214/365

that was a great movie. i could tell throughout
the film that she would feel good about the on screen
charity and colorblindness of the family.
my twelve year old had selected the film for the night
and she chose the one about an american football player
who overcomes an impoverished upbringing to play in the nfl
with the help of his adoptive (white) parents.

they’re such great people
she would say throughout the film,
as i cringed at the scenes depicting
the main character’s impoverished background.

but i held my tongue.
let her watch it and make meaning
on her own. wait to see what she might
recognise on her own. wanting her to
appreciate love and care of a family
looking out for someone in need,
but twelve years old or not
she needs to see beyond
the glimmer of charity in movies
designed to make
white people
feel good
about beng
good white
people.

have you ever heard of the term trope?
we discussed as a family, the fifteen year old now
involved: like a cliche? a stereotype?
it’s a reoccurring theme or idea.
they exist in film and a common one
is the white saviour trope.  

the white saviour trope is when
a white character rescues non-white characters
from unfortunate circumstances. when we see
the non-white characters as only victims,
needing the help of the white saviour.

These films don’t give us the full picture of the
black experience. they are not stories about
black people by black people.

she gets a bit defensive.
she’s not a big fan of feedback
or being told her choices aren’t great.
but it’s a true story, dad!

there are elements that are based
on real events and people, but the way
this story was told was to make white people
feel good about themselves instead of
looking at the complexity of race.
we can say it’s a good movie and still
criticise it for being a lazy trope.

i’m not sure how much of tonight’s lesson
will stick. i may have taken poetic licence
and wrote more here than what was actually
spoken, but we’re not gonna watch the blind side
and not mention the glaring elephant in the room.

critical viewing starts as soon as we consume media.
this was just the planting of a vernacular she will need
to make sense of the world and be powerful in it.  
words like trope and white saviour will bloom
into bigger words like
equity and justice.