The American Society of Magical Negroes

About

The American Society of Magical Negroes is an upcoming satirical comedy film by Kobi Libii following a story of a young man recruited into a secret society of magical Black people who dedicate their lives to making white people's lives easier. The name of the film references the "Magical Negro" trope in cinema. Following the announcement, in mid-November 2023, the film inspired memes that imagined white people having trouble buying tickets for the film due to its name containing an ethnic slur, most notably Kinoplex Robert memes. The film is expected to premiere in March 2024.

History

On September 15th, 2023, a teaser for satirical comedy The American Society of Magical Negroes premiered on X^[1] / Twitter (shown below).

THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MAGICAL NEGROES. Only in theaters March 22, 2024. A film by @KobiLibii. pic.twitter.com/5ZfH1jiBiw

— The American Society of Magical Negroes (@asmnmovie) November 15, 2023

The film, directed by @KobiLibii and produced by Focus Features, follows the story of a man named Aren, portrayed by Justice Smith, as he is recruited into a secret society of magical Black people dedicating their lives to making white people's lives easier (synopsis^[2] shown below, left).

In film, "Magical Negro" is a stock supporting character who comes to the aid of white protagonists. Magical Negro characters often possess mystical powers and folksy wisdom (extract shown below).^[3][4]

Use in Memes

Immediately following the premiere of the teaser, the film sparked jokes about white people having trouble buying tickets for the film due to its name containing a slur. On November 15th, 2023, X^[5] user @_blaccsheep posted a Kinoplex Robert meme in which Robert encouraged an embarrassed moviegoer to say the full name of the film. The post (shown below) received over 5,900 reposts and 41,000 likes in one day.

Later that day, X^[6] user @YourBudTevin posted a joke about white and Black people buying tickets for the film that received over 15,000 reposts and 129,000 likes in one day (shown below, right).

More memes about the film, particularly those featuring Kinoplex Robert, went viral on X in mid-November 2023. On 4chan's /tv/,^[7] a thread dedicated to the film received over 120 replies, with memes also being posted.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References