The White Savior Trope, Explained

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. If you like this video, subscribe to our channel or support us on Patreon:   / thetake  

Follow The Take on Instagram:   / thisisthetake  , Twitter:   / thisisthetake  , and Facebook:   / thisisthetake  

We are The Take (formerly ScreenPrism).

12 Angry Men (1957)
13th (2016)
A Time to Kill (1996)
Amistad (1997)
Avatar (2009)
Black Panther (2018)
BlacKkKlansman (2018)
Black Like Me (1964)
Blindspotting (2018)
Blood Diamond (2006)
Broken Arrow (1950)
Cool Runnings (1993)
Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
Dances with Wolves (1990)
Dangerous Minds (1995)
Freedom Writers (2007)
Get Out (2017)
Glory (1989)
Glory Road (2006)
Gran Torino (2008)
Green Book (2018)
Half Nelson (2006)
Hardball (2001)
Hidden Figures (2016)
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
Isle of Dogs (2018)
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Lilies of the Field (1963)
Malcolm X (1992)
Mississippi Burning (1988)
Music of the Heart (1999)
Pocahontas (1995)
Selma (2014)
Sorry to Bother You (2018)
The Blind Side (2009)
The Green Mile (1999)
The Hate U Give (2018)
The Help (2011)
The Last Samurai (2003)
The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000)
The Principal (1987)
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Top Five (2014)
When They See Us (2019)
Black-ish (2014-)
Broad City (2014-2019)
Dear White People (2017-)
Insecure (2016-)
Little Fires Everywhere (2020)
Mrs. America (2020-)
Never Have I Ever (2020)
Ramy (2019-)
Do the Right Thing (1989)
The Big Sick (2017)