Nicole Byer is in her fantasy era. The actress and comedian stars in “The American Society of Magical Negroes,” the satirical comedy film from Kobi Libii that deconstructs the “magical negro” trope, imagining a literal secret society of Black people with magical powers charged with helping white people to keep society in order.
Responses were mixed since the film’s first trailer was released, with some questioning the overall impact of a film focusing on this subject matter while others defend the investigative nature of breaking down the “magical negro” trope. For Byer, who plays headmistress Dede, she was drawn to the “polarizing” nature of the project.
“The title in itself is super polarizing and it’s based on the film and TV trope a “magical negro,” which is like a nameless Black face that is just there to serve the white protagonist,” she explained to us. “I was like, ‘Oh, how are we going to flip it on it’s head’ and as I got into the script I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is such a fun, big premise wrapped up in a rom-com.'”
“I love when people do something interesting to a genre and I really thought Kobi was taking a really big swing and I really wanted to be a part of it,” she added.
Speaking to the role of Dede, Byer told us it was “so fun” to tackle the headmistress. “I had never really gotten to play someone who was so different from me,” she said. “Finding her mannerisms was fun … I decided to pitch down her voice a little bit to give her a little growl and gravitas. That was all so fun to live in.”
Byer concluded by sharing her hopes for what people can take away from the film as it reexamines Black roles in storytelling at large. “When people think about diversity I think it’s kind of like an eyeroll, and I roll my eyes too but I’m like, let’s get rid of diversity and call it inclusion. Let’s include people and include their experiences.”
“This movie, I think, is a coming-of-age story about a biracial man finding his voice,” she added. “I’m not a biracial man, I have a very loud voice, I take up space but I also saw myself a little bit in the character of Aren. Justice (Smith) does such a beautiful, layered performance of this … there are so many layers that you can relate to and I think Kobi did a really beautiful job.”
“The American Society of Magical Negroes” premieres in theaters nationwide on Friday, March 15.
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