"12
Years a Slave," "Freedom Writers," "The Help," "The Blind Side," "Gran Torino," and "The Last Samurai" all include a heroic white protagonist. These white saviors free slaves and inspire domestic maids to write down their experiences with
racism, but they also make non-white characters seem powerless.
"Freedom Writers" is the quintessential white-savior movie.
Erin Gruwell (Hilary Swank) begins teaching an English class full of poor students of color. Slowly, she convinces them to work harder so they can pass the class and change their lives. The film frames Gruwell as a selfless teacher who works two part-time jobs to pay for books, stays after school to help her troubled students, and jeopardizes her marriage to help these kids succeed.
Yet the students aren't applauded for achieving classroom success while overcoming major issues, like gang violence and poverty.
There's a reason for this, as sociology professor Matthew W. Hughey explained in his book, "The White Savior Film:" The movie industry uses the white savior trope to support the idea that there's unity between races.
Many people are exhausted with talking about race,
and there is a latent desire to see evidence of interracial reconciliation and
amity, films that showcase strong, kind, and messianic white characters
assisting nonwhite, down-on-their-luck characters deliver just the right touch. In this light, white savior films
emerge as powerful cultural devices that attract, seduce, and command the US public in a time of unsettled understandings of race, racism, and racial
identity.