Dismantling saviorism and white supremacy in film from the perspective of philosophy.
Background
When the Civil Rights Movement (also known as the African American Civil Rights Movement) aimed at ending racial segregation and discrimination manifested in slavery practices against African-American society began in the early 1950s, awareness of the threat of latent danger and humanistic violence began to emerge among the public. Martin Luther King Jr., who appeared in public to deliver the speech "I Have A Dream", and the ratification of the Civil Rights Act in 1968 gave hope for the end of racism. Even today, racism is even more internalized in people's lives, not only in the United States but also in the global sphere. Violence based on race and media coverage that is still racially biased is rife. The history of slavery leaves a 'legacy' in the form of an idea of white society's superiority or commonly called white supremacy(1).
Challenging White Supremacy Workshop(2) held in San Francisco, California, United States produced a definition of white supremacy as an institutionalized practice:
"White Supremacy is a historically based, institutionally perpetuated system of exploitation and oppression of continents, nations, and peoples of color by white peoples and nations of the European continent, for the purpose of maintaining and defending a system of wealth, power, and privilege." (Martinez, 2004).
The existence of an internalized system ensures that racism affects all walks of life of society and will continue as long as there is no other system that can offset its dominance. Elizabeth Martinez explained how to interpret white supremacy as a system that affects all aspects of people's lives,
"The most common mistake people make when they talk about racism is to think it is a collection of prejudices and individual acts of discrimination. They do not see that it is a system, a web of interlocking, reinforcing institutions: economic, military, legal, educational, religious, and cultural. As a system, racism affects every aspect of life in a country. By not seeing that racism is systemic (part of a system), people often personalize or individualize racist acts. For example, they will reduce racist police behavior to "a few bad apples" who need to be removed, rather than seeing it exists in police departments all over the country and is fundamental to society. This mistake has real consequences: refusing to see police brutality as part of a system, and that the system needs to be changed, means that the brutality will continue" (Martinez, 2004).
In short, white supremacy is understood to have a role as a social control mechanism by determining who has the right to be involved or not in institutions and dominant cultures based on skin color. There is a strong connection between white supremacy and privilege. It allows access to power, fundamental human rights, and various benefits that determine the economic class and property ownership, the right to vote and position before the law, access to education, social mobility, and public treatment. Of course, where there is a group of people who have the privilege, there will be efforts to maintain the status quo. White privilege is obtained not because white people are entitled or deserving of it but only because of their skin color.
Francis E. Kendall in Understanding White Privilege revealed, "For those of us who are white, one of our privileges is that we see ourselves as individuals," just people, "part of the human race. Most of us are clear, however, that people whose skin is not white are members of a race." (3) The fact that the privilege is given for free raises the possibility of discriminatory behavior that casually takes place in society.
One of the channels of white supremacy is through mass media, one of which is film. The film has become a medium for delivering messages that can easily touch all society levels, both from various economic classes, age, gender, and social strata. Experts understand this as one reason that film has the power and can influence the audience to the stage of shaping or changing perspectives (Sobur, 2004: 127). The film reflects reality, but the film can also influence someone in interpreting reality. The dramatization of daily life provides fantasy, an ideal life picture, life values, even ideologies that often affect the way a person thinks and his decision-making process.
One of the manifestations of white supremacy in the film is the white savior narrative. It appears in feature films such as The Help (2011), Last Samurai (2003), Django Unchained (2012), and 12 Years of Slave (2013), where the story centered on POC groups that depend on the help of white figures to get out of trouble. The films received praise from critics and awards to raise the issue around the struggle of minority groups. The cast was rewarded with various awards for acting that riveting in the eyes of the public. However, one thing that often escapes attention is the presence of a white savior narrative that is centered and normalizes white supremacy through POC representation that cannot get out of social, cultural, or everyday problems without the guidance and leadership of white actors (Cammarota, 2011; Hughey, 2010; Shome, 1996). White Savior is a film narrative that tells the story of a white protagonist who takes responsibility for 'saving' the POC group from racial discrimination (Hughey, 2010). This narrative is centered and normalizes the white experience through POC representation that cannot rid itself of cultural and social marginalization without the guidance or leadership of white figures (Cammarota, 2010; Hughey, 2010: Shome, 1996). Research on white savior films is significant because it contributes to racist discourse that supports white supremacy by representing POC as a culturally and socially incapable group and cannot overcome their marginal situations. Norman Denzin in The Savior Trope and the Modern Meanings of Whiteness explains more about the effect of the white savior's narrative on audience perceptions of racism,
"Given the diverse locations in which the white savior resonates, the anxious allure of saviorism has saturated our contemporary logic. This trope is so widespread that varied intercultural and interracial relations are often guided by a logic that racializes and separates people into redeemers (whites) and those redeemed or in need of redemption (non-whites). Such imposing patronage enables an interpretation of non-white characters and culture as essentially broken, marginalized, and pathological. At the same time, whites can emerge as messianic characters that easily fix the non-white pariah with their superior moral and mental abilities". (Denzin, N. 2001)
How significant is the presence of white figures who feel they have a responsibility to 'improve things' and are willing to take extra effort and even do something illegal to 'save' the minority groups around them? That turning point can also be seen as the essential milestone in the films because there are white figures who sacrifice to save the POC. Then, to what extent can the stories of POC's struggles be honestly brought to the big screen? This means putting the white population as antagonists, perpetrators of slavery, and massive racial discrimination in the 60s, without feeling the need to prove that not all whites are discriminatory; by bringing up anomalous characters? Or is this narrative just aimed at loosening feelings of guilt that might have become an outdated and boring issue to the white audience while watching the film?
There is a gap between das sollen (which should occur) and das sein (a concrete phenomenon. That white supremacy is one of the products of racism, which is openly agreed to be fought by the global community. in casual pop culture content, in this case, films that are consistently consumed and seemingly ignored.
Basic Philosophy of White Supremacy
There are many philosophical definitions put forward by experts. Hatta (1966) said that the notion of philosophy does not need to be discussed first because people will understand their own when they have learned it. Langeveld agreed by stating that the more philosophical a person was, the more he would understand what philosophy was. Philosophy questions everything in human life; philosophy briefly looks for answers or truth. This search process can be broken down into three significant parts to examine the problem philosophically:
a. Ontology
Ontology comes from the Greek language, which is on or ontos meaning "there", and logos means "science" (Surajiyo, 2008). According to Jalalludin and Abdullah (2006). ontology is also often identified with metaphysics, which is often interpreted as the first proto-philosophy or philosophy. The discussion includes the nature of things, causes and effects, substance and accidents, fixed and changing, existence and essence, inevitability and relativity, possibilities and impossibilities, and the like. The ontology questions then become important points in philosophy to discuss reality. What is questioned is the truth of reality, is reality limited to the material realm, or is there something behind it? The problem of white supremacy does occur in society and has been a debate for a long time. There is an ideology of dualism present. That white supremacy is recognized as a product of racism and should have been erased. Nevertheless, the reality proves that white supremacy thrives through its manifestation as a white savior narrative in the film.
b. Epistemology
Epistemology is the realm of philosophy that studies whether knowledge is right or not. According to Hardono Hadi (1994), epistemology is a branch of philosophy that tries to determine the nature and limits of knowledge and accountability for statements about the knowledge possessed. Epistemology has two core problems: regarding the source of knowledge and whether or not knowledge is correct. The phenomenon of white supremacy is known through white savior narrative films that are distributed globally. There are many criticisms made, even literacy that discusses the white savior narrative. Proving that this
phenomenon has become a significant problem in society.
c. Axiology
Axiology learns about the value of knowledge, which is how knowledge is used. Bramel (2009) divides the three parts of axiology. First, moral conduct in which breeds ethics. Second, aesthetic expression. Third, socio-political life. According to Wibisono (in Surajiyo, 2009), axiology is valued as a benchmark of truth, ethics, and morals as a normative basis for research and exploration and the application of science. The white savior narrative phenomenon arises because of the dominant belief regarding the nature of white people and POC. There are normative values held by the community based on many things, including the carrying out of the colonialist culture that places whites above the POC.
Dismantling White Supremacy in Film
According to Newman (1997), there are three approaches to studying philosophical issues: positivism, interpretive, and critical. In this essay, the researcher uses a critical paradigm. The critical paradigm believes that humans' reality is artificial and formed by political, economic, social, cultural, gender role division, and other aspects that are fostered over a long period (Hamad, 2004). The basic assumption is that there is control from the dominant party behind the reality of society. Critical paradigms initiate efforts to sensitize society to social systems that marginalize certain groups and dehumanize them (Fakih, 2001). As Foucault said, "knowledge is power", which means anyone who has access to knowledge and dissemination will hold power. This means that discrimination and marginalization of particular groups of people occur through a process of hegemony, namely manipulating society's way of thinking by the dominant party who holds access to knowledge, economics, and politics.
Supremacy means the highest authority. It can also be interpreted as a superior condition among authority, power, and status. So it can be understood that white supremacy is an ideology of race that dominates the whole world. The strength of ideology lies in its ability to facilitate collective domination, making inequality understandable and acceptable to both upper and lower positions in the social order (Lewis, 2003). So ideology can normalize the process of inequality to be accepted as natural and minimize opposition. Racial ideology is a racial-based perspective used to explain and even justify the dominant race and challenge the existing status quo (Bonilla-Silva, 2006).
Domination is an abuse of power that intentionally brings about inequality (Van Dijk, 1993). So in societies with dominant racial ideologies of white supremacy, white people receive unequal access to essential pillars of life such as politics, law, economics, culture, knowledge, and others (Mills, 2003). Even white supremacy is understood as a political, economic, and cultural system where whites have abundant control over power, material resources. Ideas about white superiority and privileges are widespread, and the relationship between white domination and non-white groups is shown in various everyday social institutions and situations (Ansley, 1989).
The white savior narration phenomenon can be investigated using John Fiske's semiotics to analyze signs and symbols in audiovisual works with three levels of social codes or three levels of meaning with various components:
1. Level of Reality; includes physical appearance, clothing, make-up, environment, behavior or habits, words or speech or dialogue, body language or gestures, expressions, and sounds.
2. Level of Representation; includes camera or angle and shot, lighting or lighting, editing, and music.
3. Level of Ideology; includes signs related to an ideology relevant to the object of research under study. The method can reveal how the white savior narrative is articulated in scenes in the film and the signs in it.
White Supremacy Can Be Dismantled
From the explanation above, it can be concluded that the existence of white supremacy, which is perpetuated through the narrative of white saviors in films and consumed casually and continuously by the global community, is a problem and can be dismantled. This phenomenon proves dualism in society and takes place because of the existence of a dominant racial ideology due to colonialism about how whites are the superior race of the POC. That the presence of film is an 'artifact' that documents the dynamism and growth of reality in the community. However, the film, which is called a reflection of reality, can also construct it. Ideas, messages, even agendas owned by producers, can be easily internalized in films, which are then consumed by the wider community. The film's elements that represent reality are then understood by the audience as a complete reality that is lived in everyday life and shapes the perception of what is real and what is not.
(1)The term 'white' refers to a white society or commonly called Caucasians. The use of the term 'supremacy' has indicated the control of power from groups with power.
(2) Martinez, Elizabeth. Race: The U.S. Creation Myth and Its Narasie Keeper in Globalized Liberation. Edited by David Solnit. San Francisco: City Light Books.
(3) Kendall, Francis. 2002. Understanding White Privilege. [internet] Accessed May 3, 2017. http://www.cpt.org/files/Undoing%20Racism%20%20Understanding%20 White% 20Privilege% 20-% 20Kendall.pdf
Written in 2017.
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