White People Won't Save You

A podcast that deconstructs the white savior trope in film, and recenters the Black and PoC chaaracters and actors in them.

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Episodes

The Soloist

5 days ago

5 days ago

Oscar season might be over but that doesn't mean we still can't cover some Oscar bait. 2009's The Soloist that has all the makings of an awards season darling: two stars at the height of their power with Robert Downey Jr. an Jamie Foxx, an award winning director and screen writer and a sappy true story. And yet, it feels like a parody. 
We discuss how cruelly this movie treats the unhoused community it seemingly wants to uplift, Jamie's crazy hairline and outfits, and how movies like this seek to win awards through Black pain. 
Announcement: We are finally starting out book club this April! Our first book will be Eve Ewing's Original Sins: The (Mis)education of Black and Native Children and the Construction of American Racism. We will be livestreaming our discussion on IG (@whitepeoplewontsaveyoupod) on April 27th so stay tuned and we hope to see you then! 

Just Cause

Wednesday Mar 05, 2025

Wednesday Mar 05, 2025

Never in the history of this show has a movie caught Jordan and Cameron so off guard. 1994's Just Cause isn't just a wildly racist movie, it actually thinks it's doing the work...until it decides the work is too hard and creates a cartoonishly villainous Black character with the craziest plan we've ever seen in a movie. 
Starring Sean Connery, Laurence Fishburne, Blair Underwood, Ruby Dee, Scarlett Johansson, Ed Wood and somehow more, it follows all the usual twist and turns of your usual 90's thriller until it makes the hardest left turn into "actually this Black man is a psycho and the police were right to beat and castrate him." Yes, you read that right. 
Anyways, we're chugging along and getting ready to launch our book and film clubs coming up this month. Join us on our Discord and Instagram (@whitepeoplewontsaveyoupod) to learn more.  We'll be trying to organize more as the year goes on, but we hope everyone is hanging in there.  We love you and we've got you! 

Dead Bang

Thursday Feb 20, 2025

Thursday Feb 20, 2025

We're back with one from the vaults! Audio on Jordan's end wasn't the best (computer was on deaths door) but the episode itself is a banger...or should we say a Dead Bang...
Anyways, this movie almost feels like a spiritual prequel to another movie we've done, Rebel Ridge, as this time it's Don Johnson going after white supremacist. You can almost imagine his character retiring to the south and becoming a small time racist sheriff if you squint. 
We talk about the bait and switch trailer, the choice to set this at Christmas, and if we can properly rank caucacity anymore given that it's at its peak almost daily now. 
Happy Black History Month! Even though its almost over we will be starting up both are book club and film club at the end of this month so stay tuned for that. Follow us on IG and TikTok at @whitepeoplewontsaveyoupod and hit us up at whitepeoplewontsaveyoupod@gmail.com We'll be back next week as we begin to re-release our episodes that have aged out of the feed, starting with Green Book! 

Nickel Boys

Thursday Jan 30, 2025

Thursday Jan 30, 2025

Finally we get to sit down and talk about one of the most acclaimed movies of 2024, Nickel Boys. Directed by RaMell Ross and based on the Pulitzer Prize winning book by Colson Whitehead, it's a stunning portrait of Black life and incredible piece of filmmaking. 
We discuss the use of POV and how it forces empathy, our theater experiences, and the dreamlike qualities of the film. 
Things are crazy and we hope you're doing okay. We have a couple of things in the works that will hopefully offer some escape and also help give focus. Follow us on @whitepeoplewontsaveyoupod on IG and TikTok for updates on Book Club and Film club as well as Patreon stuff. 

Thursday Jan 09, 2025

We're kicking off the New Year with some absolute foolishness as we discuss the movie where Harry Potter goes undercover as a white supremacist. That's right, we're talking about 2016's Imperium and we're joined by the wonderful Brandon Collins of Medium Popcorn and Drunk Black History. 
We ask why Daniel Radcliffe looks like he's  about to cry in every scene, if the movie understands the difference between all these white supremacist groups, and if the Black friend in the movie ever got a sorry for calling you a nigger at that klan march text. 
Brandon is one of the best out there and he's got something special in the works for this year. His Drunk Black History show is doing some live dates coming up over the next few months and you won't want to miss it! Follow him at @americancollins on Twitter and go to https://www.frodoblackins.com/ to get tickets! And as always, check out Medium Popcorn wherever you get your podcast!
We got big plans for the year, so stay tuned as we put everything together. Everyone out in L.A. stay safe, and we'll see you in two weeks! 

Thursday Dec 05, 2024

Did you ever think you were watching one movie and ended up seeing another? That's the horror our wonderful guest comedian and comic writer Kristal Adams faced, thinking she was going to watch Rescuers Down Under and instead having to sit through Quigley Down Under. 
Kristal joins us to tell her harrowing tale as we break down Tom Selleck's last desperate attempt to make his Indiana Jones dreams come true. We discuss the inherit problems with the Western, Cameron shows off his Alan Rickman impression, and much more. 
Kristal's comic Mutiny: Black Girl Magic is a must read! The second issue just wrapped on Kickstarter and you absolutely need to grab a copy when they drop. She's also co-owner of FairSquare Comics which publishes some amazing books that tell the kinds of stories we need more of. Find everything she has going on at @thedarkkristal on IG and TikTok. 
We've got more episodes dropping soon, including our best of 2024 round ups and our annual Holiday episode. Keep up with everything at @whitepeoplewontsaveyoupod on IG and TIkTok and on our last days of Twitter @white_pod! 

Election/Quincy Jones Tribute

Wednesday Dec 04, 2024

Wednesday Dec 04, 2024

Hello friends! We hope everyone has been hanging in. We ourselves had to take a little break following the election as well as for the Holidays, but we're back to finish the year out strong. 
This particular episode was recorded the week of the election but we thought it might be best to let it sit for a bit, since we're sure many of you are also still getting your heads around everything. We give our thoughts as well as suggest ways to help going into next year. 
We end with a celebration of the genius of Quincy Jones and his contributions to music, film, and culture. 
We'll also be dropping another episode tomorrow along with our 2024 end of year special and holiday special later this month. 
Be well and take care of each other and yourselves as we head into 2025.  

Wednesday Oct 30, 2024

Happy Halloween! As scary as the real world is, we figured everyone could use a break and a really dumb movie, so here's 1993's Ghost Brigade. Also known as Grey Knight, Killing Box, and The Lost Brigade this civil war zombie can't even get the "zombie" or "civil war" part right. 
Joined by the one and only Justina Ireland (Amazing Spider-Man, Star Wars: The High Republic, Dread Nation) joins us to discuss Ray Wise's questionable relationship with his horse, Cynda Williams as the magical voodoo enslaved woman, and much more! 
Justina is the first woman to work on a run of Amazing Spider-Man and you should absolutely pick it up on November 16th! Also check out her website for more books and info!
And you can find us on all the socials (@whitepeoplewontsaveyoupod on IG and TikTok and @white_pod on Twitter) where we'll be dropping more fun stuff in the near future. Take care of yourselves this upcoming week and we'll see you soon. 

Wednesday Oct 09, 2024

Ride with us down the Mississippi as we speak with the award winning duo of David F. Walker and Marcus Kwame Anderson about 1993's The Adventure of Huck Finn and more importantly their new graphic novel reimagining of Mark Twain's classic, Big Jim and The White Boy. 
That's right, their new book shifts the perspective to Jim and gives more context to his life and story, literally what we talk about on the podcast each episode. We discuss the Disneyfication of slavery, how their new book fills in Jim's story, and so much more!
You can buy Big Jim and The White Boy wherever books are sold! Preorder now or go to the store on October 15th and grab a copy! Maybe even check out one of these Black bookstores!
You can find more of David's excellent work (like the incredible Bitter Root) at his website. Same for Marcus. 
If you like to reach out to us, as always we're at @white_pod on Twitter and at @whitepeoplewontsaveyoupod on IG and Tiktok. Or hit us up at whitepeoplewontsaveyoupod@gmail.com 
And we'll be back with more in two weeks, including some Halloween themed episodes! 

Rebel Ridge

Wednesday Oct 02, 2024

Wednesday Oct 02, 2024

Special episode alert! Today we discuss the new Netflix film Rebel Ridge, very much the kind of movie that inverts our usual films. A movie about civil asset forfeiture doesn't sound too exciting, but there's a lot of good things to be found in this one. 
All that said, we do have a few issues which leads to an interesting discussion about white filmmakers tackling Black stories, choices Black actors make in those roles, and more! 
Check us out on all the social medias now! @whitepeoplewontsaveyoupod on IG and TikTok and @White_pod on Twitter.  We've got some great episodes coming your way soon, specifically a conversation with David F. Walker and Marcus Kwame Anderson, the duo behind the reimagined Huck Finn graphic novel Big Jim and The White Boy. 

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