History Main / WhiteMaleLead

Compare GirlShowGhetto, which is probably the main reason why it's White Male Lead and not White Female Lead.

[[quoteright:250:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/outsourcedtvshow_193.JPG]]

[[caption-width-right:250:Guess who the main character is.]]

* Universal has planned a film based on the Japanese historical legend of the 47 Ronin starring... [[http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118033107?haasFormId=98003e0c-be4d-4ba0-886d-07c949a13db8&haasPage=0 Keanu Reeves]].
** Well, Keanu Reeves ''is'' half-Asian.

* ''TheForbiddenKingdom'' takes place in ancient China, but its lead is a white male from the present day. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Forbidden_Kingdom#Critical_reception One reviewer]] said "As a Hollywood blockbuster, ''The Forbidden Kingdom'' offers no apologies for its American-Centrism. In fact, it wears it with pride like a badge of honor."

* ''TheLastAirbender'' is an example of a WhiteMaleLead born from a {{RaceLift}}ed character from the source material.
* ''Come See The Paradise'' is a story about Japanese internment camps centered on Dennis Quaid.

* Cracked parodies this in "ATrailerForEveryAcademyAwardWinningMovieEver" with Wealthy, Successful Protagonist.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* ''{{Outsourced}}''. Despite taking place in India, the lead is a white male.
* ''{{Glee}}'' has a very diverse cast but the stars of the show always seem to be the white, heterosexual couple Finn and Rachel. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] by Emma at one point.
* ''{{Series/Heroes}}'': The show has a very diverse cast and many of the minority characters have their own storylines. However, its minority and female characters are often KilledOffForReal or PutOnABus. Also, the spotlight is almost always on the Bennet and Petrelli families.
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* Any film in which the lead can fit the description of MightyWhitey. DancesWithWolves, TheLastSamurai,Avatar etc.
* Universal has planned a film based on the Japanese historical legend of the 47 Ronin starring...[[http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118033107?haasFormId=98003e0c-be4d-4ba0-886d-07c949a13db8&haasPage=0 Keanu Reeves]].

* TheForbiddenKingdom takes place in ancient China, but its lead is a white male from the present day. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Forbidden_Kingdom#Critical_reception One reviewer]] said "As a Hollywood blockbuster, The Forbidden Kingdom offers no apologies for its American-Centrism. In fact, it wears it with pride like a badge of honor."

* In the original novel ''OneFlewOverTheCuckoosNest'', the narrator is the Native American Chief Bromden. The film version centers on the white male Randle P. McMurphy without any narration from the Chief.
[[/folder]]

Tropers are reminded that '''[[TropesAreNotBad tropes are not always bad]]'''. Many works with white male leads have been praised for their positive portrayals of minority characters.

* Any film in which the lead can fit the description of MightyWhitey. DancesWithWolves, TheLastSamurai, etc.

* ''{{Series/Heroes}}'': The show has a very diverse cast and many of the minority characters have their own storylines. However, its minority and female characters are often KilledOffForReal or PutOnABus. Also, the spotlight is almost always on the Bennet and Petrelli families (though it's debatable whether Peter and Nathan are white).

No matter how diverse a show's cast is or how positive its portrayal of minorities, the lead character will almost always be a conventionally attractive white male. Common wisdom in the Western entertainment industry is that a show or film needs a lead character with whom the largest possible swatch of audiences can identify with, and such a character must be a white male. There are, of course, shows and films with female leads, black leads, Hispanic leads, female black leads, etc. but those works are almost always targeted towards the specific demographics of their leads. If a producer wants his show to be appealing across all demographics, chances are he'll go with a white male lead.

This trope's name could arguably be expanded to [[TropesAreFlexible White Male Christian Heterosexual Lead]]. If a lead character deviates from any of these "default" traits, then their show is probably targeted for that specific demographic.

Stories with non-white leads are often subjected to {{Race Lift}}s in TV or movie adaptations so that there will be a WhiteMaleLead.

Stories with non-white leads are often subjected to {{Race Lift}}s so that there will be a WhiteMaleLead.

* Universal has planned a film based on the historical/legendary 47 Ronin starring...[[http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118033107?haasFormId=98003e0c-be4d-4ba0-886d-07c949a13db8&haasPage=0 Keanu Reeves]].

This trope's name could arguably be expanded to White Male Christian Heterosexual Lead. If a lead character deviates from any of these "default" traits, then their show is probably targeted for that specific demographic.

[[folder:film]]

Tropers are reminded that '''[[TropesAreNotBad tropes are not always bad]]'''. Many works with white male leads have been praised for their positive portrayals of minority characters.

The WhiteMaleLead is a supertrope of MightyWhitey. The difference is that while the MightyWhitey is a white person who enters a non-white culture and masters ever aspect of it, the WhiteMaleLead can refer to any white male character who is the focus of the story.

To clarify, a WhiteMaleLead does not necessarily have to be in a diverse cast to fit this trope.

The WhiteMaleLead is a supertrope of MightyWhitey.