MovieChat Forums > The Bucket List (2008) Discussion > Carter the magic negro and political cor...

Carter the magic negro and political correctness run amok?

posted 15 years ago by sockscats
28 replies | jump to latest

Before you jump on me and call me a bigot note that the term "magic negro" was coined to mean characters like the one Morgan Freeman plays in this film. The magical or saint like black guy who saves the flawed white guy from himself.

We see this in bagger vance, we see this in blood diamond but it is more extreme here.

So why? Political correctness and the desire to not anger large groups of people is part of it but also some liberal self hate is at work here but the result is black characters that are not really human anymore.

So you are a writer sitting there trying to devise the characteristics of this Carter person. He can't be too successful so you make him a mechanic. But not just any mechanic that is too cliche but a genius who knows basically everything and can answer any question on jeopardy or trivial pursuit. Carter is the one who knows where that coffee comes from

Now Carter has to be the ultimate saintly family man and of course it is emphasized more than once that he never has and never would cheat on his wife.

As for Jack nickolson's character? Just think the opposite. Greedy, no family man at all, a cheater, selfish has not seen his daughter in years and has never seen his own granddaughter.

In case you are not getting it while watching the film the script spells it out for you. In his eulogy for Carter he actually says "he saved me".

So the simple question is am I the only one who is bothered by such simple characterizations based entirely on race. What good does this bring?

[–] thefirstpbj 15 years ago

(Specific spoilers ahead!)

To be quite honest, I didn't think of their races in this movie. I thought about how Carter was more of a "normal" man. Down to earth, had to work quite hard to support his children and wife, instead of having the chance to follow his dream of becoming a professor. Compared to Edward who has this multi-million dollar company there's alot of places where it could be looked at differently, without involving race.

And both actors fit well into these roles, in the trivia the writer apparently commented that he wrote this role for Morgan Freeman, and both Morgan and the director(?) felt Jack Nicholson was the best to be casted opposite him.

Different people raised differently have different values. Carter feels strongly about loyalty to his wife and family, and in a slightly twisted sense, Edward feels loyal to his estranged daughter. When she's abused, he steps in and deals with it, out of love and 'father knows best'. It's pointed out afterwards he didn't have the best plan, but he did have the best intentions of saving her from him.

[–] minstrel1184 15 years ago

Plus, they needed to make one of the characters someone who had financial success as his highest priority or else, they would have no way of explaining how the hell these two guys can fly all over the world together. Could it conceivable have been a rich man who had a good family life? Sure but that doesn't seem to happen all that often.

[–] Anakin_McFly 15 years ago

I didn't even see their race as having any part of it. They were just two guys.

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www.whoaisnotme.net

[–] sockscats 15 years ago

One man is significantly flawed and unhappy despite being extremely rich. A very por family man to say the least.

The other a damn saint and happy, a perfect family man.

The carter character is NOT NORMAL! He is a saint! He is a genius!

Normal people can't answer every jeopardy question and normal people have some flaws.

They were not just "two guys" the contrast of the 2 is integral to the story. 2 very different men who would not likely be friends are brought together by their illness. One man is flawed(Big time) and in dire need of being saved. The other flawless and christ like and will eventually save him.

He even says "he saved me".

[–] Anakin_McFly 15 years ago

I'm not saying that they were normal people. Sure, they are different men, and all that you said, but I don't think race had anything to do with it. It just happened that those actors were cast.

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www.whoaisnotme.net

[–] Japhario 15 years ago

I think you're letting yourself focus too much on the race issue. Carter was not a perfect family man and saint.

A major plot point in the story was how Carter and his wife were having marital problems. This is first alluded to when Carter's son is visiting in the hospital and tells his father "She still loves you" referring to his mother.

Carter mentions that after the children grew up and left the house, there was silence in the house and he could see his wife without any of the other family distractions and didn't feel any spark for her. It is insinuated in the movie that Carter only wanted to go on this round the world trip with Jack Nicholson's character so that he could keep away from his family, more specifically his wife.

Lastly, Carter's wife thanked Jack Nicholson's character and told him that her husband went away a stranger and came back home as a husband.

I think it's clear that Carter was just an ordinary Joe with a regular everyday Joe life. His strong morals were based on his strong upbringing as a man of faith. His general knowledge was a result of him simply being an old man stuck in a boring job with many decades of free time with which to collect all kinds of trivia. Mainly through reading which was one of his hobbies.

[–] adi2402 15 years ago

Sockcats, you mention Carter is a saint. Not really, a very decent man I would say, but he seems to be drifting out of marriage and at a time when he should be around his family he is extremely selfish and disapears for a few days, weeks with little contact or consideration for his family.

And he was smart, no doubt, but there are loads of pub team members like that. Annoyingly knowing most of the answers in quizes, and it was only a quiz show.

As for race, dint really think about it, could have been any colour or creed.

[–] acwoodcraft-1 14 years ago

Carter had flaws. Although he wasn't unfaithful to his wife he was letting his marriage slowly die from neglect. And before Edward made him realize how much she meant to him, he was content to let it happen.

A heart can be broken, but it still keeps a-beatin' just the same.

[–] despyria 15 years ago

Ever heard of the sin of omission? Heck you added stuff not in the movie. You omitted that Morgan's letter tells Jack that he saved his marriage. "She said I left a stranger and came back a husband."

Additionally he didn't know about the coffee. He researched the coffee and gave him the research. Internet search is easy to do.

By no means does anyone say that Morgan's character is a genius. No more than Rosy Perez was in White Men Can't Jump. He just knew trivia. I know a lot of guys at bars with tons of that useless knowledge that are mechanics, or craftsmen, or mid management. Maybe the majority of them are genius. Maybe not. Either way, just because he is amazing at trivia doesn't make his character unbelievable.

How was Jack greedy, selfish, or a cheater? Jack was successful. How he reached his success might not be the way you might think is the best, but he is successful legally. They never claim he did anything illegal or improper. He was just rich.

But man break it down to racial mumbo-jumbo and stupid political stereotyping. How much of a weird little shut in must you be.

Revolutionary Road was the real Best Picture!

[–] bodryn 15 years ago

"Political correctness" is just another name for good manners and common decency. That said, my wife and I enjoyed this movie very much. Maybe we don't see that many movies, but we enjoyed it very much.

[–] eight_days 15 years ago

You brought up "Blood Diamond", but I actually think DiCaprio plays the "Magic Honkey", or the Great White Hope. We see this counterpart of the "Magic Negro" in Dangerous Minds, Gran Torino, Mississippi Burning, that film where Willem Dafoe's playing basketball and gets kissed by a nun (can't remember what it was called), etc.

It didn't matter what colour the characters were. This was about two great geriatric actors getting together and rolling in the Benjamins.

"Don't cry, it is to be. In time, I'll take away your miseries and make 'em mine...D'Evils."

[–] Nearvana 15 years ago

my father was a self made man w/o having studied at any university. he can answer any jeopardy question thrown at him. oh & he's white. so, what's your point? morgan freeman is brilliant in anything he's in as is j.n. great movie.

serva me, serva bote
http://www.myspace.com/naervana

[–] v_cleaton 15 years ago

I almost spoiled this movie for myself by suddenly seeing what a Simpsons version would be like unfold in my head. Homer and Mr Burns go round the world with Smithers!

[–] ruapehukid 12 years ago

Freeman is not "brilliant" in every movie he's in. He stunk in The Big Bounce(and so did everybody else and the movie itself).

Freeman was great in Nurse Betty and great in In The Heat Of The Night so I'm not anti Freeman just pro truth.

Oh wait that was S, Poitier in ITHOTN.

[–] Nearvana 12 years ago

my mistake, i should have worded it to say any movie i have seen him in, as i haven't seen the big bounce or nurse betty. my mom is a huge fan.

[–] kausix777 15 years ago

I think it was more religion - and that DID bother me - but only for a moment as I continued to enjoy the movie.

[–] Rorsach 15 years ago

Here's the issue, Morgan Freeman DID have flaws, which stop him from being a "magic negro"

As others have said, marital problems, including the fact that he won't be convinced to go home, despite how much his wife misses him.

For an example of him not being a saint, just watch the scene where his son is trying to talk to him, and he ignores him, responding simply with "hm" to every statement.

His estrangement to his own family is his biggest flaw.

And also, if they wanted to be more politically correct, they'd have made Jack the mechanic and Carter the millionaire, as to not portray black people as poor low level workers and white as rich and powerful.