Comments on: Obama the ‘Magic Negro’ http://www.thefighting44s.com/archives/2007/03/19/obama-the-magic-negro/ Uniting the Asian Conscience Thu, 17 May 2012 22:25:26 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: Kuroyama http://www.thefighting44s.com/archives/2007/03/19/obama-the-magic-negro/#comment-464 Kuroyama Mon, 26 Mar 2007 05:38:45 +0000 http://www.thefighting44s.com/archives/2007/03/19/obama-the-magic-negro/#comment-464 Jacksons campaign was over 20 years ago. Not saying that America has fully come to terms with its past... but there it is. I was not familiar with the term "Magic Negro" when I saw that article in the LA times, but it did give me a hard term to use for a concept I was familiar with (yet had no name for). Just the other night I re-watched "Nighthawks" (Sylvester Stallone, Billy Dee Williams) When I was a kid I just remember a cop flick with a white and Black cop as the protagonists... I didnt recall just how "backgrounded" Billy Dee really was! Many shots pan the camera exactly so Sly blocks Billy right out of the shot! Regardless, when they move to action, its Sly who commands! Even though BD is handing out asswhuppins its Sly who yells "enough!" calling BD off like you might a dog. In a gunfight, despite having equal opportunity to drop the bad guy... BD yells to Sly: "take the shot!!" (while he holds his OWN pistol thats still fully loaded...??) After this impotence at the trigger gets BDs face slashed open... as hes carried away by paramedics... he offers his support to Sly: "you can do it!" "take the shot!"... no apparent regard for his own safety. Not quite as magic as The Fresh Prince playing a magical Black Golf Caddie... but just as self sacrificing and promoting of tha othaman. Jacksons campaign was over 20 years ago. Not saying that America has fully come to terms with its past… but there it is. I was not familiar with the term “Magic Negro” when I saw that article in the LA times, but it did give me a hard term to use for a concept I was familiar with (yet had no name for).

Just the other night I re-watched “Nighthawks” (Sylvester Stallone, Billy Dee Williams) When I was a kid I just remember a cop flick with a white and Black cop as the protagonists… I didnt recall just how “backgrounded” Billy Dee really was! Many shots pan the camera exactly so Sly blocks Billy right out of the shot! Regardless, when they move to action, its Sly who commands! Even though BD is handing out asswhuppins its Sly who yells “enough!” calling BD off like you might a dog. In a gunfight, despite having equal opportunity to drop the bad guy… BD yells to Sly: “take the shot!!” (while he holds his OWN pistol thats still fully loaded…??) After this impotence at the trigger gets BDs face slashed open… as hes carried away by paramedics… he offers his support to Sly: “you can do it!” “take the shot!”… no apparent regard for his own safety.

Not quite as magic as The Fresh Prince playing a magical Black Golf Caddie… but just as self sacrificing and promoting of tha othaman.

]]> By: vsoy http://www.thefighting44s.com/archives/2007/03/19/obama-the-magic-negro/#comment-417 vsoy Tue, 20 Mar 2007 12:44:07 +0000 http://www.thefighting44s.com/archives/2007/03/19/obama-the-magic-negro/#comment-417 "However, the common repetitive trend remains — that all these non-white characters are still not the main protagonists (heroes) in their storylines. Hence, the definition of the magic negro may also include non-white protagonists who continue to be teamed up with a white hero as well." From wikipedia entry on 'magical negro' President is about as front page, premier leadership position you can get. Granted, a black president is going to have some white Cabinet members, staff, VP, etc but he'll be calling the shots whereas the "magical negro" is there to help people along. This "magical negro" label is along the lines that Obama is not black enough and seeing the African American experience as a all or nothing, rather than a continuum or at least varied. Magical or not, he'd still have a hell of time catching a cab in NYC at night because of the color of his skin. I do find it interesting that Black studies departments are threatened by the African immigrant trend. This is a good article on tension between Afican Americans and recent African immigrants: [url]http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-op-chude-sokei18feb18,0,7298828.story?coll=la-opinion-center[/url] If white voters was feeling guilty about white privilege and felt voting for Obama would help them sleep at night, wouldn't the US have voted Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton (ok, he's a whackjob nonstarter) or someone else by now? “However, the common repetitive trend remains — that all these non-white characters are still not the main protagonists (heroes) in their storylines. Hence, the definition of the magic negro may also include non-white protagonists who continue to be teamed up with a white hero as well.” From wikipedia entry on ‘magical negro’

President is about as front page, premier leadership position you can get. Granted, a black president is going to have some white Cabinet members, staff, VP, etc but he’ll be calling the shots whereas the “magical negro” is there to help people along.

This “magical negro” label is along the lines that Obama is not black enough and seeing the African American experience as a all or nothing, rather than a continuum or at least varied. Magical or not, he’d still have a hell of time catching a cab in NYC at night because of the color of his skin. I do find it interesting that Black studies departments are threatened by the African immigrant trend. This is a good article on tension between Afican Americans and recent African immigrants:
[url]http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-op-chude-sokei18feb18,0,7298828.story?coll=la-opinion-center[/url]

If white voters was feeling guilty about white privilege and felt voting for Obama would help them sleep at night, wouldn’t the US have voted Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton (ok, he’s a whackjob nonstarter) or someone else by now?

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