White savior narrative in film

In film, the white savior narrative is a cinematic trope in which a white character rescues people of color from their plight. The white savior is portrayed as messianic and often learns something about themselves in the process of rescuing. The trope reflects how media represents race relations by racializing concepts like morality as identifiable with white people over nonwhite people. 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". Types of stories include white travels to "exotic" Asian locations, white defense against racism in the American South, or white protagonists having "racially diverse" helpers.

David Sirota at Salon.com said, "These story lines insinuate that people of color have no ability to rescue themselves. This both makes white audiences feel good about themselves by portraying them as benevolent messiahs (rather than hegemonic conquerors), and also depicts people of color as helpless weaklings—all while wrapping such tripe in the cinematic argot of liberation." Noah Berlatsky in The Atlantic said the narrative varies from film to film, though slavery films, including award-winning ones, lack range in theme. He wrote, "All of these critically acclaimed films use variations on a single narrative: Black people are oppressed by bad white people. They achieve freedom through the offices of good white people." The white savior narrative is considered a cliché in cinema of the United States; the narrative is especially common in films about white teachers in inner cities.

List of films

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. 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.
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.
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 defends their right to be freed.
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 tribe, ultimately leading them to victory against his people's military.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
Dangerous Minds	1995	A white teacher (played by Michelle Pfeiffer) teaches African and Hispanic American teenagers at an inner city high school.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Glory	1989	During the American Civil War, a regiment of black Union soldiers serve under the white Colonel Robert Gould Shaw. Through Shaw, they are able to fight back against slavery.
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.
The Green Berets	1968	The Vietnam War propaganda film depicts a white military commander (played by John Wayne) who fights for the South Vietnamese.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Lincoln	2012	The historical film focuses on the efforts of President Abraham Lincoln and other white figures to win the American Civil War and end slavery.
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.
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.
The Matrix	1999	In the science fiction film, a white computer hacker (played by Keanu Reeves) is rescued from being plugged into a computer system and becomes a messiah figure who confronts all-white villains. Black characters serve him as disciples.
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."
Music of the Heart	1999	A white music teacher teaches nonwhite students at an inner city school.
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.
The Principal	1987	A white teacher (played by James Belushi) teaches nonwhite students at an inner city school.
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.
The Ron Clark Story	2006
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.
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.
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.
Three Kings	1999
To Kill a Mockingbird	1962
Wildcats	1986

See also

• Magical Negro
• List of Magical Negro occurrences in fiction

Further reading

• Hughey, Matthew (2014). The White Savior Film: Content, Critics, and Consumption. Temple University Press. ISBN 978-1-4399-1001-6.

External links

• White Man's Burden on TV Tropes with more examples in films and other works