Films over the last 25 years such as The Legend of Bagger Vance and The Hunger Games have paired black characters along with the movie’s white lead in an effort to promote better representation of African Americans in cinema. While these films make small strides toward more positive representation, their use of a black character to advance the white protagonist’s growth classifies them as ‘Magical Negro’ (MN) films. The MN trope within cinema is problematic because it testifies to society’s perception of unbalanced power between black and white Americans. This paper aims to critique the tolerance of semi-positive and seemingly harmless portrayals of African Americans in film through an analysis of the MN trope. After investigating the common elements and patterns within MN films, most notably the patterns of economic deficiency and temporary presence, the paper argues that these stereotypes negatively impact the audience. The paper concludes with an examination of how modern audiences should interact with MN films. These films’ potential negative impact warrants intentional education so that an audience can still appreciate the valuable aspects of the film without internalizing the negative stereotypes they perpetuate. The relationship between harmful characterizations and real-world impact as demonstrated with MN films warrants attention because cinema is an influential tool for enforcing racial attitudes that should be held accountable.