The Magical Negro (also magic Negro or mystical Negro, with varying capitalization) is a trope in American cinema, television, and literature. In the cinema of the United States, the Magical Negro is a supporting stock character who comes to the aid of the (usually white) protagonists in a film. Magical Negro characters, often possessing special insight or mystical powers, have long been a tradition in American fiction. The old-fashioned word "Negro" is used to imply that a "magical Black character" who devotes himself to selflessly helping whites is a throwback to racist stereotypes such as the "Sambo" or "noble savage".
Usage
Fiction and film
The Magical Negro is a trope in cinema, television, and literature: the character is typically, but not always, "in some way outwardly or inwardly disabled, either by discrimination, disability or social constraint". The "Negro" is often a janitor or prisoner. The character often has no past but simply appears one day to help the white protagonist. They usually have some sort of magical power, "rather vaguely defined but not the sort of thing one typically encounters." Film reviewer Audrey Colombe argues that the trope has been perpetuated by the overwhelmingly White blockbuster film industry. Film director and writer Spike Lee said in 2001 that the White-dominated film industry is "still doing the same old thing ... recycling the noble savage and the happy slave".
Racism historians Francisco Bethencourt and John Beusterien trace the trope to late fifteenth century and early sixteenth century Spanish and their depiction of black "savior soldiers", who reinforce the stereotype of the supposed greater physical strength of Africans. These include and by Lope de Vega and by Andrés de Claramonte.
Christopher John Farley, referring to the magical Negro as "Magical African American Friends" (MAAFs), says they are rooted in screenwriters' ignorance of African Americans: