Did you hear that Lupita Nyong’o has been cast as Helen of Troy in Christopher Nolan’s upcoming Odyssey flick? Of course you have. Because the usual chorus of salty folk won’t let you not know. The face that launched a thousand ships, has launched a thousand takes. So I figure, why can’t I have one? Let’s go!
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Last week, Salon magazine’s David Sirota penned an article titled, “Oscar Loves a White Savior.” In it, Sirota noted that “If a movie features white people rescuing people of color from their plight, odds are high an Oscar will follow”–singling out current Oscar contender Lincoln and showing ten others in the past three decades that have done much the same. On some sites, and even CNN, the article was met with surprise, shock and (of course) spasms of denial. However, if anyone is unaware of the white savior motif, which has become a Hollywood staple, it’s only because of its troubling normalcy.
Phenderson Djèlí Clark 