Magical Black Men

[lordofdance]

I thought this was funny.

www.avclub.com/content/feature/inventory_13_movies_featuring

[ie]

This part about the Matrix made me because it's so entirely true:

"As Keanu Reeves' spiritual mentor, Laurence Fishburne isn't nearly as mild-mannered, deferential, and aimlessly selfless as the average cinematic magical black man. But he still fits the archetype in far too many ways. He turns up out of nowhere with all the answers, he focuses all his energies on helping Reeves, even though Reeves seems like an ungrateful, useless, vapid schlub, and he has powers that no one else can match, but that essentially only get used to help a white boy find himself. Once said white boy does start finding himself, Fishburne immediately becomes an utterly disempowered victim, desperately in need of his former student's aid. But none of that is as annoying as the degree to which Fishburne, initially the Matrix series' strongest figure, really has no past and no character of his own. Unlike most magical black men, he does have desires, but they're all sublimated into Reeves' actions. For all his talent, Fishburne is utterly powerless."

[lordofdance]

Well, at least that can be said for pretty much everyone except Neo. Nobody comes close to his power. At least Morpheus is a good leader who got his people through some rough situations. Somebody had to keep them alive until neo got there.