White Savior - The Forbidden Kingdom
It's really hard to think of what a woke White character would look good in and still not seem to be trying too hard not to be woke. If I think of them in terms of they're the opposite of a White savior it's hard to show what that looks like. The white savior character always has an agenda. The character is working towards helping people they've identified as other to feel good about themselves. Which is why we see so many White savior films end in personal fulfilment for the White character. I guess my idea of the ideal woke character is someone who mindfully and informedly speaks on and handles race relations while not belittling anyone else, even those of their own race. Meanwhile the white savior is a stark contrast to their cartoonishly racist peers. I would say the difference between the woke character and the white savior is that the white savior helps people because they're others, while the woke character helps because they're people.
How does the "White Savior" figure help keep a white-dominant culture stable/reinforce notions and ideologies of white supremacy?
The White savior perpetuates White dominant ideologies through power dynamics. When someone helps another it implies power. The power to do more than others. Often in these films the White character is put socially above the minority in a boss and sidekick capacity. The White savior often leaves minorities as passive actors in their own stories. These great accomplishments in historical movies are taken away from minorities and attributed mostly to the efforts of Whites. Often minorities are portrayed as helpless or they don't know any better on how to get better. Using this power the White hegemonic thought is passed to other races. They follow the White example to success. Peoples seen as exotic are tamed and succeed when they conform. What's supposed to pass for benevolence is really a system of control.
Think of a film or show you're familiar with and examine the white characters: are any of them functioning as a White Savior? Who are they "saving," and from what? How does the White Savior character's presence in the show affect our reading of the non-white characters?
To the film's credit he's not this civilized White man who comes and tames the savage ancient Chinese villagers and gathers them together to overthrow their oppressors. He's supposed to be just a dude with a good heart. Honestly the character could have been of any race and it would still make sense and probably would have turned out better. It's just the fact that China and the world had to be saved by this Boston White boy who starts the movie off by selling out and getting his mentor shot. Of course, by the end, the White guy is the one who eventually solves the conflict and saves everyone.
The movie has some very strong signs of being a White savior movie. The story is about returning the staff to the monkey king to him so he can overthrow the evil tyrant. Even though the story is about the monkey king, Jet Li's character really just serves to teach the lead more Kung Fu and die tragically to motivate them. He's passive in his own rescue story. Jet and Jackie both exist as the magical minority in the story who teach the White savior to succeed. The love interest is a stereotypical lotus blossom in her own right who also exists just to train and motivate the lead with her death. Additionally the white savior is fulfilled by the end. He was obsessed with martial arts movies and by the end is a master, able to beat up all the Boston bullies who picked on him. His love interest dies but then he meets a girl back in the future who looks just like her and it's assumed that he'll just take her instead.
The most egregious offence on the White savior list that the movie breaks is that the White character is there to give the white perspective for the audience. I think that's the only reason it stars a White character. The movie had to do well in the US and China so it had to be accessible to both. To it's credit some of the fights have good choreography. The White lead really doesn't have much character beyond being a fish out of water, which I guess many non Chinese viewers would be in that scenario, especially in ancient China. Normally the story of a White savior is set in the past so that Whites can qualify the ignorance they see on screen as being then not now. The Forbidden Kingdom doubly does this by having a time travel scenario so that there's no way the lead could be informed on the culture. Regardless, his ignorance doesn't really paint him or Whites in the best light, and it puts into question the characters that believe in him.
By the end everyone lives happily ever after. The movie made a profit while basically being forgotten after it came out. This wasn't everything it could have been but it could have been way worse. Also the actor ended up in a relationship with an Asian woman and I think that's funny. The guy wasn't just pretending to have yellow fever for the movie
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