The white savior is a cinematic trope in which a white central character rescues non-white (often less prominent) characters from unfortunate circumstances.[1] This recurs in an array of genres in American cinema, wherein a white protagonist is portrayed as a messianic figure who often gains some insight or introspection in the course of rescuing non-white characters (or occasionally non-human alien races that substitute as non-white civilizations) from their plight.[1][2]

The narrative trope of the white savior is one way the mass communications medium of cinema represents the sociology of race and ethnic relations, by presenting abstract concepts such as morality as characteristics innate, racially and culturally, to white people, not to be found in non-white people.[3] This white savior is often portrayed as a man who is out of place within his own society, until he assumes the burden of racial leadership to rescue non-white minorities and foreigners from their suffering. As such, white savior stories have been described as "essentially grandiose, exhibitionistic, and narcissistic" fantasies of psychological compensation.[4]

Trope

In "The Whiteness of Oscar Night" (2015), Matthew Hughey describes the narrative structure of the subgenre:

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 their 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 (1995), 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).[5]

The films of the blaxploitation genre of the 1970s reflected discontent over the social and racial inequality of non-white people in the United States and functioned as counterbalance to the trope of the white savior. According to some scholars, such as Peter Lang, continued cultural hypersegregation in the 1980s led to the common belief, by many American white people, that the nation had reached a post-racial state of social relations, which resulted in a backlash against the racial and ethnic diversity of the cinema of the previous decades, on screen during the 1960s and the 1970s; thus, the popular cinema of the 1990s and the early 2000s featured the white savior narrative. That reappearance of the white-savior narrative occurred because the majority of white people in the United States had little substantive social interaction with people of different races and ethnic groups.[1][6]

The White Savior trope's prevalence continues in often critically acclaimed films. Joseph Vogel writes of the trope in Django Unchained:

In the crucial climactic scene, the pattern of white centrality holds. It is [the white doctor] Schultz, not [the freed slave] Django, who, racked by conscience kills Calvin Candie, and in doing so, sacrifices his own life. When asked by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. why he decided to make King Schultz the Christ figure, Tarantino claimed he was simply drawing on the tropes of the western.[7]

A study of 50 films between 1987 and 2011 deemed to be white savior films found that 36% of studied films were produced by the 6 major studios (Sony, Universal, Paramount, Twentieth Century Fox/Fox Searchlight, or Warner Brothers). These films are also responsible for a plurality of the major awards in this time period.[8]

Types of story

Inspirational teacher

The white-savior teacher story, such as Up the Down Staircase (1967), Dangerous Minds (1995), and Freedom Writers (2007), "features a group of lower-class, urban, non-whites (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."[9] As an inspirational tale of the human spirit, the storyline of the white-savior-teacher is not racist, in itself, but is culturally problematic because it is a variant of the white-savior narrative that factually misrepresents the cultural and societal reality that there exist minority-group teachers who have been successfully educating (racial, ethnic, cultural) minority-group students in their communities, without the saving stewardship of white people.[10]

Welcome Back, Kotter is a 1970s television series about the education system that has been described as having white savior themes.[11]

The 1967 British drama To Sir, with Love is notable for inverting the white savior formula. Sidney Poitier stars as a Black teacher who accepts a teaching position in an inner city school where the class consists of troubled, delinquent, white British youth.[12]

Man of principle

The white savior's principled opposition to chattel slavery and to Jim Crow laws makes him advocate for the humanity of slaves and defender of the rights of Black people unable to independently stand within an institutionally racist society, in films such as To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), Conrack (1974), and Amistad (1997). Despite being stories about the racist oppression of Black people, the white-savior narrative relegates non-white characters to the story's background, as the passive object(s) of the dramatic action. In the foreground it places the white man who militates to save the non-white characters from the depredations of racist white folk. Respectively, aspects can include: a false accusation of inter-racial rape, truncated schooling, and chattel slavery.[13][14]

List of associated films

Film Year Description
12 Years a Slave2013In 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] While 12 Years a Slave focuses 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.[14][16]

The Atlantic's Noah Berlatsky said the denouement's use of the white savior, while historically accurate, was unnecessary, "As it is, in the context of Hollywood, Northup's stunned/numb gratitude at the end of the film tends to blur into a montage of other teary-eyed black actors gazing with awe and wonder at the surprising, over-determined nobility of some white actor or other."[14]

422013Based on a true story, the white baseball executive Branch Rickey (played by Harrison Ford) selects the first African-American Major League baseball player of the modern era, Jackie Robinson (played by Chadwick Boseman), to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers.[17]
The Air Up There1994A disgraced white basketball coach (played by Kevin Bacon) travels to a village in Kenya to recruit a prospective player.[15]
Amistad1997In the 1830s, a group of African slaves who rise up against their captors 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. This is based on the true story of La Amistad, and Adams did in fact argue their case before the Supreme Court in United States v. The Amistad.[14]
Avatar2009In 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.[18]
Basmati Blues2018A white American scientist (played by Brie Larson) is sent to India by her employer to sell genetically modified rice to the locals.[19]
The Blind Side2009A 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. The film is based on the real life of football player Michael Oher, who criticized the film for simplifying his struggles and exaggerating Leigh Anne Tuohy's role in the events. Oher also believed the film sugarcoated his relationship with the Tuohy family and ignored racial tensions.[15][20][21]
Blood Diamond2006A black man (played by Djimon Hounsou) and his son from Sierra Leone are saved by a white Rhodesian mercenary (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) from the Revolutionary United Front during the country's civil war.[22]
City of Joy1992A white American doctor (played by Patrick Swayze) travels to India to find enlightenment. He sets up a free clinic to serve the poor; though reluctant at first, he decides to stay with the people.[13]
Conrack1974A 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.[9] This was based on the account of author Pat Conroy, who taught black students on Daufuskie Island for the 1969–1970 school year and detailed his experiences in his 1972 book The Water Is Wide.
Cool Runnings1993Loosely based on the 1988 Jamaican Olympic bobsled team, black Jamaicans want to form a national bobsled team and are helped by a white former bobsledder (played by John Candy).[17]
Cry Freedom1987The 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 Stephen Biko (played by Denzel Washington). Woods leaves the country to report the apartheid system to the world.[18]
Dances with Wolves1990In the 1860s, a white American 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 Minds1995A white teacher (played by Michelle Pfeiffer) teaches African and Hispanic American teenagers at an inner-city high school.[15] The film is based on the autobiography My Posse Don't Do Homework by LouAnne Johnson.
District 92009A 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.[18]
Django Unchained2012In 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.[14]
Dune1984Both David Lynch's and Denis Villeneuve's adaptations of Frank Herbert's novel Dune have been described as white savior stories. Critics allege that Paul Atreides is a foreign white savior who arrives and takes charge of the local Fremen and leads them to victory against their colonial invaders.[23][24] However, this accusation remains controversial, as Herbert's original novel is considered a critique of messianic archetypes and the white savior tropes they inspire.[25]
Dune2021
Elysium2013In the science fiction film, a white assembly worker (played by Matt Damon) from a mostly non-white community travels to a space station and ends up sacrificing himself so medical devices could be used to heal people on Earth.[26]
The Express: The Ernie Davis Story2008Based on the true story of Ernie Davis and the 1959 Syracuse Orangemen football team. The story focuses on the relationship between white head coach Ben Schwartzwalder (played by Dennis Quaid) and Davis.[17]
Finding Forrester2000A white reclusive writer (played by Sean Connery) sees potential writing skill in a black high school student (played by Rob Brown) and helps him with his writing.[27]
Free State of Jones2016The historical film, set during the American Civil War, stars Matthew McConaughey as Newton Knight, a Confederate Army deserter who leads fellow deserters and freed slaves to fight against the Confederates.[28][29][30]
Freedom Writers2007In the mid-1990s in Long Beach, California, a white teacher (played by Hilary Swank) strives to educate non-white high school students despite their neighborhood conditions.[31]
Glory Road2006In the 1960s, men's basketball coach Don Haskins (Josh Lucas) coaches a team with an all-black starting lineup and leads them to victory.[17] The film is based on the true story of the 1965–66 Texas Western Miners men's basketball team.
Gran Torino2008A 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.[18]
The Great Wall2017William (played by Matt Damon) is a white European mercenary who travels to China in search of gunpowder. He stumbles upon the Chinese army fighting against alien monsters and helps them save China.[32][33][34][35] Actress Constance Wu noted one day after the launch of the film's trailer, "We have to stop perpetuating the racist myth that only a white man can save the world. It's not based in actual fact. Our heroes don't look like Matt Damon."[36] After the film's release, Ann Hornaday, chief film critic for the Washington Post, writes that "early concerns about Damon playing a 'white savior' in the film turn out to be unfounded: his character, a mercenary soldier, is heroic, but also clearly a foil for the superior principles and courage of his Chinese allies."[37] Jonathan Kim, in a review for the Huffington Post, writes that "having seen The Great Wall, I can say that...on the charge of The Great Wall insulting the Chinese and promoting white superiority, I say: Not Guilty. The question of whether The Great Wall is a white savior movie is a bit trickier, but I'm still going to say Not Guilty. ...On the charge of whitewashing, I say: Not Guilty."[38]
The Greatest Showman2017A musical following P. T. Barnum (played by Hugh Jackman) and his creation of the Barnum & Bailey Circus. Kristen Lopez of The Daily Beast opined that the film utilizes white savior narrative for disabled people rather than racial minorities, and that Barnum's portrayal "not only flies in the face of history—Barnum profited off the disabled for years—but it's also undermined by the film's narrative, which can't present Barnum as the unlikable, capitalist phenom he truly was."[39] Conversely, Scott Mendelson of Forbes argues that "Ironically, since the movie gives us very little time with Jackman interacting with his star attractions, the movie avoids the whole 'white savior' thing", further saying "it is through their own bonding that they become a surrogate family".[40]
The Green Berets1968A Vietnam War film depicts a white U.S. Army Special Forces commander (played by John Wayne) who fights for the people of South Vietnam.[13]
Green Book2018Italian American bouncer Tony Lip (played by Viggo Mortensen) serves as a driver and bodyguard for African American classical and jazz pianist Don Shirley (played by Mahershala Ali).[41][42] The Shirley family denounced and condemned the film describing the film as "hurtful" and portraying a "symphony of lies". The family rejects the friendship relationship as depicted in the film but rather as "an employer-employee relationship," said that Shirley never referred to Tony as a "friend," and called the relationship "the only kind of relationship that [Shirley] ever had with any of the people he worked with." Ali, who won the Academy Award for his performance called the family apologizing for his depiction of their relative adding, "I was not aware that there were close relatives with whom I could have consulted to add some nuance to the character".[43] Cultural critics have also described the depiction of Shirley as a magical negro trope.[44]
The Grizzlies2018The true story of a white teacher who launched a lacrosse team to combat an epidemic of youth suicide in the predominantly Inuit community of Kugluktuk, Nunavut. Director Miranda de Pencier was conscious of the potentially problematic racial aspect to the story, and worked with Inuit producers Alethea Arnaquq-Baril and Stacey Aglok MacDonald to ensure that the screenplay centred the perspective of Inuit youth and did not fall into white savior tropes;[45] however, the film has still been analyzed by some film critics through a white savior lens.[46]
Half Nelson2006A 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.[9]
Hardball2001A 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.[31]
The Harlem Globetrotters1951A fictionalized portrayal of the basketball team of the same name and a white coach (played by Thomas Gomez) who kickstarts the team.[17]
The Help2011In 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. This has been described as an example of a white main character exploiting the lives of underserved African American's to financially benefit herself without giving much relief to that community.[15][47]
Hidden Figures2016Based on the book of the same name, the film follows three African-American women at NASA in 1961 and features one of the women's white bosses (played by Kevin Costner) standing up for her to use the nearest bathroom instead of a farther one intended only for her race. He also lets her into Mission Control to witness the launch. Neither scene happened in real life, and screenwriter Theodore Melfi said he saw no problem with adding the scenes, "There needs to be white people who do the right thing, there needs to be black people who do the right thing, and someone does the right thing. And so who cares who does the right thing, as long as the right thing is achieved?"[48][49]
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom1984White archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones (played by Harrison Ford) rescues Indian peasants from a cult that sacrifices them.[13]
Isle of Dogs2018Amid a canine influenza outbreak in a dystopian Japanese city, an American exchange student and pro-dog activist leads the investigation of a conspiracy that the city's authoritarian, cat-loving mayor created the flu as part of a plot to annihilate all of the city's exiled dogs. The student later helps a pack of dogs expose the mayor's corruption by recovering the serum that cures the dog flu.[50]
The Jackie Robinson Story1950[17]
Jim Thorpe – All-American1951Based on the life of Jim Thorpe, white coach Glenn S. "Pop" Warner (played by Charles Bickford) helps a native-american athlete (played by white actor Burt Lancaster) compete at the 1912 Olympics.[17]
Kingdom of Heaven2005A fictionalized retelling of Balian of Ibelin, a French crusader (played by Orlando Bloom) inherits a fief in the kingdom of Jerusalem. With his knowledge and local workers, he irrigates his dry land to the joy of the inhabitants.[51] He later negotiates for peace with Saladin.
The Last Face2016A film directed by Sean Penn which features white doctors in West Africa. IndieWire reported, "Critics chided Penn for making a treacly white-savior movie that attempts to shame its audience with bloody war imagery."[52]
The Last Samurai2003In the 1870s, a white former American 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 Arabia1962Based on the real life of white British Army officer T. E. Lawrence (played by Peter O'Toole), who led Arabs in a revolt against the Ottoman Empire.[53]
The Legend of Tarzan2016Tarzan, a white man (played by Alexander Skarsgård) is raised by apes in Africa and then travels to England. He eventually returns to Africa and fights against the slave trade.[54]
Lincoln2012The historical film focuses on the efforts of President of the United States Abraham Lincoln (played by Daniel Day-Lewis) and other white figures to win the American Civil War and end Slavery in the United States.[14][55] Historian Kate Masur found that Spielberg took liberties with the historical record and said, "For some 30 years, historians have been demonstrating that slaves were crucial agents in their emancipation." Masur said that in the film, "African-American characters do almost nothing but passively wait for white men to liberate them."[56]
Machine Gun Preacher2011Based on the real life of Sam Childers, 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.[31]
The Magnificent Seven1960A group of hired guns/mercenaries are recruited by a group of Mexican villagers to defend them against a marauding gang of Mexican bandits. At the end, the leader Chris (played by Yul Brynner) looking down at the graves of fallen comrades tells the survivors: "The Old Man was right. Only the farmers won. We lost. We'll always lose."[57] It is based on Seven Samurai, a film in which the samurai save commoners.
A Man Called Horse1970The story of an English aristocrat (played by Richard Harris) who is captured, tortured and then adopted by the Sioux and eventually becomes their leader. "Even the so-called authentic movies like A Man Called Horse — that's the whitest of movies I've ever seen."[58]
The Man Who Would Be King1975Based on the story The Man Who Would Be King (1888) by Rudyard Kipling, two white adventurers (played by Sean Connery and Michael Caine) in the 1880s are crowned kings in the Afghan nation of Kafiristan. While the narrative is depicted as ironic, the Afghans are portrayed in a clichéd manner.[13]
The Matrix1999The science fiction film features the white computer hacker Neo who becomes "The One" to save humanity.[59] 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 non-white people from an impending disaster."[55] 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."[60] 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."[61] The lead role was originally offered to Will Smith.[62]
McFarland, USA2015Based on a true story, Jim White, a white coach (played by Kevin Costner) trains an all-Latino high school cross country running team. 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."[63] 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."[64]
Million Dollar Arm2014Based on the true story of Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel, sports agent J. B. Bernstein (played by Jon Hamm) organizes a talent contest in India where he discovers a pair of youngsters who will demonstrate enough baseball skills to receive a contract by the Pittsburgh Pirates.[65][66][67]
Mississippi Burning1988In 1964, two white FBI agents (played by Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe) travel to Mississippi to investigate the murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner, civil rights organizers of whom one was 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."[18]
Music of the Heart1999Based on the true story of Roberta Guaspari, a white music teacher (played by Meryl Streep) teaches non-white students at an inner city school.[15]
Our Brand Is Crisis2015In the comedy-drama film, a white political consultant (played Sandra Bullock) helps a Bolivian politician win the presidential election in his country.[68]
The Principal1987A white teacher (played by Jim Belushi) teaches non-white students at an inner city school.[15]
Radio2003A 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.[17][69]
The Red Sea Diving Resort2019A thriller film features Jewish heroes from Israel who save Ethiopian-Jewish refugees from Africa.[70]
Remember the Titans2000Based on the true story of football coach Herman Boone, a white high school football coach (played by Will Patton) gives preferential help to the school's black players and helps the black football coach (played by Denzel Washington) during a game that has been rigged by the white referees.[17]
The Ron Clark Story2006A white teacher (played by Matthew Perry) moves from a small town to New York City to make a difference in the lives of non-white students.[71]
Same Kind of Different as Me2017A wealthy businessman (played by Greg Kinnear) reluctantly joins his wife (played by Renée Zellweger) who volunteers at a homeless shelter where they develop a friendship with a homeless man played by Djimon Hounsou.[72]
Snow Falling on Cedars1999A white journalist (played by Ethan Hawke) possesses information that can exonerate a Japanese-American fisherman (played by Rick Yune) on trial for murder.[73]
The Soloist2009A 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.[69]
Sound of Freedom2023Based on the life of Tim Ballard, a white Homeland Security agent (Jim Caviezel) attempts to rescue a child from sex traffickers in Colombia.[74]
Stargate1994In the science fiction film, a white Egyptologist and linguist (played by James Spader) and a white military colonel (played by Kurt Russell) rescue a non-white population on an alien planet from their extraterrestrial slavers.[13]
Sunset Park1996A white physical education teacher (played by Rhea Perlman) coaches a basketball team of black players, taking them to the city championships.[9]
Tears of the Sun2003A 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 and secondary orders.[75]
A Time to Kill1996In rural Mississippi, a white lawyer named Jake Brigance (played by Matthew McConaughey) is appointed to defend Carl Lee Hailey (played by Samuel L. Jackson), a black man accused of murdering two white supremacists that raped his 10-year-old daughter Tanya. This is based on the John Grisham novel A Time to Kill.[17]
To Kill a Mockingbird1962A white attorney (played by Gregory Peck) defends a black man falsely accused of rape; he loses the case but is applauded for his noble effort. Based on the Harper Lee book To Kill a Mockingbird.[27]
The Warriors Gate2016A white teenager (played by Uriah Shelton) is transported to China and becomes a kung fu warrior to rescue a princess (played by Ni Ni) from villains.[76]
When the Storm Fades2018In part a critical satire of white savior narratives, the film's storyline includes two Canadian aid workers in the Philippines whose attempts to play the saviors in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan are counterproductive.[77]
Wildcats1986A 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. 1 2 3 Hughey, Matthew W. (2014). "The White Savior Film: Content, Critics, and Consumption". Temple University. p. 252. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
  2. ↑ Nygreen, Kysa; Madeloni, Barbara; Cannon, Jennifer (2015). "'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. New York City: Springer Publishing. p. 116. ISBN 978-94-6209-975-3.
  3. ↑ "Interview with Matthew W. Hughey". Temple University. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
  4. ↑ Vera & Gordon 2003, p. 32.
  5. ↑ Hughey, Matthew W. (January 19, 2015). "The Whiteness of Oscar Night". Contexts. Retrieved July 22, 2016.
  6. ↑ Howard, Philip S. S.; Dei, George J. Sefa (May 27, 2018). Crash Politics and Antiracism: Interrogations of Liberal Race Discourse. Peter Lang. ISBN 9781433102462 – via Google Books.
  7. ↑ Vogel, Joseph (March 2018). "The Confessions of Quentin Tarantino: Whitewashing Slave Rebellion in Django Unchained". The Journal of American Culture. 41 (1): 17–27. doi:10.1111/jacc.12837.
  8. ↑ Hughey, Matthew W. (Matthew Windust). The white savior film : content, critics, and consumption. Philadelphia. ISBN 9781439910023. OCLC 871224477.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Hughey, Matthew W. (Fall 2010). "The White Savior Film and Reviewers' Reception". Symbolic Interaction. 33 (3): 475–496. doi:10.1525/si.2010.33.3.475. (abstract)
  10. ↑ Fitzgerald, Kathleen (2014). Recognizing Race and Ethnicity: Power, Privilege, and Inequality. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press. p. 364. ISBN 978-0-8133-4931-2.
  11. ↑ "A Conversation About Great White Saviors in Movies". Grant land. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  12. ↑ "8 Films That Use A White Savior As A Major Plot Device". Shadow and Act. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Vera & Gordon 2003, p. 33
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Berlatsky, Noah (January 17, 2014). "12 Years a Slave: Yet Another Oscar-Nominated 'White Savior' Story". The Atlantic. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Goff, Keli (May 4, 2014). "Can 'Belle' End Hollywood's Obsession with the White Savior?". The Daily Beast. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  16. ↑ McCoy, Dorian L.; Rodricks, Dirk J. (2015). Critical Race Theory in Higher Education: 20 Years of Theoretical and Research Innovations. ASHE Higher Education Report. Vol. 41. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-119-11203-7. Critics contended it was yet another film showcasing a White savior with Pitt (who also produced the film) positioning himself as such.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 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. S2CID 191593248.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 Sirota, David (February 21, 2013). "Oscar loves a white savior". Salon.com. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  19. ↑ Gleiberman, Owen (February 12, 2018). "Film Review: 'Basmati Blues'". Variety. Los Angeles, California: Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
  20. ↑ "FACT VS. FICTION: What The Movie "The Blind Side" Got Wrong". Business Insider. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  21. ↑ "Why Michael Oher Doesn't Like 'The Blind Side,' The Oscar-Nominated Film Based On His Life". Huffington Post. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  22. ↑ Lacy, Michael G. (2011). Critical Rhetorics of Race. New York University Press. p. 13. ISBN 978-0-8147-6529-6.
  23. ↑ "BOOK VS. FLICK: DUNE - Sara Century". Syfy, Jul 24, 2018. Archived October 8, 2021, at the Wayback Machine
  24. ↑ Venkatraman, Sakshi (October 29, 2021). "'Dune' appropriates Islamic, Middle Eastern tropes without real inclusion, critics say". NBC News. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  25. ↑ Howard, Quinn, "Is Dune a White Savior Story?", YouTube, retrieved November 4, 2021
  26. ↑ 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.
  27. 1 2 Barber, Mike (December 3, 2009). "White Man's Burden Redux: The Movie!". The Huffington Post. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  28. ↑ 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.
  29. ↑ Newkirk II, Vann R. (June 28, 2016). "The Faux-Enlightened Free State of Jones". The Atlantic. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
  30. ↑ Brody, Richard (June 23, 2016). "The Historical Imagination and Free State of Jones". The New Yorker. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
  31. 1 2 3 Barone, Matt (September 20, 2011). "The 10 Lamest White Savior Movies". Complex. Complex Media. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  32. ↑ Jung, E. Alex. "How Mad Should You Be About The Great Wall?". Vulture. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
  33. ↑ "The bamboo ceiling: Hollywood's problem with Asian actors". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
  34. ↑ Phillips, Michael. "'The Great Wall' review: Matt Damon vs. savage Chinese monster". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
  35. ↑ "Critics tear down Matt Damon's new blockbuster 'The Great Wall': a 'tedious' 'white savior' movie". Business Insider.
  36. ↑ "Constance Wu on Hollywood's white savior problem: 'Our heroes don't look like Matt Damon'". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2017-05-10.
  37. ↑ Hornaday, Ann. (16 February 2017). "'The Great Wall,' Matt Damon and Hollywood’s delicate dance with China." The Washington Post. Accessed 17 February 2017.
  38. ↑ Kim, Jonathan. (17 February 2017). "No 'The Great Wall' Isn't Racist Whitewashing." The Huffington Post. Accessed 27
  39. ↑ Lopez, Kristen (December 22, 2017). "'The Greatest Showman' Fails Disabled Audiences by Masking P.T. Barnum's Monstrous Past". The Daily Beast. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
  40. ↑ Mendelson, Scott (December 20, 2017). "'Greatest Showman' Review: Lots Of Songs, Not Much Story". Forbes. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
  41. ↑ McFarland, Melanie (December 30, 2018). "Hollywood still loves a white savior: "Green Book" and the lazy, feel-good take on race". Salon. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
  42. ↑ "What to Know About the Controversy Surrounding the Movie Green Book". Time. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  43. ↑ "'Green Book' Character's Family Condemns Film's 'Hurtful' Lies, Mahershala Ali Apologizes". IndieWire. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  44. ↑ "'Green Book': The Feel-Good Oscar Contender Has a 'Magical Negro' Problem". IndieWire. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  45. ↑ "Mistakes and reconciliation: The grueling path to making The Grizzlies, a crowd-pleasing sports flick set in Nunavut". The Globe and Mail, April 13, 2019.
  46. ↑ Chelsea Phillips-Carr, "TIFF 2018 Review: The Grizzlies — Lacrosse saves lives in this conventional Canadian bore". Scene Creek, September 8, 2018.
  47. ↑ "How 'white savior' films like 'The Help' and 'Green Book' hurt Hollywood". Business Insider. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  48. ↑ Thomas, Dexter (January 25, 2017). "Space so white: The Oscar-nominated 'Hidden Figures' was whitewashed — but it didn't have to be". Vice News. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
  49. ↑ Garber, Megan (January 18, 2017). "Hidden Figures and the Appeal of Math in an Age of Inequality". The Atlantic. Retrieved February 2, 2017. Hidden Figures's narrative trajectory involves not just progress that emerges, too often, from pettiness, but also thematic elements of the white savior, and of a culturally enforced tiara syndrome. All those things effectively temper the idealism of its message.
  50. ↑ Clift, Tom (March 25, 2018). "Wes Anderson's 'Isle Of Dogs' Has Been Accused Of Cultural Appropriation". Junkee. Junkee Media. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
  51. ↑ Schlimm, Matthew Richard (30 July 2010). "The Necessity of Permanent Criticism: A Postcolonial Critique of Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven". Journal of Media and Religion. 9 (3): 142. doi:10.1080/15348423.2010.500967. S2CID 143124492. Balian re-enacts the narrative of the "White Man's Burden" and becomes a "white savior" for those of the Middle East.
  52. ↑ Lapin, Andrew (March 23, 2017). "Sean Penn's Cannes Disaster 'The Last Face' Moved to a Summer VOD Release". indiewire.com. IndieWire. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  53. ↑ Gehlawat, Ajay (2013). The Slumdog Phenomenon: A Critical Anthology. Anthem Press. p. 83. ISBN 978-0-85728-001-5.
  54. ↑ Best, Kenneth (July 12, 2016). "The White Savior: Racial Inequality in Film". UConn Today. University of Connecticut. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  55. 1 2 Hughey, Matthew (2014). The White Savior Film: Content, Critics, and Consumption. Temple University Press. ISBN 978-1-4399-1001-6.
  56. ↑ Masur, Kate (November 12, 2012). "In Spielberg's 'Lincoln,' Passive Black Characters". The New York Times. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  57. ↑ "How Hollywood Whitewashed the Old West". The Atlantic. 2016-10-05. Archived from the original on 2023-05-06.
  58. ↑ Friar, Natasha A. (1972), The Only Good Indian: The Hollywood Gospel, Drama Book Specialists, p. 124, ISBN 0-910482-21-7
  59. ↑ 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.
  60. ↑ Vera & Gordon 2003, p. 48
  61. ↑ Nama, Adilifu (2010). Black Space: Imagining Race in Science Fiction Film. University of Texas Press. p. 144. ISBN 978-0-292-77876-4.
  62. ↑ Williams, Trey (2019-02-15). "Will Smith: Why I turned down 'The Matrix' to do 'Wild Wild West'". The Wrap. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
  63. ↑ Kilkenny, Katie (February 25, 2015). "The Troublesome Rebirth of the Kevin Costner Everyman". The Atlantic. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
  64. ↑ 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.
  65. ↑ 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.
  66. ↑ Rob (January 17, 2014). "Million Dollar Arm Is Everything Wrong With Sports Movies". SportsAlcohol.com. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
  67. ↑ 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.
  68. ↑ 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.
  69. 1 2 Heath, Erin (2019). Mental Disorders in Popular Film: How Hollywood Uses, Shames, and Obscures Mental Diversity. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 8. ISBN 978-1-4985-2172-7.
  70. ↑ Yasharoff, Hannah (July 31, 2019). "Chris Evans-led 'Red Sea Diving Resort' is panned by critics as an 'exploitative mess'". USA Today. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
  71. ↑ 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.
  72. ↑ Hall, Ron (2006). Same Kind of Different as Me. Thomas Nelson Publisher. ISBN 978-0849900419.
  73. ↑ Childs, Erica Chito (2009). Fade to Black and White: Interracial Images in Popular Culture. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 978-0742560802.
  74. ↑ Klee, Miles (July 7, 2023). "'Sound Of Freedom' Is a Superhero Movie for Dads With Brainworms". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 17, 2023. Meaning it will surely do no good to point out Sound of Freedom's hackneyed white savior narrative.
  75. ↑ Scott, A. O. (March 7, 2003). "FILM REVIEW; Americans Atoning For African Slaughters". The New York Times. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
  76. ↑ Marsh, James (January 18, 2017). "Film review: The Warrior's Gate – Luc Besson's energetic fantasy plays squarely into white saviour narrative". South China Morning Post. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
  77. ↑ "This ‘Docudramedy’ Finds Laughs in the Horror of Climate Change". Vice, October 4, 201.

Bibliography

Further reading

  • Ash, Erin (December 2017). "Emotional Responses to Savior Films: Concealing Privilege or Appealing to Our Better Selves?". Projections: The Journal for Movies and Mind. 11 (2): 22–48. doi:10.3167/proj.2017.110203. ISSN 1934-9688.
  • Gibney, Mark (2019). "Human Rights, Africa, and Film: A Cautionary Tale". In Hjort, Mette; Jørholt, Eva (eds.). African Cinema and Human Rights. Studies in the Cinema of the Black Diaspora. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-03942-2.
  • Jiménez Murguía, Salvador, ed. (2018). The Encyclopedia of Racism in American Films. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-4422-6906-4.
  • Rodesiler, Luke; Garland, Kathy (March 2019). "Supremacy with a smile: White saviour complex in 'The Blind Side'". Screen Education (92): 38–45. ISSN 1449-857X.
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