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| ''[[12 Years a Slave (film)|12 Years a Slave]]'' || 2013 || In the historical film set in 1841 onward, free-born African American Solomon Northup (played by [[Chiwetel Ejiofor]]) is kidnapped and sold into slavery. In the film's denouement, a white Canadian (played by [[Brad Pitt]]) rescues Northup from enslavement.<ref name="goff" /> While ''12 Years a Slave'' focused mainly on Northup's resilience, and a Canadian did in reality rescue Northup, the film was identified as a cinematic representation of slavery that depicted a white savior.<ref name="berlatsky" /><ref name="mccoy" />
| ''[[12 Years a Slave (film)|12 Years a Slave]]'' || 2013 || In the historical film set in 1841 onward, free-born African American Solomon Northup (played by [[Chiwetel Ejiofor]]) is kidnapped and sold into slavery. In the film's denouement, a white Canadian (played by [[Brad Pitt]]) rescues Northup from enslavement.<ref name="goff" />
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| ''[[42 (film)|42]]'' || 2013 || Based on a true story, the white baseball executive [[Branch Rickey]] (played by [[Harrison Ford]]), selects the first African-American Major League baseball player, [[Jackie Robinson]] (played by [[Chadwick Boseman]]), to play for the [[Brooklyn Dodgers]].<ref name="schultz" />
| ''[[42 (film)|42]]'' || 2013 || Based on a true story, the white baseball executive [[Branch Rickey]] (played by [[Harrison Ford]]), selects the first African-American Major League baseball player, [[Jackie Robinson]] (played by [[Chadwick Boseman]]), to play for the [[Brooklyn Dodgers]].<ref name="schultz" />

Revision as of 01:40, 26 July 2016

In film, the white savior is a cinematic trope in which a white character rescues people of color from their plight.[1] The trope has an extensive history in cinema of the United States.[2] The white savior is portrayed as messianic and often learns something about himself or herself in the process of rescuing.[1] The trope reflects how media represents race relations by racializing concepts like morality as identifiable with white people over nonwhite people.[3] White saviors are often male and are sometimes out of place in their own society until they lead minorities or foreigners. Screen Saviors: Hollywood Fictions of Whiteness labels the stories as fantasies that "are essentially grandiose, exhibitionistic, and narcissistic".[4]

Trope in film genres

Sociology professor Matthew Hughey describes the narrative structure of the "White Savior" film as follows:[5]

A White Savior film is often based on some supposedly true story. Second, it features a nonwhite group or person who experiences conflict and struggle with others that is particularly dangerous or threatening to their life and livelihood. Third, a White person (the savior) enters the milieu and through his or her sacrifices as a teacher, mentor, lawyer, military hero, aspiring writer, or wannabe Native American warrior, is able to physically save — or at least morally redeem — the person or community of folks of color by the film’s end. Examples of this genre include films like Glory (1989), Dangerous Minds (1996), Amistad (1997), Finding Forrester (2000), The Last Samurai (2003), Half-Nelson (2006), Freedom Writers (2007), Gran Torino (2008), Avatar (2009), The Blind Side (2009), The Help (2011), and the list goes on.

Types of Stories

According to Hughey, one genre of film with the white savior trope "features a group of lower-class, urban, nonwhites (generally black and Latino/a) who struggle through the social order in general, or the educational system specifically. Yet through the sacrifices of a white teacher they are transformed, saved, and redeemed by the film's end."[6] A common storyline in white savior films is a white teacher or white coach helping students of color. Fitzgerald said the storyline was not problematic on its own but that it "sells" in Hollywood despite thousands of teachers of color helping students of color and despite communities of color having their own leaders.[7]

Types of stories include white defense against racism in the American South. The white savior narrative is frequently seen in slavery films, including award-winning ones.[8] Vera and Gordon[4] note that a recent "updating" of the white savior myth features white protagonists provided with a "racially diverse team of helpers."

A related narrative line is the "mighty whitey" story, in which a white man comes to live with native tribesmen and "not only learns the ways of the native people, but surpasses their skill, becoming far better at being a member of the culture than those of the tribe, and naturally their greatest warrior or even their leader."[9]

Historical films

The white savior narrative is often seen in the form of a plot or subplot in films based on historical events,[5] including both well-known (e.g., Lincoln) and lesser-known historical events (e.g., 12 Years a Slave). A criticism is made of many of these narratives that, although the historical event is real, the focus of the movie is on the white protagonists, and not the minority participants. Although (to a greater or lesser extend) true to the historical record, "the creative process begins with selection: which narratives we decide to privilege over others matters."[10] In the film Amistad, for example, it is pointed out that only a small amount at the beginning of the film is given to the dramatic event of a slave uprising taking over a slave ship--an event in which slaves freed themselves-- while the bulk of the film focussed on legal case once the (former) slaves reached America, involving heroic white protagonists.[8]

A particular subset of the white savior genre is tagged by Schultz the "White Savior Historical Sport Film."[11]

Literary Antecedents

The white savior trope has antecedents that predate the existence of film narrative. In Rudyard Kipling's novella The Man Who Would Be King (1888), for example, it is the explicit objective of the characters Dravot and Carnehan to become kings to natives tribes in an undiscovered part of Afghanistan.[12][13] (In some ways, however, this novella subverts the trope, in that the characters have initial success but in the end are not successful in becoming the "white saviors" they planned.) But, as Vera and Gordon point out, while the narrative is depicted as ironically undercutting the white savior narrative, the natives are portrayed in a cliched manner; with the film version echoing the racism in the original.[4] Likewise, H. Rider Haggard's 1885 novel King Solomon's Mines features European explorers in Africa encountering the rightful (native) king of an undiscovered kingdom, who is restored to power only with the active intervention of the European visitors.[14]

Critiques of the White Savior Narrative

The White Savior Narrative has been widely criticized as having racist undertones. Noah Berlatsky said that the films are variations of a single narrative where black people "are oppressed by bad white people" and "achieve freedom through the offices of good white people".[8] Kathleen Fitzgerald, associate professor of sociology, said, "While a successful film genre, this image is problematic because it frames the person of color as unable to solve their own problems, as incompetent."[7]

List of films

The following films have been described by at least one source as containing at least one aspect of the narrative:

Film Year Description
12 Years a Slave 2013 In the historical film set in 1841 onward, free-born African American Solomon Northup (played by Chiwetel Ejiofor) is kidnapped and sold into slavery. In the film's denouement, a white Canadian (played by Brad Pitt) rescues Northup from enslavement.[15]
42 2013 Based on a true story, the white baseball executive Branch Rickey (played by Harrison Ford), selects the first African-American Major League baseball player, Jackie Robinson (played by Chadwick Boseman), to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers.[11]
The Air Up There 1994 A disgraced white basketball coach (played by Kevin Bacon) travels to an African village in Kenya to recruit a prospect.[15]
Amistad 1997 In the 1830s, a group of African slaves who commit mutiny are captured by the U.S. military, and a legal battle ensues in which the white lawyer John Quincy Adams (played by Anthony Hopkins) defends their right to be freed.[8]
Avatar 2009 In the science fiction film, a white former Marine (played by Sam Worthington) goes to another planet and becomes part of an alien humanoid tribe, ultimately leading them to victory against his people's military.[16]
The Blind Side 2009 A white woman and football fan (played by Sandra Bullock) takes a black teenager (played by Quinton Aaron) into her home, and he plays football with her support through his high school and college years.[15]
Blood Diamond 2006 A racist white Rhodesian mercenary (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) rescues a black Sierra Leonese (played by Djimon Hounsou) and his son from black villains.[17]
City of Joy 1992 A white American doctor (played by Patrick Swayze) travels to India to find enlightenment. He sets up a free clinic to serve the poor, and though reluctant at first, he decides to stay with the people.[4]
Conrack 1974 A white teacher (played by Jon Voight) is sent to an island off the coast of South Carolina, where he teaches children of poor black families.[6]
Cool Runnings 1993 In the comedy film, black Jamaicans who want to form a national bobsled team are helped by a disgraced former bobsledder (played by John Candy).[11]
Cry Freedom 1987 The film features white journalist Donald Woods (played by Kevin Kline) who learns to appreciate the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa and its black leader Steven Biko (played by Denzel Washington). Woods leaves the country to report the apartheid system to the world.[16]
Dances with Wolves 1990 In the 1860s, a white Union soldier (played by Kevin Costner) becomes part of the Sioux, a Native American tribe. He leads the Sioux against their rivals the Pawnee and later helps them escape the army he once served.[15]
Dangerous Minds 1995 A white teacher (played by Michelle Pfeiffer) teaches African and Hispanic American teenagers at an inner city high school.[15]
District 9 2009 A white South African government official (played by Sharlto Copley) works to relocate extraterrestrials to a new internment camp. When he is infected by a fluid and gradually changes into an extraterrestrial himself, he fights against the transition and is motivated to free extraterrestrials so they can provide a cure for his condition.[16]
Django Unchained 2012 In 1858, black slave Django (played by Jamie Foxx) is freed by the white German bounty hunter Schultz (played by Christoph Waltz), and they work together to free Django's wife.[8]
Elysium 2013 In the science fiction film, a white assembly worker (played by Matt Damon) from a mostly nonwhite community travels to a space station to find a cure for radiation poisoning, sacrifices himself so medical devices could be used to heal people on Earth.[18]
The Express 2000 [11]
Finding Forrester 2000 A white reclusive writer (played by Sean Connery) sees potential writing skill in a black high school student and helps him with his writing.[19]
Free State of Jones 2016 [20]
Freedom Writers 2007 In the mid-1990s in Long Beach, California, a white teacher (played by Hilary Swank) strives to educate nonwhite high school students despite their neighborhood conditions.[21]
Glory 1989 During the American Civil War, a regiment of black Union soldiers serve under the white Colonel Robert Gould Shaw (played by Matthew Broderick). Through Shaw, they are able to fight back against slavery.[8]
Glory Road 2006 In the 1960s, men's basketball coach Don Haskins (Josh Lucas) coaches a team with an all-black starting lineup and leads them to victory.[11]
Gran Torino 2008 A racist white Korean War veteran (played by Clint Eastwood) helps a Hmong American teenager and ultimately protects him and his family from a Hmong American gang.[16]
The Green Berets 1968 The Vietnam War propaganda film depicts a white U.S. Army Special Forces commander (played by John Wayne) who fights for the South Vietnamese.[4]
Half Nelson 2006 A white teacher with a drug addiction (played by Ryan Gosling) teaches at an inner city middle school, and befriending a black student, learns to overcome his addiction.[6]
Hardball 2001 A white gambler (played by Keanu Reeves) is required to coach a baseball team of black children from Chicago's ABLA housing projects to pay off his gambling debts.[21]
The Harlem Globetrotters 1951 [11]
The Help 2011 In 1963 in Jackson, Mississippi, a young white woman (played by Emma Stone) strives for a career in journalism and encourages black maids to share their personal experiences despite the racism prevalent at the time.[15]
The Hurricane 1999 [11]
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom 1984 White archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones (played by Harrison Ford) rescues Indian peasants from a cult that sacrifices them.[4]
The Jackie Robinson Story 1950 [11]
Jim Thorpe – All-American 1951 [11]
The Last Samurai 2003 In the 1870s, a white former Union Army officer (played by Tom Cruise) travels to Japan and ultimately joins a group of samurai, helping them to resist corrupt advisers to the Japanese Emperor.[15]
Lawrence of Arabia 1962 The white British Army officer T. E. Lawrence (played by Peter O'Toole) leads Arabs in a revolt against the Turks.[22]
The Legend of Tarzan 2016 [23]
Lincoln 2012 The historical film focuses on the efforts of President Abraham Lincoln (played by Daniel Day-Lewis) and other white figures to win the American Civil War and end slavery.[8]
Machine Gun Preacher 2011 A white ex-convict (played by Gerard Butler) travels to South Sudan to rebuild homes and finds himself having to save its residents from soldiers involved in a civil war.[21]
The Man Who Would Be King 1975 Based on a story by Rudyard Kipling, two white British adventurers (played by Sean Connery and Michael Caine) in the 1880s are crowned kings in a non-white country (Kafiristan). While the narrative is depicted as ironic, the natives are portrayed in a cliched manner.[4]
The Matrix 1999 The science fiction film features the white computer hacker Neo (played by Keanu Reeves) who becomes The One to save humanity.[24] Matthew Hughey in his book The White Savior Film says the film has a white protagonist "entering... the multicultural landscapes outside computer-simulated reality [and] must begin, through his grace, to save nonwhite people from an impending disaster."[25] Hernan and Vera in their book Screen Saviors: Hollywood Fictions of Whiteness describe Neo as "the white messiah [who] has a racially diverse team of helpers". They say, "The movie's potential critique of white racism is contradicted by the mythic plot, in which the black characters—Morpheus, the Oracle, and Morpheus's crew members Tank and Dozer—are disciples who serve the white Messiah Neo."[26] Adilifu Nama in his book Black Space: Imagining Race in Science Fiction Film said of Morpheus and the Oracle's key roles, "On the whole, the quest... appears to be more a mission led by a black man and woman than one led by a white savior... the black characters are easily read as symbolic cultural touchstones and respective reminders of the civil rights and Black Power movements."[27]
McFarland, USA 2015 A white coach (played by Kevin Costner) trains an all-Latino high school cross country running team. Katie Kilkenny, writing in The Atlantic, said, "[It] has invoked some groans among critics who recognize its 'white savior' premise. Some say it transcends its paradigmatic trappings—others have claimed it's a film about easing white people into a more diverse America."[28] Director Niki Caro said, "We were very conscious of not making a white savior movie, and you could have with the material, but it was really important for us that he be a flawed guy who was ultimately redeemed by the community. You see him become a better coach, a better father and a better man through his interaction with this place and these people."[29]
Million Dollar Arm 2014 Based on a true story, the sports agent J. B. Bernstein (played by Jon Hamm) organizes a talent contest in India where he discovers a pair of youngsters, Rinku Singh (Suraj Sharma) and Dinesh Patel (Madhur Mittal), who will demonstrate enough baseball skills to receive a contract by the Pittsburgh Pirates.[30][31][32]
Mississippi Burning 1988 In 1964, two white FBI agents (played by Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe) travel to Mississippi to investigate the murders of civil rights organizers, one of whom is black. They are depicted as heroes in the black struggle. Director Alan Parker said of the casting, "Because it’s a movie, I felt it had to be fictionalized. The two heroes in the story had to be white. That is a reflection of our society as much as of the film industry. At this point in time, it could not have been made in any other way."[16]
Music of the Heart 1999 Based on a true story, a white music teacher (played by Meryl Streep) teaches nonwhite students at an inner city school.[15]
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest 1975 A white protagonist (played by Jack Nicholson) is in a mental hospital and confronts its cruel nurse, ultimately inspiring a Native American patient to escape the hospital.[4]
Our Brand Is Crisis 2015 In the comedy-drama film, a white political consultant (Sandra Bullock) helps a Bolivian politician win the presidential election in his country.[33]
The Principal 1987 A white teacher (played by James Belushi) teaches nonwhite students at an inner city school.[15]
Radio 2003 A white high school football coach (played by Ed Harris) helps a mentally handicapped black football fan (played by Cuba Gooding Jr.) become more involved with the team.[11]
Remember the Titans 2000 A white high school football coach (played by Will Patton) gives preferential help to the schools black players and helps the black football coach (played by Denzel Washington) during a game that has been rigged by the white referees. [11]
The Ron Clark Story 2006 A white teacher (played by Matthew Perry) moves from a small town to New York City to make a difference in the lives of nonwhite students.[34]
Snow Falling on Cedars 1999 A white journalist (played by Ethan Hawke) possesses information that can exonerate a Japanese-American fisherman (played by Rick Yune) on trial for murder. He struggles to disclose this information to the court because of his inability to get over his unrequited childhood love for the defendant's wife (played by Youki Kudoh). [35]
The Soloist 2009 A white man (played by Robert Downey Jr.) helps a black mentally handicapped and homeless man (played by Jamie Foxx) revive his passion and skill in music.[21]
Stargate 1994 In the science fiction film, a white Egyptologist and linguist (played by James Spader) and a white military colonel (played by Kurt Russell) rescue a nonwhite population on an alien planet from their extraterrestrial slavers.[4]
Sunset Park 1996 A white physical education teacher (played by Rhea Perlman) who coaches a basketball team of black players and succeeds in taking them to the city championships.[6]
Tears of the Sun 2003 A white commander of the United States Navy SEALs (played by Bruce Willis) decides to save the Nigerian refugees from advancing rebel troops, in violation of their primary order, which only included the rescue of a white United States citizen (played by Monica Bellucci), and in violation of their secondary order which only included the rescue of a white mission priest and two white nuns, should they choose to come.[36][37]
Three Kings 1999 The white leader of a United States Army team (played by George Clooney) has the respect and loyalty of his racially mixed team and the Iraqi rebels.[4]
A Time to Kill 1996 [11]
To Kill a Mockingbird 1962 A white attorney (played by Gregory Peck) fails to successfully defend a black man falsely accused of rape but is applauded for his noble effort.[19]
Wildcats 1986 A white woman (played by Goldie Hawn) becomes the coach of an inner city football team and leads them to a championship.[15]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Hughey, Matthew W. "The White Savior Film". Temple University. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
  2. ^ Nygreen, Kysa; Madeloni, Barbara; Cannon, Jennifer. "'Boot Camp' Teacher Certification and Neoliberal Education Reform". In Sturges, Keith M. (ed.). Neoliberalizing Educational Reform: America's Quest for Profitable Market-Colonies and the Undoing of Public Good. Springer Publishing. p. 116. ISBN 978-94-6209-975-3.
  3. ^ "Interview with Matthew W. Hughey". Temple University. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Vera & Gordon 2003, pp. 32–33
  5. ^ a b Hughey, Matthew W. (January 19, 2015). "The Whiteness of Oscar Night". Contexts. Retrieved July 22, 2016.
  6. ^ a b c d Hughey, Matthew W. (Fall 2010). "The White Savior Film and Reviewers' Reception". Symbolic Interaction. 33 (3). Wiley: 475–496. doi:10.1525/si.2010.33.3.475. (abstract)
  7. ^ a b Fitzgerald, Kathleen (2014). Recognizing Race and Ethnicity: Power, Privilege, and Inequality. Westview Press. p. 364. ISBN 978-0-8133-4931-2.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Berlatsky, Noah (January 17, 2014). "12 Years a Slave: Yet Another Oscar-Nominated 'White Savior' Story". The Atlantic. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  9. ^ Katherine Kingsle, "Does My Hero Look White In This: Hollywood’s White Saviour Complex", The Artifice, June 15, 2013 (accessed 17 July 2016)
  10. ^ Daniel José Older, It's Time to take the white savior out of slavery narratives, Salon, 17 Dec/ 2013 (accessed 17 July 2016)
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Schultz, Jaime (2014). "Glory Road (2006) and the White Savior Historical Sport Film". Journal of Popular Film & Television. 42 (4): 205–213. doi:10.1080/01956051.2014.913001.
  12. ^ George Grella, "The Colonial Movie and The Man Who Would Be King," Texas Studies in Literature and Language, Vol. 22, No. 2, Summer 1980, pp. 246-262 (University of Texas Press)
  13. ^ Mouloud Siber, "Imperial Power and the Denial of Native Authority in English Colonialist Discourse" (2011)
  14. ^ Richard F. Patteson, "'King Solomon's Mines: Imperialism and Narrative Structure", The Journal of Narrative Technique, Vol. 8, No. 2, Spring 1978, pp. 112-123
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Goff, Keli (May 4, 2014). "Can 'Belle' End Hollywood's Obsession with the White Savior?". The Daily Beast. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  16. ^ a b c d e Sirota, David (February 21, 2013). "Oscar loves a white savior". Salon.com. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  17. ^ Lacy, Michael G. (2011). Critical Rhetorics of Race. New York University Press. p. 13. ISBN 978-0-8147-6529-6.
  18. ^ Metz, Jessie-Lane (August 21, 2013). "A Future Without Me: Matt Damon is the Great White Hope in 'Elysium'". Bitch Magazine. Retrieved August 24, 2014.
  19. ^ a b Barber, Mike (December 3, 2009). "White Man's Burden Redux: The Movie!". The Huffington Post. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  20. ^ Hornaday, Ann (June 23, 2016). "'Free State of Jones' reveals a little-known chapter of Civil War history". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 24, 2016. In interviews, Ross has insisted that he didn't want 'Free State of Jones' to become another white savior movie, but that's precisely what it is, especially during scenes when the murderous injustice of slavery is refracted through Knight's frustrated tears.
  21. ^ a b c d Barone, Matt (September 20, 2011). "The 10 Lamest White Savior Movies". Complex. Complex Media. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  22. ^ Gehlawat, Ajay (2013). The Slumdog Phenomenon: A Critical Anthology. Anthem Press. p. 83. ISBN 978-0-85728-001-5.
  23. ^ Best, Kenneth (July 12, 2016). "The White Savior: Racial Inequality in Film". UConn Today. University of Connecticut. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  24. ^ Eng, Michael (2013). "'Born into Bondage': Teaching The Matrix and Unlearning the Racial Organization of Knowledge". In Bloodsworth-Lugo, Mary K.; Flory, Dan (eds.). Race, Philosophy, and Film. Routledge Studies in Contemporary Philosophy. Routledge. p. 46. ISBN 978-0-415-62445-9. By having Neo occupy the time-honored role of white male savior, the racial and gendered otherness of the rebels is paradoxically underscored and dismissed while also being appropriated because their cause is now his.
  25. ^ Hughey, Matthew (2014). The White Savior Film: Content, Critics, and Consumption. Temple University Press. ISBN 978-1-4399-1001-6. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  26. ^ Vera & Gordon 2003, p. 48
  27. ^ Nama, Adilifu (2010). Black Space: Imagining Race in Science Fiction Film. University of Texas Press. p. 144. ISBN 978-0-292-77876-4.
  28. ^ Kilkenny, Katie (February 25, 2015). "The Troublesome Rebirth of the Kevin Costner Everyman". The Atlantic. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
  29. ^ Abrams, Bryan (February 23, 2015). "Director Niki Caro Finds her Place in McFarland, USA". The Credits. Motion Picture Association of America. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
  30. ^ Barone, Matt (May 16, 2014). "Girl, I Will Skype You From India; or, How Million Dollar Arm Is Just Another White Savior Movie". Complex. Complex Media. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
  31. ^ Rob (January 17, 2014). "Million Dollar Arm Is Everything Wrong With Sports Movies". SportsAlcohol.com. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
  32. ^ Moore, Omar P.L. (May 18, 2014). "Movie Review: Million Dollar Arm. Where The White Savior Complex Goes Awry (Again)". The Popcorn Reel. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
  33. ^ Lawson, Richard (September 12, 2015). "In Our Brand Is Crisis, Sandra Bullock Shows Us What She Can Really Do". Vanity Fair. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
  34. ^ Kivel, Paul (2013). Living in the Shadow of the Cross: Understanding and Resisting the Power and Privilege of Christian Hegemony. New Society Publishers. ISBN 978-1-55092-541-8.
  35. ^ Childs, Erica Chito (2009). Fade to Black and White: Interracial Images in Popular Culture. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 978-0742560802.
  36. ^ Scott, A. O. (March 7, 2003). "FILM REVIEW; Americans Atoning For African Slaughters". The New York Times. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
  37. ^ Higgins, MaryEllen (August 2013). "Hollywood's Africa after 1994 - Hollywood's Difficult Life with Africa". H-Net. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
Cite error: A list-defined reference named "mccoy" is not used in the content (see the help page).

Bibliography

  • Vera, Hernán; Gordon, Andrew M. (2003). "The Beautiful White American: Sincere Fictions of the Savior". Screen Saviors: Hollywood Fictions of Whiteness. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 978-1-4616-4286-2. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
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