Actor Justice Smith, who plays Aren in the upcoming The American Society of Magical Negroes, laughed while claiming white people are not allowed to say the title of the film and they should shorten it to American Society.
Justice Smith as Aren in The American Society of Magical Negroes (2024), Focus Features
A reporter for TMZ approached Smith at an airport and said, “I’m really looking forward to your upcoming film. I’m not even sure if I can say the title. Am I allowed to say the title?”
Smith responded with a laugh, “You? No. I would shorten it to American Society. Keep it at that.”
Justice Smith as Aren in The American Society of Magical Negroes (2024), Focus Features
The reporter then asked, “White people need to shorten the title?”
Smith then laughed again and said, “White people need to shorten [the title].”
As the interview progressed, Smith then shared the basic premise of the film, “It’s about this guy who makes a lot of space for white people, is very uncomfortable around them, and he gets indoctrinated into a society whose mission it is to keep white people happy in order to keep the world safe ’cause when white people are not happy they do crazy things.”
The reporter then asked, “It’s funny because it’s true right?” Smith replied, “It’s satire. It’s commenting on film and then commenting on race through commenting on film. You know the magical negro trope? Spike Lee invented it. He coined the term. There’s like a lot of movie that had that archetype like Driving Miss Daisy or Bruce Almighty. All these are Morgan Freeman movies, but even like The Matrix. It’s always some magical black character who comes and likes saves the white person and then disappears. We never learn anything about him. He’s not really human or anything like that. So it’s kind of commenting on that and then like how black people show up in our society, where we have to make so much space for the majority.”
Justice Smith and David Alan Grier in The American Society of Magical Negroes (2024), Focus Features
The official description for the film states, “The American Society of Magical Negroes is a fresh, satirical comedy about a young man, Aren, who is recruited into a secret society of magical Black people who dedicate their lives to a cause of utmost importance: making white people’s lives easier.”
It arrives in theaters on March 22, 2024.
