Justice Smith on ‘The American Society of Magical Negroes,’ the ‘insidious, microaggressive’ nature of racism

Smith spoke to us about the backlash to the film’s trailer and what he hopes audiences will take from the film.

Justice Smith is gearing up for the premiere of “The American Society of Magical Negroes.” The actor stars as the protagonist, Aren, in Kobi Libii’s debut film that aims to deconstruct the “magical Negro” trope seen in media. TheGrio caught up with Smith ahead of the premiere, and he broke down the mixed reception to the trailers, what drew him to the project, and what he hopes audiences can take away from the film.

As theGrio previously reported, the second the film’s trailer hit the internet, timelines were flooded with various opinions on the project. The controversy made for an interesting and “fun” press rollout, Smith told us, allowing him to engage publicly in discussions he has privately. “It’s a really fun press tour because of all the controversy around it. I feel like these are conversations that I have in my private life. I am constantly analyzing race and colorism … it’s fun to be authentic in public spaces.”

“It’s tackling a very nuanced experience of what it means to be Black in America,” Smith explained. The film imagines a secret society of Black people with magic powers used to help keep white people happy, thus maintaining balance in society. Smith’s upbringing, he said, allowed him to connect to the script almost immediately.

“When I first read it I saw myself in it,” he said. “I grew up in Orange County, California, a very white place. And I internalized a lot of the messaging from my white peers, which resulted in a lot of shame, a lot of compromise … it was a dark time in my life and it was only after I left that environment that I was able to find my own personal empowerment and identify with community, and I’m so grateful for having people in my life now that see me.”

“I understood this character’s vicious cycle of, ‘I feel so uncomfortable in these environments and so my tactic is to appease, but in appeasing I am allowing them to continue to disrespect me, which then makes me uncomfortable again,'” he explained. “I knew I could play those emotional layers.”

“I was really excited to tell this story because I knew if I had this movie when I was growing up it would have helped me get to a place of empowerment a lot sooner,” he added.

With the film finally hitting theaters, Smith said he hopes audiences can go in and make their opinions after seeing it. “I’m a bit of a hypocrite because I also make opinions on what I am going to see or not see based on the trailers, but I also know that my best film experiences have been walking into movies without knowing anything about it.”

“I think a lot of people who were a part of that initial backlash might go hate-watch it and then realize that it’s actually way better than they think it is, which I’m excited for,” he added. “But at the end of the day, you know, if you’re a Black person and you don’t identify with this specific Black experience, that’s fine.”

“I love this film because it’s kind of expanding this monolith of what Black art can be, and it’s talking about the nuances of the Black experience in the sense that it’s highlighting how racism has evolved into this subtle, insidious, microaggressive thing,” he concluded.

“The American Society of Magical Negroes” premieres in theaters nationwide on Friday, March 15.

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