One of the most telling pieces of a culture and society is how it presents itself in popular culture. Literally the culture of the people, media has the power not just to entertain but also reflect and influence social movements happening at the time. Even pieces that may occur in a different timeline, like historical and futuristic settings, can still be a teller of the society in which the film was produced. Oftentimes, films are used as an outlet for processing trauma or working through emotional histories to gain closure for particular groups. Specifically in the past few years, the racist history of the United States and lingering racial tensions have produced quite a few films dealing with white guilt using various methods. However, many of these films rather than trying to ‘make up for’ past horrors have pushed the blame onto ‘other’ white people and created an image of a white savior. In recognizing the faults of people in the past, these films have a tendency to select a white hero who is woken from their racism, recognizing their faults and here to save those who were oppressed by the very horrors they themselves were a part of. Rather than remedying the past harm, these narratives are meant mainly for white audiences to satisfy white guilt while still promoting the racist colonial ideas they are trying to fight against. 

Before we dive into what white saviorism looks like in film, let’s address what defines the concept in general. While it is often used as a trope in film and other forms of popular media, white saviorism is a theory that first manifested itself in real human interaction. Stemming from the colonial idea of the white man’s burden, the necessity for white people to bring Western Christian ideology to major BIPOC areas and thus civilize them as expressed in Rudyard Kipling’s 1899 poem, the white savior complex casts BIPOC communities as underprivileged and passive receptors of white benevolence. In modern culture, white saviors are often equivocated with things like international missionary or volunteer work in developing countries. While often well-meaning, these kinds of projects can be dehumanizing rather than empowering, giving the mostly wealthy privileged volunteers a chance to feel better about themselves and see those they are helping as lesser than and in need of their superior knowledge.  

Back in the film world, the white savior complex often manifests itself in one of two ways; as the passionate teacher as can be seen through Kevin Costner’s character in McFarland, USA, or as the “Atticus Finch” man of principle who sees the flaws in the system and will fight for those less privileged. In the past few years, the more common form of white savior that has appeared in popular culture is the second option; our hero, the man of principle comes to save the day from his evil peers. 

One of the most commonly addressed films when discussing white saviorism is Tate Taylor’s The Help. Adapted from Kathryn Stockett’s 2009 novel of the same name, The Help follows aspiring author, Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan, in 1960s Jackson, Mississippi. To launch her writing career, Skeeter decides to write about Black maids, or ‘the help’, who work in many Jackson homes. Being written relatively recently, The Help qualifies as a period piece trying to portray racial inequities during the civil rights movement. However, the film has received many critiques for leaning into the white savior trope in the characterization of both of the maids whom Skeeter interviews and Skeeter herself. By having a lone white woman come in and be the savior of these maids, who without her guidance would not have been able to navigate their way out of their unfavorable situation, the story not only degrades the experiences of BIPOC communities during the 1960s but also whitewashes the civil rights movement. The demeaning way in which the maids are characterized has also been criticized as just being racist in general, making the story a much more sugarcoated piece of historical fiction. In positioning Skeeter as the savior of the women she interviews, the film is catered towards a white audience trying to resolve the racist guilt of the mid-twentieth century rather than a story about the struggles of racial injustice in American history. 

Perhaps a less obvious example of white saviorism in film is James Cameron’s 2009 film Avatar. As the top box office earner of all time, Avatar hardly needs an introduction. The gorgeous visuals and stunning special effects follow Jake Sully, a paralyzed veteran who is given the opportunity to travel to the moon Pandora where he is tasked with learning about the native culture. As time goes on, Jake becomes attached to this new place and helps the locals rebel against the destructive people of Earth. Broken down, the similarities between The Help and Avatar can be seen in the bones of the two films; curious white protagonist sets off to accomplish some sort of task for their own personal gain. Once they see the injustice being served, they learn to disavow their ways and lead the marginalized group in rebelling against the oppressors. At the end of Avatar, not only does Jake lead the fight against the colonizers, he becomes the leader of the Na’vi, a sentiment that seems… a bit disturbing from a white savior lens. The narrative implies that without Jake’s superior intelligence and skill, that of a white man, the Na’vi would never have been able to save themselves from the invaders. On top of that, Jake, who is foreign and new to the culture, is best fitted among them to lead. While Avatar doesn’t deal explicitly with race, or at least not human races, the film can still pretty easily be read as such, particularly with Jake’s character and his interactions with the majorly white militaristic group he is initially a part of. 

Both Avatar and The Help portray a ‘white savior,’ a lone white person who has turned from their evil racist ways and seen the light and beauty of marginalized people and in doing so, uses their superior skill and status to lift that group from their unfortunate position. Along with many other popular films like Greatest Showman, Dances with Wolves, Django Unchained, The Great Wall, and more, these films are created more for a white audience as a vehicle to resolve white guilt rather than to really tell a story about and for a marginalized community. In the age of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (D.E.I.) media about and around racial injustice has been coming out with increasing speed. However, the border between white savior narratives and films about racial inequality has still yet to be fully defined. Rather than calling attention to an issue or a painful history, these films mostly serve as a pat on the back for white viewers, leaving many BIPOC communities in the dust. While it seems that we are moving in the right direction, seeing more films created for and centered around experiences of BIPOC communities in the US, still recognizing the negative effect of white saviors and how their existence impacts popular culture is vital for working through painful history, celebrating and representing various cultures, and progressing as a society.