; however, there is no way for us to find out what the driving force was behind, for example, every individual screenwriter‘s conduct unless someone asks him or her directly. And even then, in order to avoid the ―social undesirability of appearing to be racist‖ (Entman and Rojecki 47), there is a very small probability that any of them would openly admit to having written the script with any denigrating tendencies in mind. Entman and Rojecki address the issue of the intentional behavior by stating that the mostly white creators of these films ―continually make conscious racial distinctions, discriminations that favor [w]hites and disadvantage [b]lacks‖ (xx). However, ―they make such choices in light of the ends they want their films to realize, and primary among such ends is commercial success, particularly for mainstream films‖ (qtd. in

Stroud 4). Therefore, it cannot be stated that the filmmakers are motivated by their

―own racial animosity or racism‖ (Entman and Rojecki xx) since, even if they were racist, they are nevertheless aware of the fact that by providing ―the audience with the old appeals to white racism‖ (Gabbard 175), they would lose a considerably ―large paying audience of African Americans‖ (Gabbard 174). The matter is probably best expressed by Kempley‘s quoting of Robert McKee, who, as she points out, ―has taught screenwriting to about 40,000 writers, actors and producers.‖ McKee says, ―Try to see

[the issue] from a writer's [point of view]. He or she wants to be [politically correct].

But you can't expect writers to think like sociologists. They aren't out there trying to change the world; they are just trying to tell a good story‖ (qtd. in Kempley).

Nevertheless, as Entman and Rojecki point out, it does not matter how purely commercial and nonracist the creators of the Magic Negro films are; ―when they endorse racial difference and hierarchy—which the Magic Negro/main white character relationship is based on—―the images [used for such ends nonetheless] embody and reinforce racial distance‖ (xx). In conclusion, however, it should be stated that the bottom line, according to Appiah, is the fact that ―[i]f the film reflects a racist […] culture, then what‘s wrong is that the culture is racist […]: the film is just a symptom‖

(85).

Unfortunately, as Christopher Farley, author of the article ―That Old Black

Magic,‖ points out, ―most Hollywood screenwriters [do not] know much about black people other than what they hear on records by white hip-hop star Eminem.‖ This is, of course, not meant to be taken literally; however, as Colombe argues, the sheer fact that the filmmakers expect the audience members to accept these kinds of stories, and, more importantly, that the audience is obviously willing to do so (considering the box office numbers) signals that the knowledge most of the whites have of African Americans is probably limited indeed (3). Entman and Rojecki‘s study substantiates this assertion since it reveals that ―most [b]lacks and [w]hite in the United States continue to live their private lives apart from one another‖ (2). And, as has already been stated, ―stereotypes abound where there is distance‖ (hooks 170).

Related to the aforementioned writers‘ motives is the fact that the range of possible ideas for new films is not limitless. Regular movie-goers probably could not help noticing that toward the end of the millennium, Hollywood apparently started to run out of new ideas for story plots (Colombe 3). This can be deduced from the fact that it has made ―a habit out of taking great classics and giving them a new spin‖

(Greenough). In other words, as Gabbard perceives, the filmmakers have begun to

37 introduce black angels of various physical types and from different social classes only to retell ―the same story from innumerable angles‖ (172).

Feeling the pressure by society to incorporate an African American into the plot but, at the same time, lacking the knowledge of African American culture as well as new ideas for stories, white screenwriters, according to Farley, tend to ascribe black characters magical powers. Aside from the Uncle Tom stereotype, as Colombe pertinently noticed, the Magic Negro, in fact, also draws on the concept of the fairy godmother: ―traditional fairy godmothers were older women with the power to satisfy a character‘s desire beyond wildest dreams‖ (Colombe 3); the Magic Negro possesses such powers as well. And since, as has been pointed out earlier, the protagonist does not seem to be willing to admit his need for any changes in his life, stating that the change brought on him by the Magic Negro is ―beyond [his] wildest dreams‖ rings pertinently true. Moreover, the fairy godmother also acts as a mentor to the protagonist (Wikipedia) and, just like the Magic Negro, does not ―[ask] [any]thing in return‖ (Colombe 3).

However, the most apparent similarity of the Magic Negro to the concept of the fairy godmother represents the fact that the black character, when devoid of exhibition of masculine conduct, as Colombe further explains, is, in a way, feminized and thus, as already mentioned, perceived by the audience as less threatening (3). Furthermore, given the fact that the only purpose the Magic Negro has in the plot is to make a change of some kind in the life of the protagonist, it can be stated that the Magic Negro, as

Jones puts it, is in fact nothing but ―a [screenwriters‘] construct‖ (36). This is most evident in the fact that after his work of salving the protagonist is done, the Magic

Negro ―conveniently disappear[s]‖ (Jones 36) from the protagonist‘s life. Regarding the development of the story (i.e. not the already discussed social overtone of it), the fact whether or not the character has any background is quite irrelevant: ―once magic is

38 introduced, we suspend disbelief entirely and [do not] feel we need to know more because we already know that it [does not] matter‖ (Colombe 3) since, being familiar with the narrative pattern of the stories involving the fairy godmother (and any other kind of a fairy tale, for that matter) we know the story will have a happy ending.

3.2. Wanting to be Forgiven

Aside from the need to be assured that their economic (as well as sexual) superiority is unalienable, another equally important fact about the white Americans can be deduced from the emergence of the Magic Negro: their anxiety about the current state of black/white relationships. As Shohat notes, these films touch ―something deep within the national unconscious, a historically conditioned longing for interracial harmony

(Shohat and Stam 236). However, as Steele notes, such longing is not based merely upon genuine goodwill (27). More likely, as Appiah speculates, the Magic Negro exists to reflect whites‘ fear of black people being angry at them; it reflects whites ―wanting to be forgiven, seeking a black person who is not only admirable and lovable, but who loves [them]‖ back‖ (83). This need of forgiveness might arise from, as Aronson notes, an inner desire common to people of all races to see the world as a good and just place where people like each other (484). Appiah also assumes that the concept of the Magic

Negro in a way ―draws on the Christian notion that suffering is ennobling […]‖ (83). He suggests that ―the black person who represents undeserved suffering in the American imagination can also, therefore, represent moral nobility‖ (Appiah 83). Thus, as

Gabbard suggests, it is plausible that Americans suspect on various conscious and unconscious levels that blacks, having endured the long-lasting oppression, ―have a great deal of insight into white behavior and that they are judging‖ whites (176).

However, this feeling is not merely a matter of the need of whites for some sort of

39 redemption; it is also a matter of whites‘ fear of being, as mentioned in chapter 1.1, labeled as racists (Entman and Rojecki 47, Steele 27)—an issue closely bound to the concept of white guilt.

According to Steele, ―by the late sixties ‗consciousness‘ began in a faith that something was deeply and intractably wrong at the core of American life‖ (30). As

Steele explains, ―back in the pre-civil rights era—the age of racism—racial bigotry itself was part of the moral establishment, an element of propriety‖ (28). However, after the aforementioned acknowledgement of racial hypocrisy (Steele 30), ―white guilt had generated a new social morality in America that made racial prejudice utterly illegitimate. And it would take a powerful phenomenon like white guilt—as opposed to

[the already mentioned] goodwill—to accomplish so difficult a task‖ (Steele 27). As

Steele further explains, since the power of white guilt arises from the fact that it functions by stigma, whites and, as a matter of fact, all American institutions ―are stigmatized as racist until they prove otherwise‖ (27). Having this notion in mind, it seems understandable that, as David Ehrenstein, author of the op-ed15 called ―Barack the Magic Negro,‖ whites would want to absolve themselves of their guilt for past bad treatment of blacks by doing the exact opposite in the present: exalting them. In cinematic sense, this tendency might be expressed by assigning the African American character powers that far exceed the ones of the white character. Moreover, as Steele continues, in order to show themselves redeemed of it, whites must acknowledge historical racism; however, once they do it, ―they lose moral authority over everything having to do with race, equality, social justice, poverty, and so on. They step into a void of vulnerability‖ (28). Therefore, if we think of white filmmakers as harboring the same believes about race as the average white Americans, it should not be surprising either

15 A newspaper page devoted to signed articles by commentators, essayists, humorists, etc., of varying viewpoints (Dictionary.com). 40 that they would transform this kind of white fear into cinematic characters. This fear of losing a kind of authority might be reflected in the Magic Negro‘s helplessness (as established in chapter 2.2.6.).

Going back to the Magic Negro representing a kind of a longing of whites for interracial harmony, as Shohat and Stam point out, the biggest ―challenge is

[nevertheless] to translate the utopian energies behind these consolatory representations of ethnic harmony into the necessary mobilization for structural change that alone can make racial equality a quotidian reality‖ (236). However, as Gabbard points out, the

Magic Negro phenomenon can ―actually stand as an obstacle to structural change‖ (175) since it makes the white ―audiences [believe] that there is nothing wrong with the old racial hierarchies‖ (175): images presented by these films ―tell [w]hite audience that

America is indeed multi-hued‖ (Entman and Rojecki 54), i.e. it really represents the diversity of ethnicity it has come to stand for in the eyes of the world. And since ―many

[w]hites […] have no contact with [b]lacks‖ (Glenn and Cunningham 3), they might easily believe these utopian depictions (Glenn and Cunningham 3). Also, as Damon Lee states, watching these images, people might also get the notion that since an African

American actor plays such a role, he must have been, of course, involved in making the film, and therefore probably given the same opportunity as white actors; moreover, since the actor was willing to play the role, he must have not found it offensive in any way (Kempley). In other words, these films provide audiences with the notion that the state of racial relations in contemporary United States is not serious—after all, as

Dorfman notes, by helping the white character, the black character ―demonstrates that

[he] feels this incredible interest in maintaining the existing society‖ (qtd. in

Kempley)—and therefore there is, in fact, no need for structural changes.

3.3. Shift in Time

Since, as has been already stated, films reflect the state of race relations in society

(Entman and Rojecki 3), by analyzing the changes in representation of the Magic Negro from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) up to Bruce Almighty (2003), it is possible to draw conclusions about the changes in whites‘ attitude toward American Americans as well. However, first, a brief overview of what changes in society had preceded the emergence of the Magic Negro is due.

As Steele points out, in the wake of the new morality ―in the decades since the civil rights victories, racism became a bifurcated phenomenon in America‖ (35). As

Steele adds, aside from the ―racial bigotry that America has, sadly, always known, i.e. the source of oppression and racial discrimination‖ (Steele 35), a new kind of racism— the global racism—emerged (Steele 35). This racism, as Steele explains, made even the slightest hint of racism seem like a proof of the ―global truth‖ of systemic racism (Steele

36). ―In the 1990s […] it was still [w]hites in the U.S. who had enslaved African

Americans and who still used [w]hite power structures, consciously or unconsciously, to keep themselves on top of the heap‖ (Colombe 3). As Colombe further asserts, white audiences then were still openly admitting the fact that race is a problematic issue (3).

The 1990s also provided the best evidence of the working of the global racism

(Steele 40-41). It witnessed a popular uprising of affirmative action16 (Entman and

Rojecki 108) as well as the widely publicized O. J. Simpson murder trial, which was played out as ―a contest between the empirical evidence and global racism‖ (Steele 41) and which ended up with acquitting Simpson on the basis of his being the victim

(Gabbard 145) of the ―invisible hand‖ of global racism (Steele 37). It was probably this event that invoked the fear in white filmmakers to touch upon sensitive racial issues and

16 ―Affirmative action‖ is a series of policies which attempt to enhance the conditions of African Americans (and other minorities) in areas such as employment, education (Entman and Rojecki 107) 42 in turn lead to efforts to omit any hints at racial distinctions. Thus, whereas there are no references to the blackness of the characters in the later movies (as discussed in 2.2.9.),

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves acknowledges Azeem‘s subordination several times (for instance, when one of Robin‘s newly acquainted companions refuses to give Azeem food on the basis of Azeem being a Moor). In consequence, the reluctance of white filmmakers to involve any signs of racial distinction might be the reason why, as

Colombe points out, white people from the end of 20th century onward have tended to think that racism is ―not much of a problem anymore‖ (1).

As mentioned in chapter 2.2.9., the Magic Negro does not have a background.

As Colombe points out, the magical ―black male figure apparently requires even less contextualization than the typical ‗buddy-formula‘‖ (3). Thus, whereas Azeem‘s culture is acknowledged several times throughout the film17 (he, for example, wears outlandish cloths and repeatedly prays to Allah), the rest of the African American characters in these films completely lack a connection to any culture at all. As Colombe adds,

―[b]lack men in contemporary Hollywood film become more unreal than ever [; their humanity] is further removed‖ (3).

Moreover, as Glenn and Cunningham point out, the Magic Negro movies ―do not show mutually beneficial relationships. Instead, [they] primarily show how [b]lacks can assist [w]hites‖ (15). The development of the Magic Negro concept can be, again, perceived in the comparison of Azeem and the more supernatural black characters: whereas in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves the two main characters help each other

(Robin saves Azeem‘s life), the angelic characters of Cash, Bagger and John are not being assisted by their white counterparts. However, they are still depicted as in need of

17 Of course, since Azeem is a Moor, he is not supposed to hold any connection to African American culture. However, what is important is that, in comparison with the rest of the Magic Negroes discussed, he does have a background, and therefore is believable as a human being.

43 something: Cash wants the counterman at the convenient store to cash his lotto ticket,

Bagger wants his promised five dollars from Junuh, and John is unable to escape from the prison on his own. Thus God represents a step to a new level in the depiction of the

Magic Negro (Gabbard 165) since he does not require any ―assistance due to [his ultimate] power‖ (Glenn 15). This sort of depiction might, again, hint at white centrality in movies since the white character is not expected to provide any assistance to the

Magic Negro at all.

A remarkable shift in the representation of a kind of the aforementioned whites‘ need for redemption might be perceived in the way the Magic Negroes are accepted by the white protagonists. In Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Robin wants Azeem to go back to his homeland since Azeem‘s potential assistance is perceived by him at first as completely needless—he therefore orders a group of his henchmen to seize Azeem and send him home (but they do not succeed). Bagger Vance and Cash, on the other hand, are at first perceived as annoying, but the protagonists do not try to get rid of them. In

Bruce Almighty, however, God is directly sought after.

Given the fact that all these films emphasize Christian doctrine, a certain need of spiritual revival (aside from the already mentioned need of being forgiven by blacks) on the part of whites can be perceived as well. Whereas all the films repeatedly refer to the importance of a kind of guardianship from up above, it is Bruce Almighty that seems to be calling for audiences‘ turn to Christianity most urgently. Being created in the post-

9/11 era, Bruce Almighty‘s depiction of an African American as God might be actually understood as a call for solidarity as the only possible solution to both the unsatisfactory status of African Americans as well as the fear of society of mutual alienation.

3.4. Stereotypes and the Audience

As already mentioned, Hollywood has depicted (almost) saintly African American characters for a long time and, given the fact that their occurrence has increased rapidly since the beginning of 1990s, obviously ―gives no hint of stopping‖ (Asim 149).

Therefore, as Glenn and Cunningham pertinently point out, a further research is necessary in order to answer more questions regarding the concept; especially its impact on the audience—both black and white (17). In accordance with the series of studies of stereotypes this thesis has already dealt with, it can be anticipated that, being a contemporary cinematic stereotype, the impact of the Magic Negro on the audience— and, in consequence, the black/white relations in the USA as well—might be just as crucial as the earlier stereotypes of African Americans used to be. However, given the lack of tangible evidence, such conclusions can be drawn solely on a theoretical basis.

Possessing such extraordinary and, more importantly, the white-character- ennobling traits, it seems self-evident that the Magic Negro might make the audience feel affection for him. It also seems quite rational that it might make the prejudiced viewers revise at least some of the negative beliefs they hold of African Americans.

However, whereas the former case is true, the latter not necessarily. This can be accredited to the way White people perceive other ethnic groups: while ―favorable impressions of an out-group individual may cause more positive attitudes toward that individual, [they] will not generalize to challenge the negative group stereotype‖

(Entman and Rojecki 55) since atypical category members are generally perceived as not being category members at all (qtd. in Entman and Rojecki 55). It can be stated that people tend to ―give too much weight to those individuals who confirm the stereotype and not enough weight to those who disconfirm [it]‖ (qtd. in Entman and Rojecki 55).

Therefore, as Appiah notes, the Magic Negro ―functions as the exception rather than

45 refining the rule‖ (86). In other words, ―the films [featuring the Magic Negro] suggest that white Americans can like individual black people but not black culture‖ as such

(Gabbard 173). Moreover, since the information consistent with a person‘s notions is

―remembered better than information that is not consistent with these notions‖ (Aronson

472), it is plausible that, as Aronson adds, a prejudiced person will even strengthen his or her negative views (479) as a result of seeing a Magic Negro film, which, apart from the unearthly powers and great wisdom, depicts other, more mundane—and, as mentioned earlier, commonly perceived as negative—African American traits as well.

The question posed by Glenn and Cunningham as to how the ―[b]lack audience members‘ views of the [Magic] Negro affect their perception of themselves and their status in society‖ (17) will probably be even more difficult to answer. It can only be presumed that African Americans are not particularly happy with the concept since, according to Sigelman and Tuch‘s study of stereotypes, ―blacks who [perceive] whites as holders of one negative stereotype of blacks [tend] to perceive them as holders of the other type of negative stereotype of blacks as well‖ (90). In other words, believing that the White audience adopts some of the negative views about African Americans as a result of watching a Magic Negro film, the African American audience might expect the

[w]hites to be more likely to adopt other negative stereotypes about African Americans as well. And since ―stereotypes also contribute to the development of ideologies that justify discriminatory behavior against out-groups‖ (Sigelman and Tuch 87-88), it is understandable that African Americans might feel jeopardized by the concept. In any case, so far most of the materials dealing with the Magic Negro films were written by

African Americans. In addition, there have been some very irritated comments on the

46 issue made by Spike Lee,18 who is often ―being labeled as a spokesperson for black

America‖ (Fuchs). The fact that African Americans feel the urge to address the issue so readily signifies that they find it to be a more serious problem than most of the Whites do.

4. CONCLUSION

The Magic Negro is an African American character that has frequently appeared in a number of American films since the early 1990s (Gabbard 154). His function in the plot is to—by utilizing various kinds of supernatural powers as well as folk wisdom— provide guidance for the main white (and for various reasons somehow emotionally empty) character and thus help him set his life on the right path again (Glenn and

Cunningham 1). Since the African American character is depicted as completely selfless and, more importantly, happy to be at the white character‘s service, these movies might be perceived as contributing to improvement in black/white race relations in the contemporary United States (Entman and Rojecki xvii). However, there are also a number of—mostly covert—negative features that this character embodies (Colombe

1). According to Entman and Rojecki, depiction of such features actually separates and subordinates blacks (xvii): the movies seem to exalt the black characters by depicting them as possessing supernatural powers that elude their white counterparts (Glenn and

Cunningham 1); however, by not allowing them to utilize these powers for their own benefit, the movies also suggest that blacks might not be able to handle the world of power (Entman and Rojecki xvii). When taken into extremes, these films actually seem

18 In an interview for Cineaste Magazine in 2001, Lee commented on the sudden emergence of the Magic Negroes by saying, ―I mean, [John Coffey] tongue-kisses cancer out of a white woman and cures her. And in the end Tom Hanks offers to set him free, but guess what? He refuses to leave Death Row. He'd rather die with Tom Hanks looking on. Get the fuck outta here! That's that old grateful slave shit (qtd. in Crowdus and Georgakas)

47 to suggest that African Americans do not even have a place in these spheres. Moreover, aside from the suggested economic vulnerability of the African Americans, by constant accentuating of the needs of the main character only, as well as of the importance of his future acts, the films also convey the idea of the white person being ―of more value, more importance‖ (Okorafor-Mbachu).

Moreover, on a psychological level, these noble and supernaturally gifted characters are perceived as exceptions in comparison with ―normal‖ African Americans

(Appiah 86). Therefore, if a viewer holds prejudiced believes before watching a movie featuring such a character, after seeing the movie, his/her views regarding the African

American community as a whole will most likely not be affected.

However, regardless of how serious an impact these predominantly contradictory features of the concept might have, it can still be stated that they truly reflect the contradictory nature of the notions average white Americans hold of African

Americans (Gabbard 175): a combination of awareness of the fact that racial relations are still a pressing topic in contemporary American society and, at the same time, a denial of such a problem (Colombe 1) stemming largely from the subtler ways of depicting racially sensitive issues by the media out of fear of being labeled as racist

(Aronson 492).

By comparing the characteristic traits of the Magic Negroes in films from three

(not so much remote) periods—the early 1990s, the late 1990s, and the beginning of the new millennium—the changes in the perception of the issues of race relations on the part of white Americans can be perceived: whereas in the early 1990s, a film featuring the Magic Negro would not be hesitant to openly address the characters‘ racial differences; a movie made at the beginning of the new millennium would take great pains not to provide even the slightest suggestion of such differences.

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