Lately I've been very annoyed with the white savior trope.
This is where a story's or situation's focus is on what white people have done to help people who are not within the circle of whiteness.
Movie examples of this include The Help, The Blindside, Green Book, Dances with Wolves, and Avatar.
The funny thing is, I've not seen any of those movies...except for a portion of The Blindside. I remember finding it annoying. But I can't remember why.
Well, I'm guessing it was the white savior issues. I think maybe I had already been educated in why these types of stories are problematic. If I was ignorant of the issue, I might have been more receptive to the movie.
Although....
Now I'm wondering if I have some kind of natural aversion to the white savior mentality. Because I seem to have been born with an aversion to Avatar. The movie looked very unappealing to me when it came out. AND I kind of hate Pandora in Disney World.
I've also never had any bit of interest in seeing Dances with Wolves. Though I do like the music from it.
The Help did look good to me...before I knew it had white savior issues. The Green Book became a no for me as soon as my parents so strongly recommended it. Then I read about how it has white savior issues, and I understood why my parents would like it so much.
There are probably white savior movies and books that I HAVE enjoyed in the past...back when I was more ignorant of the trope.
So anyway.
I was hating on white savior stuff.
Then Schindler's List came into my head...for some reason. I'm not sure why.
I think that's been labeled as white savior. Even, though, it's white Jews being saved, they're saved by a white gentile. And it's the same sort of mentality. A marginalized, abused group of people is rescued or assisted by a person in the dominant, powerful group.
Well, I'm looking on Google to see if I'm right about Schindler's List being labeled white savior. In this film review, Noah Berlatsky labels it (and The Zookeeper's Wife) as being gentile savior. That's probably a better term.
Okay, so I was thinking about Schindler's List. And I loved that movie.
When seeing it (multiple times) in the 1990's, I felt no ill will towards Oskar Schindler or other "righteous gentiles" who helped Jews in the Holocaust.
I still don't.
I feel gratitude.
So I started to feel some cognitive dissonance.
Why do I have a problem with storylines or situations that center around white people helping black people but I didn't/don't have problems with storylines centered around gentiles helping Jews?
Well, one thing is, I haven't seen Schindler's List or any gentile savior film lately.
If I saw Schindler's List today, I might be more bothered by it.
And back in the 1990's, I would have probably exited a white savior film feeling choked up and inspired.
Another thing is, I think I've been so annoyed with white savior mentality that I was throwing away the baby with the bathwater.
Well, I definitely wasn't of the mindset that white people should stop helping black people. But maybe I was thinking they should be 100% quiet about it and not expect any recognition or gratitude.
Now after rethinking things, I think white people (or gentiles) should be 90% quiet about it and be satisfied with a very minimal amount of recognition and gratitude.
What I really wanted to talk about in this post, though, is why I don't like the whole white savior thing. Instead, I ended up rambling on about how I might have been judging it too harshly.
So let me try to get to where I actually wanted to be in the first place.
What do I not like about the white savior mentality?
I think there are two main problems with it.
A) By focusing on the positive, it draws attention away from the negative. And when it comes to things like racism, sexism, and anti-semitism, we really need to be not dropping the ball when it comes to the negative.
If we're so touched by a white family adopting a black football player, we might give much less attention to the white policemen who are shooting black men. Or we might not know that black people are STILL slaves, in prison, via the very unfair and racist criminal justice system.
The white savior complex can give people the idea that racism has ended...thanks to nice white people.
When it comes to racism at this point in our history, I think we should be slightly thankful and inspired, but those feelings should be very overshadowed by our anger, concern, and disgust.
Do I have a right to tell people how to feel?
No. Of course not.
But then I'd say put down your Green Book and watch some things like Roots, The Underground, When They See Us, and 13th. And then see how you're feeling. OR just go to this Google Doc and read some of the stories behind the various petitions.
There's a saying that's been going around. If you're not angry, you're not paying attention.
I agree.
Because, a few years ago, I was one of those people not paying attention.
Michael Brown
Trayvon Martin.
I wasn't paying attention.
I heard the word: Zimmerman. Hoodie. Police. Stand Your Grand, Ferguson.
I knew it was bad stuff. I knew it was wrong.
But until I started paying attention, I was only THINKING it was wrong...in a vague kind of apathetic way. I wasn't feeling it.
Well, and that wasn't the fault of me being blinded by white savior stuff. I think I was more preoccupied with my Australia obsession and other things.
If I had seen any white savior stuff, though....it might have lulled me further into complacency.
Okay and onto my other reason.....
B) White saviors may be narcissists.
These narcissists may not be officially DSM level narcissists. But subclinical can be shitty enough.
For narcissistic white saviors, it's not about the cause. It's about the narcissist.
They want recognition. A LOT of it.
They want gratitude. A LOT of it.
I think one sign of this is that the narcissist show very little concern or interest in how the cause is doing after they've finished doing their part. They made their contribution. They were awesome. Story over.
They're not very interested in updates.
They certainly don't want to hear that the problems are continuing.
There's an attitude of, I donated my time. I donated my money! What more do you want from me?
Well...we just wanted you to know things are still really shitty. We don't necessarily want more of your time or your money. But we want you to listen and understand.
And we'd also like you to stop imagining that you're the main character in this drama!!!!!!
The white savior narcissist downplays the problems of the present and over-glorifies their contributions from the past.
The white savior narcissist cares very little about the actual cause. They care a lot about being one of the main protagonists of the cause.
Well...and I should be fair and open-minded. For some of these narcissists, they didn't do work just in the past. They may be helping in the present as well. But they're the ones who have to share stories of all or most of their good deeds.
Their Instagram is splattered with selfies taken at protests.
They forward emails of praise and thanks they've received to all their family and friends.
They write long overdramatic emails about how they have helped someone; then to try to soften the braggingness, they add a bit about feeling changed and inspired by the person they helped.
All of this is much less awful when the person truly cares about the cause. I think there are people who can truly care about and work hard for a cause while, at the same time, being overly needy of attention and adoration.
It's much more awful when the person doesn't really give a shit about the cause. OR...when the person pretends, in public, to be inspired by the people they're helping while in private they act disgusted. There's an attitude of, These damn losers would be completely lost if people like me weren't helping them.
And maybe this mindset is partly the fault of the white savior or gentile savior tropes. Maybe we'd have less of the above attitude if we'd put more focus on antisemitism stories where Jews are the main protagonists and more racism stories where Black people are the main protagonists.
Or maybe it wouldn't help.
Maybe some people are going to always gravitate towards the white savior stories, because it feels more comfortable to them and more rewarding. But I think there are a lot of other, stronger, people that are open to seeking out movies, shows, books, etc. that turn away from the white savior (or gentile savior) narrative.
On the other hand...when some of us become angry to the point that we've lost all hope and love, a tiny dose of the white savior trope might be the medicine we need. Well....unless we've become too cynical, and it just pisses us off even more.
This is where a story's or situation's focus is on what white people have done to help people who are not within the circle of whiteness.
Movie examples of this include The Help, The Blindside, Green Book, Dances with Wolves, and Avatar.
The funny thing is, I've not seen any of those movies...except for a portion of The Blindside. I remember finding it annoying. But I can't remember why.
Well, I'm guessing it was the white savior issues. I think maybe I had already been educated in why these types of stories are problematic. If I was ignorant of the issue, I might have been more receptive to the movie.
Although....
Now I'm wondering if I have some kind of natural aversion to the white savior mentality. Because I seem to have been born with an aversion to Avatar. The movie looked very unappealing to me when it came out. AND I kind of hate Pandora in Disney World.
I've also never had any bit of interest in seeing Dances with Wolves. Though I do like the music from it.
The Help did look good to me...before I knew it had white savior issues. The Green Book became a no for me as soon as my parents so strongly recommended it. Then I read about how it has white savior issues, and I understood why my parents would like it so much.
There are probably white savior movies and books that I HAVE enjoyed in the past...back when I was more ignorant of the trope.
So anyway.
I was hating on white savior stuff.
Then Schindler's List came into my head...for some reason. I'm not sure why.
I think that's been labeled as white savior. Even, though, it's white Jews being saved, they're saved by a white gentile. And it's the same sort of mentality. A marginalized, abused group of people is rescued or assisted by a person in the dominant, powerful group.
Well, I'm looking on Google to see if I'm right about Schindler's List being labeled white savior. In this film review, Noah Berlatsky labels it (and The Zookeeper's Wife) as being gentile savior. That's probably a better term.
Okay, so I was thinking about Schindler's List. And I loved that movie.
When seeing it (multiple times) in the 1990's, I felt no ill will towards Oskar Schindler or other "righteous gentiles" who helped Jews in the Holocaust.
I still don't.
I feel gratitude.
So I started to feel some cognitive dissonance.
Why do I have a problem with storylines or situations that center around white people helping black people but I didn't/don't have problems with storylines centered around gentiles helping Jews?
Well, one thing is, I haven't seen Schindler's List or any gentile savior film lately.
If I saw Schindler's List today, I might be more bothered by it.
And back in the 1990's, I would have probably exited a white savior film feeling choked up and inspired.
Another thing is, I think I've been so annoyed with white savior mentality that I was throwing away the baby with the bathwater.
Well, I definitely wasn't of the mindset that white people should stop helping black people. But maybe I was thinking they should be 100% quiet about it and not expect any recognition or gratitude.
Now after rethinking things, I think white people (or gentiles) should be 90% quiet about it and be satisfied with a very minimal amount of recognition and gratitude.
What I really wanted to talk about in this post, though, is why I don't like the whole white savior thing. Instead, I ended up rambling on about how I might have been judging it too harshly.
So let me try to get to where I actually wanted to be in the first place.
What do I not like about the white savior mentality?
I think there are two main problems with it.
A) By focusing on the positive, it draws attention away from the negative. And when it comes to things like racism, sexism, and anti-semitism, we really need to be not dropping the ball when it comes to the negative.
If we're so touched by a white family adopting a black football player, we might give much less attention to the white policemen who are shooting black men. Or we might not know that black people are STILL slaves, in prison, via the very unfair and racist criminal justice system.
The white savior complex can give people the idea that racism has ended...thanks to nice white people.
When it comes to racism at this point in our history, I think we should be slightly thankful and inspired, but those feelings should be very overshadowed by our anger, concern, and disgust.
Do I have a right to tell people how to feel?
No. Of course not.
But then I'd say put down your Green Book and watch some things like Roots, The Underground, When They See Us, and 13th. And then see how you're feeling. OR just go to this Google Doc and read some of the stories behind the various petitions.
There's a saying that's been going around. If you're not angry, you're not paying attention.
I agree.
Because, a few years ago, I was one of those people not paying attention.
Michael Brown
Trayvon Martin.
I wasn't paying attention.
I heard the word: Zimmerman. Hoodie. Police. Stand Your Grand, Ferguson.
I knew it was bad stuff. I knew it was wrong.
But until I started paying attention, I was only THINKING it was wrong...in a vague kind of apathetic way. I wasn't feeling it.
Well, and that wasn't the fault of me being blinded by white savior stuff. I think I was more preoccupied with my Australia obsession and other things.
If I had seen any white savior stuff, though....it might have lulled me further into complacency.
Okay and onto my other reason.....
B) White saviors may be narcissists.
These narcissists may not be officially DSM level narcissists. But subclinical can be shitty enough.
For narcissistic white saviors, it's not about the cause. It's about the narcissist.
They want recognition. A LOT of it.
They want gratitude. A LOT of it.
I think one sign of this is that the narcissist show very little concern or interest in how the cause is doing after they've finished doing their part. They made their contribution. They were awesome. Story over.
They're not very interested in updates.
They certainly don't want to hear that the problems are continuing.
There's an attitude of, I donated my time. I donated my money! What more do you want from me?
Well...we just wanted you to know things are still really shitty. We don't necessarily want more of your time or your money. But we want you to listen and understand.
And we'd also like you to stop imagining that you're the main character in this drama!!!!!!
The white savior narcissist downplays the problems of the present and over-glorifies their contributions from the past.
The white savior narcissist cares very little about the actual cause. They care a lot about being one of the main protagonists of the cause.
Well...and I should be fair and open-minded. For some of these narcissists, they didn't do work just in the past. They may be helping in the present as well. But they're the ones who have to share stories of all or most of their good deeds.
Their Instagram is splattered with selfies taken at protests.
They forward emails of praise and thanks they've received to all their family and friends.
They write long overdramatic emails about how they have helped someone; then to try to soften the braggingness, they add a bit about feeling changed and inspired by the person they helped.
All of this is much less awful when the person truly cares about the cause. I think there are people who can truly care about and work hard for a cause while, at the same time, being overly needy of attention and adoration.
It's much more awful when the person doesn't really give a shit about the cause. OR...when the person pretends, in public, to be inspired by the people they're helping while in private they act disgusted. There's an attitude of, These damn losers would be completely lost if people like me weren't helping them.
And maybe this mindset is partly the fault of the white savior or gentile savior tropes. Maybe we'd have less of the above attitude if we'd put more focus on antisemitism stories where Jews are the main protagonists and more racism stories where Black people are the main protagonists.
Or maybe it wouldn't help.
Maybe some people are going to always gravitate towards the white savior stories, because it feels more comfortable to them and more rewarding. But I think there are a lot of other, stronger, people that are open to seeking out movies, shows, books, etc. that turn away from the white savior (or gentile savior) narrative.
On the other hand...when some of us become angry to the point that we've lost all hope and love, a tiny dose of the white savior trope might be the medicine we need. Well....unless we've become too cynical, and it just pisses us off even more.
Read my novel: The Dead are Online
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