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Stereotypes In The Legend Of Bagger Vance, Bruce Almighty

2118 Words9 Pages

The term “magical negro” was first popularized by director and auteur Spike Lee and is defined as a black character with magical or spiritual abilities who aids a white protagonist. This group paper discusses the “magical negro” trope in film and how it relates to race and representation. In its examination of the stereotype an analysis of movies The Legend of Bagger Vance, Bruce Almighty, and Evan Almighty will cover how these films portray said stereotype and define any implications that come with it. One large aspect of the “magical negro” is how the black characters aid the white leads through the use of folk wisdom. A closer examination will showcase the difference between it and intelligence and demonstrate how problematic it can be. …show more content…

There is a difference between the two types of thinking and problematic situations arise from black characters only using the former. According to the National Library of Medicine, “Intelligence can be defined as the ability to think logically, to conceptualize and abstract from reality. Wisdom can be defined as the ability to grasp human nature, which is paradoxical, contradictory, and subject to continual change.” (Clayton 1982). Based on the definition, it seems that intelligence is the superior way of thinking as it uses reality and logic to support itself while wisdom is based on human nature, imperfect, and can change. They are more focused on feelings and spirit rather than facts and logic. The problems that face the “magical negro” stereotype is that they all rely on wisdom and almost never use intellectual logic. Examples of this include God saying, “No matter how filthy something gets, you can always clean it right up” in response to Bruce’s trouble surrounding the chaos and God saying, “If you pray for courage, does God give you courage or give you the opportunity to be courageous?” when Mrs. Baxter asks him how to cope with her relationship with Evan. In another series, Bagger Vance (Will Smith) advises Junuh (Matt Damon) with his golfing stating, “You can’t see that flag as some dragon you got to slay. You have to look with soft eyes and see the place where the tides, the seasons, the turn of the earth all come together.” In none of these situations do these characters provide the protagonist with logical steps to achieve their goals. They rely on metaphors and folk wisdom. With this, the stereotype implies that these black characters cannot think intellectually and that folk wisdom is only reserved for them. The “magical negro” accomplishes not only making black characters look subservient to white characters but

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