'American Society Of Magical Negroes' Trends During Sundance

Source: Focus Features

Social media is buzzing over The American Society Of Magical Negroes which premiered at Sundance to mixed reviews as one of the buzziest upcoming films at the famed film festival.

While some reviews praised the film, others confirmed the initial social media concerns that erupted online in response to the questionable trailer.

Check it out below:

A secret group of magical Black folk whose sole existence is to comfort white people? Yes, we understand that it’s satire but that’s a tough sell to a Black audience without the necessary context provided by the film.

In a scathing review that shook up Twitter X, RogerEbert.com’s Robert Daniels described the film as “hollow,” “wretched,” and “utterly confused.” (You can read the whole review here.)

Other critics echoed some of his sentiments, leaving the film’s “fresh rating” at a disappointing 50% on RottenTomatoes.com.

Directed by Kobi Libii, the film stars Justice Smith and David Alan Grier who, uh, didn’t do the film any favors based on the reactions to their comments at Sundance’s Variety Studio.

“There were Black people who were triggered by seeing something that they weren’t ready to admit in themselves,” said Smith about the focus group reactions to the film. “Like, ‘I’ve never made space for white people in this way.’

But then there are Black people who are like, ‘This is me, this is what I’ve had to do to survive.’ This shows that we’re not a monolith. This art is controversial because it expands what Black art can be and speaks about such a specific side of Blackness and survival that we haven’t really seen before…this micro-aggressive corporate racism.”

At this point, it’s probably best that they do less talking ahead of the film’s release.

Will you be seated for The American Society Of Magical Negroes (opening in theaters March 22, 2024)?Tell us down below and peep some Twitter hysteria over its Sundance premiere on the flip.