LIVE FROM MEMPHIS

I have been hesitant to write on this topic for some time, but I have to get this off my chest. As an African-American man, I have a problem with the whole “White Savior” image that is all over American cinema. I am sure that my readers out there know the plots I speak of all too well. Some kind-hearted European American shows up at just the right time and rescues the poor minority youth from their cruel existence. Almost as long as I have been watching films, I have been subjected to this, and it’s usually “based on a true story”.  Whether it was Michelle Pfeiffer in Dangerous Minds giving hope and opening the minds of poor inner-city minority youth, or Hillary Swank doing the same in Freedom Writers, the White Savior is there to show us poor, misguided minorities that we can read and dream and reach for the stars because, darn it, poor minorities are people too! All we need is some nice white person who’s a rebel or an unorthodox thinker or a grumpy old man, such as Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino. Well, if cinema is any indication, the poor minorities would perish were it not for the White Savior. And on behalf of all minorities everywhere, all I can say is “We showl’ is appreciative of y'all White folks helping us out, boss!” As a matter of fact, if I’m “saved” again, I might just be ill.

^{Clint Eastwood and Bee Yang in Gran Torino.} 

Maybe I’m being a paranoid Black man, but I am beginning to think that film companies latch onto these stories to illustrate how “helpless” other minorities are. OK, we get it. We got it in Wildcats with Goldie Hawn. We got it in Dangerous Minds, Freedom Writers, Sunset Park, Glory Road, and countless other sports- or school-related films. Hell, we even got the message back in the 1970s on the White Shadow TV show. To be honest, I have enjoyed most of these shows. Since many of them were based on truth, I gave them a pass for several years. After watching Gran Torino, however, it hit me. I thought the film was okay, even though Clint Eastwood was the only performance worth talking about. They could have at least found some talented “weak minority” actors. But a few days after watching the film, I realized that I had seen yet another White Savior story—the difference being that this time, the White man saved the poor Asian people from the bad Asian people. I had the realization while discussing the film with a colleague. “They did it to me again!” I said. Does it always have to be the poor minorities that need saving? Yes, I know that in most films they learn from each other and gain a greater understanding of the traits that we all share and hold hands and sing "Kumbaya", blah blah blah.  But is it too much to ask for films where minorities save themselves?

Not every film where a White person enriches the lives of a Black person falls into this category. In Half Nelson, a cocaine-addicted middle school teacher (Ryan Gosling) forms a bond with a Black girl (Shareeka Epps) and tries to keep her from following in the footsteps of her drug-dealing older brother. They actually help each other, and even though the White character is the teacher, their relationship is pretty balanced. It's creative, ironic, and well-written. I can accept a movie like that, but I would really like to see more films where the minorities help themselves. The last films that I can recall that fell into that category were 2004's Coach Carter, and 2007's Pride. There has to be more stories where a “person of color” mentored other younger non-Europeans. In fact, I recently learned of a Washington, DC principal named Steve Perry who uses a tough love approach to keep the kids in his school in line and out of trouble. He has a practically non-existent drop-out rate, and everybody who has ever graduated from his school went on to college. Why isn’t somebody writing his story? 

All I am asking for is fair representation on the big screen. I am not saying that I do not appreciate the contribution that anyone has made in the lives of our youth, regardless of color. I just don’t want my nieces and nephews and other little minority children to think they have to wait for a mythical White Savior to rescue them from the ills of the ghetto. C’mon, people, we have Black President! You don’t think he had some positive Black role models in his life? Let’s show the other side! Please, Hollywood, give the “White Saviours” a rest. Otherwise, I’ll be forced to start watching Steven Seagal films, and nobody wants to see that.