White savior narrative in film
The white savior is a cinematic trope in which a white character rescues non-white characters from unfortunate circumstances. This trope appears in an array of genres of films in American cinema, wherein a white protagonist is portrayed as a messianic figure who often learns something about him or herself in the course of rescuing non-white characters from their plight.
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. 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.
Trope
In "The Whiteness of Oscar Night", 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 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, Dangerous Minds, Amistad, Finding Forrester, The Last Samurai, Half Nelson, Freedom Writers, Gran Torino, Avatar, The Blind Side, The Help
Following the release of cinematic adaptations of the play A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry, and the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, the films of the blaxploitation genre of the 1970s reflected continued 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.
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 Schultz, not 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.A study of 50 films between 1987-2011 found that 36% of studied films were produced by the 6 major studios. These films are also responsible for a plurality of the major awards in this time period.
Types of story
Inspirational teacher
The white-savior teacher story, such as Up the Down Staircase, Dangerous Minds, and Freedom Writers, "features a group of lower-class, urban, non-whites 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." As an inspirational tale of the human spirit, the storyline of the white-savior-teacher is not racist, in itself, but is culturally problematic for being racialist, 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 minority-group students in their communities, without the saving stewardship of white people.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, Conrack, and Amistad. 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 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.List of associated films
The list shows films that have been associated with the cinematic trope.| Film | Year | Description |
| 12 Years a Slave | 2013 | In the historical film set in 1841 onward, free-born African American Solomon Northup is kidnapped and sold into slavery. In the film's denouement, a white Canadian rescues Northup from enslavement. 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. The Atlantics 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." |
| 42 | 2013 | Based on a true story, the white baseball executive Branch Rickey, selects the first African-American Major League baseball player of the modern era, Jackie Robinson, to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers. |
| ' | 1994 | A disgraced white basketball coach travels to a village in Kenya to recruit a prospective player. |
| Amistad | 1997 | In 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 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. |
| Avatar | 2009 | In the science fiction film, a white former Marine goes to another planet and becomes part of an alien humanoid tribe, ultimately leading them to victory against his people's military. |
| Basmati Blues | 2018 | A white American scientist is sent to India by the corporation she works for to sell a genetically modified rice to the locals. |
| ' | 2009 | A white woman and football fan takes a black teenager 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. |
| Blood Diamond | 2006 | A white Rhodesian mercenary rescues a black Sierra Leonean and his son from black villains. |
| City of Joy | 1992 | A white American doctor 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. |
| Cloud Atlas | 2012 | In the ensemble science fiction film that spans multiple eras and settings, white actor Jim Sturgess is depicted as a Korean hero who rescues a Korean clone slave, played by Doona Bae, and gives her the awareness she needs to lead a revolution. |
| Cold Brook | 2018 | Two middle aged maintenance workers experiencing midlife crisis decided to help a century old black ghost to go home. |
| Conrack | 1974 | A white teacher is sent to an island off the coast of South Carolina, where he teaches children of poor black families. |
| Cool Runnings | 1993 | In the comedy film, black Jamaicans who want to form a national bobsled team are helped by a disgraced former bobsledder. |
| Cry Freedom | 1987 | The film features white journalist Donald Woods who learns to appreciate the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa and its black leader Steven Biko. Woods leaves the country to report the apartheid system to the world. |
| Dances with Wolves | 1990 | In the 1860s, a white Union soldier 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. |
| Dangerous Minds | 1995 | A white teacher teaches African and Hispanic American teenagers at an inner city high school. |
| District 9 | 2009 | A white South African government official 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. |
| Django Unchained | 2012 | In 1858, black slave Django is freed by the white German bounty hunter Schultz, and they work together to free Django's wife. |
| Elysium | 2013 | In the science fiction film, a white assembly worker 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. |
| ' | 2008 | |
| Farewell to the King | 1989 | |
| Finding Forrester | 2000 | A white reclusive writer sees potential writing skill in a black high school student and helps him with his writing. |
| Free State of Jones | 2016 | The 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. |
| Freedom Writers | 2007 | In the mid-1990s in Long Beach, California, a white teacher strives to educate non-white high school students despite their neighborhood conditions. |
| Glory | 1989 | During the American Civil War, a regiment of African-American soldiers fight for the Union, led by white Colonel Robert Gould Shaw. Through Shaw, they are able to fight back against slavery. The film is based on the true story of the 54th, although the historical 54th was composed mostly of Northern, often educated, black men. |
| Glory Road | 2006 | In the 1960s, men's basketball coach Don Haskins coaches a team with an all-black starting lineup and leads them to victory. |
| Gran Torino | 2008 | A racist white Korean War veteran helps a Hmong American teenager and ultimately protects him and his family from a Hmong American gang. |
| ' | 2017 | William 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. 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." 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." 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." |
| ' | 2017 | A musical following P. T. Barnum 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." 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". |
| ' | 1968 | The Vietnam War film depicts a white U.S. Army Special Forces commander who fights for the people of South Vietnam. |
| Green Book | 2018 | Italian American bouncer Tony Lip serves as a driver and bodyguard for African American classical and jazz pianist Don Shirley. |
| The Grizzlies | 2018 | The 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; however, the film has still been analyzed by some film critics through a white savior lens. |
| Half Nelson | 2006 | A white teacher with a drug addiction teaches at an inner city middle school, and befriending a black student, learns to overcome his addiction. |
| Hardball | 2001 | A white gambler is required to coach a baseball team of black children from Chicago's ABLA housing projects to pay off his gambling debts. |
| ' | 1951 | |
| ' | 2011 | In 1963 in Jackson, Mississippi, a young white woman strives for a career in journalism and encourages black maids to share their personal experiences despite the racism prevalent at the time. |
| Hidden Figures | 2016 | In the biographical film about three African-American women at NASA in 1961, one of the women's white bosses stands 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?" |
| Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom | 1984 | White archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones rescues Indian peasants from a cult that sacrifices them. |
| Isle of Dogs | 2018 | Amid 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. |
| ' | 1950 | |
| Jim Thorpe – All-American | 1951 | |
| La La Land | 2016 | The romantic musical film portrays a white musician Sebastian, amidst falling in love with an aspiring actress, questing to save the traditionally black musical genre of jazz. John Legend, who plays the black character Keith who invites the white musician to join his band, said Keith represented "a viable alternative " and that the film did not necessarily approve of Sebastian's traditionalism. Legend said, "I don’t think Sebastian is seen as the savior people are saying it is. He’s a flawed character that is a bit dark and stubborn, but he’s also an interesting guy. Part of the story is the love story and why him being so stubborn may have gotten in the way of him falling in love." |
| ' | 2016 | The film, directed by Sean Penn, stars 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." |
| ' | 2003 | In the 1870s, a white former Union Army officer travels to Japan and ultimately joins a group of samurai, helping them to resist corrupt advisers to the Japanese Emperor. |
| Lawrence of Arabia | 1962 | Based on the real life of white British Army officer T. E. Lawrence, Lawrence leads Arabs in a revolt against the Ottoman Empire. |
| ' | 2016 | Tarzan, raised by apes in Africa and then returned to England as Lord Greystoke, returns to Africa and fights the slave trade. |
| Lincoln | 2012 | The historical film focuses on the efforts of President of the United States Abraham Lincoln and other white figures to win the American Civil War and end Slavery in the United States. 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." |
| Machine Gun Preacher | 2011 | A white ex-convict travels to South Sudan to rebuild homes and finds himself having to save its residents from soldiers involved in a civil war. |
| ' | 1975 | Based on the story The Man Who Would Be King by Rudyard Kipling, two white British adventurers in the 1880s are crowned kings in a non-white country. While the narrative is depicted as ironic, the natives are portrayed in a cliched manner. |
| ' | 1999 | The science fiction film features the white computer hacker Neo who becomes The One to save humanity. Matthew Hughey in his book The White Savior Film says the film has a white protagonist "entering... the multicultural landscapes outside computer-simulated reality must begin, through his grace, to save non-white people from an impending disaster." Hernan and Vera in their book Screen Saviors: Hollywood Fictions of Whiteness describe Neo as "the white messiah 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." 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." The lead role was originally offered to Will Smith. |
| McFarland, USA | 2015 | Based on a true story, a white coach trains an all-Latino high school cross country running team. The Atlantic said, " 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." 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." |
| Million Dollar Arm | 2014 | Based on the true story of Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel, sports agent J. B. Bernstein 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. |
| Mississippi Burning | 1988 | In 1964, two white FBI agents 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." |
| Music of the Heart | 1999 | Based on the true story of Roberta Guaspari, a white music teacher teaches non-white students at an inner city school. |
| One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest | 1975 | A white protagonist is in a mental hospital and confronts its cruel nurse, ultimately inspiring a Native American patient to escape the hospital. |
| Our Brand Is Crisis | 2015 | In the comedy-drama film, a white political consultant helps a Bolivian politician win the presidential election in his country. It is based on a 2005 documentary. |
| ' | 1987 | A white teacher teaches non-white students at an inner city school. |
| Radio | 2003 | A white high school football coach helps a mentally handicapped black football fan become more involved with the team. |
| ' | 2019 | The thriller film features white Jewish heroes from Israel who save Ethiopian-Jewish refugees from Africa. |
| Remember the Titans | 2000 | A white high school football coach gives preferential help to the school's black players and helps the black football coach during a game that has been rigged by the white referees. |
| ' | 2006 | A white teacher moves from a small town to New York City to make a difference in the lives of non-white students. |
| Same Kind of Different as Me | 2017 | A wealthy businessman reluctantly joins his wife who volunteers at a homeless shelter where they develop a friendship with a homeless man played by. |
| Snow Falling on Cedars | 1999 | A white journalist possesses information that can exonerate a Japanese-American fisherman on trial for murder. |
| ' | 2009 | A white man helps a black mentally handicapped and homeless man revive his passion and skill in music. The Soloist is based on Nathaniel Ayers. |
| Stargate | 1994 | In the science fiction film, a white Egyptologist and linguist and a white military colonel rescue a non-white population on an alien planet from their extraterrestrial slavers. |
| Sunset Park | 1996 | A white physical education teacher who coaches a basketball team of black players and succeeds in taking them to the city championships. |
| Tears of the Sun | 2003 | A white commander of the United States Navy SEALs decides to save the Nigerian refugees from advancing rebel troops, in violation of their primary and secondary orders. |
| Three Kings | 1999 | The white leader of a United States Army team has the respect and loyalty of his racially mixed team and the Iraqi rebels. |
| ' | 1996 | In rural Mississippi, a white lawyer named Jake Brigance is appointed to defend Carl Lee Hailey, a black man accused of murdering two white supremacists that raped his 10-year-old daughter Tanya. |
| To Kill a Mockingbird | 1962 | A white attorney 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. |
| ' | 2016 | The fantasy film, a Chinese-French co-production, stars a white teenager who is transported to China and becomes a kung fu warrior and rescues a princess from villains. |
| When the Storm Fades | 2018 | In 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. |
| Wildcats | 1986 | A white woman becomes the coach of an inner city football team and leads them to a championship. |