White Messiah Stereotypes

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White Messiah in Movies When people vote the most famous Hollywood movie in 2009, most of them pick the movie, Avatar. Over 40 million people watched the movie. Some people like the Avatar because of the beautiful graphic design and showing a wonderful planet. However, others see the movie as a racist movie. Why? In Race Relations Light Years from Earth, Mitu Sengupta, the author of the article, assumes that Hollywood shows patterns to market their films that could produce stereotypes such as race and gender stereotypes. The “White Messiah” stereotype can be seen in the Hollywood movies. The best example of the “White Messiah” movie is Avatar. Avatar is a racist film because Jake Sully, a former U.S. Marine in the movie, stands for native aliens and fights against the U.S. army like a “White Messiah.” This means white characters always save nonwhite characters from dangers. Some people might say that Hollywood helps directors to develop and create better movies; however, Hollywood movies are still stuck in simplistic roles and …show more content…

If Sangupta sees this movie, she would mention that Native Japanese soldiers need nothing from Algren. Samurais don’t have military technology like Gatling guns and cannons. However, they have “swords and arrows” that can be used properly in their forest, a place without trees and obstacles, rather than in the open battle field. In addition, In Avatar and the fable of the white Messiah, Gabriela Garcia, a freelance writer, assumes that “It popularizes the idea that whites can choose a culture to ‘help’ as they see fit, and that they can even dominate it as its hero.” Because every “White Messiah” film makes racial stereotypes that the white character always becomes a hero, the Hollywood movies are stuck in the simplistic rules and trigger racial

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