I say that it does not count. Being Jewish very often counts as being white.
And plus, I mean, based on the example only, I think that saying that Jews were only there to get tortured makes no sense, because it's the Holocaust.
Edited by Playing_with_boy
Well, I think the issue here is that the trope has negative connotations but like most tropes are neutral. I would also suggest that White Man's Burden usually involves teaching someone, not saving them from immediate danger.
Avatar? Honestly, I don't remember any instance of that trope there.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Closest I can think of is the Corrupt Corporate Executive saying that the Na'vi rejected anything the Earthlings had to trade (food, technology, medicine) and not really understanding it. Which isn't really the same thing.
Found a Youtube Channel with political stances you want to share? Hop on over to this page and add them.
Green Book? This discussion is from 2015 but this should be updated.
Friendly Neighborhood Geek
Is it just me, or do there only seem to be Unfortunate Implications when the helper is white, but hardly ever when the helpee is? Double Standard much?
Edited by Nanuq Hide / Show Replies
I agree, a lot of these examples just seem like a retelling of My Fair Lady, but with the poor person being from a minority.
How can you edit examples? How about Green Book? Oscar bait for sure, which was also called the opposite of My Fair Lady of this year.
Would Doctors Without Borders and similar organizations fit the bill? I'm not saying that all members of said organizations are white, obviously, but it's still people from a more privileged background going to places with altogether different cultures and helping out.
Hide / Show Replies
I doubt we should include real life examples other than one's applying to "fiction" (Biblical, the Toussaint movie, etc.). Why? Because this trope is about a stock plot where we're supposed to sympathize with the white hero for saving the black man. It's based on the position within a story. Not to mention that the trope's name pretty much means that we'll get tons of natter.
One thing's for sure, the Hancock example does not belong; he's the main character!
Fight. Struggle. Endure. Suffer. LIVE.
Two of the big parts of this trope is that the white character gets development but the minority character doesn't, and how the white character brings the minority character out of their culture into white culture. So a story about Doctors Without Borders wouldn't need to be this - it could quite easily have development about wherever they're going to, and they aren't pulling people out of their culture as they are helping them to live in their own culture.
Similarly, a white record producer that helps a hip-hop group get started and gives them a free pass on their first album because he likes their music wouldn't need to be this - he could just be a white fan of hip-hop who liked what he heard.
It also certainly wouldn't apply to a white character who helps a black character for a few moments because the black character asked, they'd just be a Nice Guy and have an honest wish to help.
"Did you expect somebody else?"
I'm not really sure if this is a Broken Aesop. It's a Warped Aesop for sure, but the message is intact. It would only break the main message by having the white character's efforts prove pointless or harmful.
hashtagsarestupid
I'm not really sure if this is a Broken Aesop. It's a Warped Aesop for sure, but the message is intact. It would only break the main message by having the white character's efforts prove pointless or harmful.
hashtagsarestupid
Does Schindler's List belong here?
The example has been added before and removed because it was deemed objectively innacurate, and now it has been re-added again.
IMHO it is not a valid example as for the reason that The Holocaust was targeting people who were white Europeans too, even if the rhetoric back then portrayed them as sub-human. And also by the people's who added it logic then any instance when a privileged individual helps an oppressed group would be this trope even if they do it for basic decency.
Hide / Show Replies