The White Saviour Trope is Problematic
And I'll tell you why
I don't know about you but what irks me about some of these period movies that discuss black people but why does there always have to be the one white person that isn't bad and helps the black people out? Considering the even true time frame. In this article, I discuss why this trope is so problematic
ITS HISTORICALLY INACCURATE
The choice to centre white people whilst exploring the civil rights struggle of black people erases the actual black people that were not only intimately affected by racism but mobilised to fight against it. As many of the organisations formed to fight for civil rights were founded and spearheaded by black people. For example, the Montgomery Bus Boycott was organised by the Montgomery Improvement Association was which formed by local black community leaders and MLK.1 Another would be the Black Panther Party founded by Huey B Newton and Bobby Seale. Although its radical views would’ve deters many white folks it still was an organisation fighting for black civil rights. In fact, the Black Panther Party was founded to combat the police brutality black people suffered in particular neighbourhoods and were known for being armed2. So if there were a plethora of good white people why was the black community forced to carry weapons to protect themselves and their neighbourhoods? Not to mention all the smaller-scale demonstrations that aren’t recorded as pivotal events in the Civil Rights Movement. No doubt that many white people helped in fighting for the human rights of black people. The issue is Hollywood consistently choosing to showcase stories supposedly about racism whilst making this good white person the centre of the tale. Whereas by looking at the above examples and many many more we see that this good white person wasn’t as prevalent in the black struggle as Hollywood makes out to be.
IT ONLY SERVES WHITE PEOPLE
The reason why the white saviour trope in film and TV continues is it ensures that white audiences don’t feel guilty and uncomfortable. The concept of white guilt can be defined as
“The recognition of unearned and unfair racial privileges, the acknowledgment of personal racist attitudes or behavior, and/or the sense of responsibility for others’ racist attitudes or behavior.”3
Though many black activists have gone to say that this guilt is superficial anyway. Since 58% of the US theatre audiences in the year, the film Green Book (2018) was released were white compared to 12% black people and 20% Hispanic/Latinx4. To keep such as large percentage of viewership, filmmakers must appeal to white audiences to make a profit. The danger in this trope is it creates a false dichotomy between the ‘good white person and the ‘bad’ white person. Typically because these types of films are based in historical periods majority of modern white audiences don’t align with the ideas and views of the ‘bad’ white person but rather identify with the ‘good’ white character. These kinds of films also tend to depict an archaic, stereotypical expression of racism (white people saying the n-word, beating up black people, formal segregation) but don’t address the more insidious expressions of racism and the nuances of the black experience (racialised name-calling, tone policing, microaggressions). I understand that these films are about historical periods where overt expressions of racism were normal but even still don’t portray the more covert expressions of racism that also existed during that time which many white people still engage in. This just goes to show that this carefully crafted image of racism and the benevolent white person exists to ensure white viewership. As watching films are one of the most popular activities for entertainment one doesn’t want to watch a film to be confronted and feel uncomfortable.
To conclude the reason why the white saviour trope in film and TV is problematic is that it isn’t historically accurate and erases the black people who were actively fighting against racism. This trope’s presence in films is only to ensure white viewers don’t feel uncomfortable and maintain their viewership. How can white people possibly be allies in helping fight against racism if they are unsure of its nature? How can society successfully combat racism if it can’t even back on history accurately and hold the right people accountable?
https://www.google.com.au/amp/s/www.history.com/.amp/topics/black-history/civil-rights-movement
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Black-Panther-Party
https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-white-guilt-5074960
https://www.statista.com/statistics/251606/us-movie-theater-audience-by-ethnicity/