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Comparing The White Savior Complex In The Film The Help, Directed By Tate Taylor

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The white savior complex is a trope that occurs in film when a white character (or characters) will rescue non-white characters from situations that harm them and their community. The white savior trope can be seen in films from decades ago and films from just a few years back. An example of such would be the 2011 film The Help directed by Tate Taylor. It stars Emma Stone as Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan, a young white woman who strives to write and publish a book filled with the experiences and stories of the African American maids of white women during the civil rights era in Jackson, Mississippi. After viewing The Help, it becomes clear that the auteur had the intention of making a film about different races and cultures working together to overcome the adversities of racism and segregation. The auteur conveys this message plainly for his …show more content…

Celia is the only one who wants to hire her. Right off the bat, we have a white savior complex happening because Celia is saving her from unemployment. When Minny gets hired, Celia informs her that her husband does not know about Minny, and she wants to keep it a secret. Minny is fearful about Celia’s husband finding out, but Celia tells her that she just wants to make her husband think that she can do what Minny does on her own. In other words, Celia wants to take the credit for what Minny will do for her. This relates to the quote by hooks, “When race and ethnicity become commodified as resources for pleasure, the culture of specific groups, as well as the bodies of individuals, can be seen as constituting an alternative playground where members of dominating races…affirm their power-over in intimate relations with the Other” (hooks 367). Here, Minny becomes a resource for cleaning and cooking, to which Celia uses at her own advantage to make herself look like a perfect wife for her

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