“The White Savior Trope, Explained” — The Take, 2020, 21:10 — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1vuhrFfEkE

Contributed by Mary Scafidi, Cabrini University

This video highlights how the white savior trope places white people at the center of anti-racist stories. In the wake of police brutality against George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and many others, people are starting to learn more and increasingly embracing anti-racism. In particular, many white people have turned to the 2011 movie The Help to learn about being an anti-racist. This movie, however, is awash with the “white savior trope” that is prevalent in many different narratives about racism. These movies typically feature a benevolent white protagonist who takes a stand against racism by challenging the system. Thus, white people in these stories are the ones credited for fixing problems related to racism.

This trope started during the Civil Rights Movement when it was believed white people would not understand (or consume) media featuring black people unless the plot also prominently featured a “good” white person. An early example of this trope is the 1962 movie adaptation of Harper Lee’s book To Kill A Mockingbird where Atticus Finch is tasked with defending a falsely accused Black man. Although Atticus did not win the case, it made him look like a hero to those in the black community. The problem with the white savior trope is that it inhibits the Black community from telling their own stories, effectively perpetuating white privilege in the media. Moreover, white actors who are given prominent roles in such movies often receive praise, but Black actors in the same film rarely receive as much attention and recognition as their white counterparts. This video also explains how racism is a complex issue in our country. Nonetheless, many white savior movies solve the racist problem by the end, perhaps making the viewer believe that racist problems are not as complex as they are in reality.

What do you think of the white savior trope? How can this be changed in cinema? Why else might white audiences enjoy these overly-simplified stories of racism with white saviors?

From the video’s description: Why do so many stories about racism revolve around the White Savior? In 2020, as the Movement for Black Lives grew in the wake of the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and others, The Help experienced a resurgence in popularity, becoming one of the most-streamed movies on Netflix. The 2011 film about a white woman confronting racism may be well-intentioned, but—like Green Book, The Blind Side, and other White Savior movies before it—The Help centers its story on benevolent white characters, rather than on firsthand black perspectives. How did this trope become so persistent? Here’s our Take on the dangers of the White Savior, and how we can change our own narratives and conversations to become more anti-racist ourselves.