History Main / IntimidatingWhitePresence

* ''{{Literature/Animorphs}}'': In ''Megamorphs 3: Elfangor's Secret'', the team find themselves in an alternate timeline version of Princeton University (one where the American Revolution failed and the French won Trafalgar). Marco notices that there are less than half a dozen women in sight, and absolutely no black people, then one student calls Cassie a very bad word indeed. Having just witnessed the death of her boyfriend and her best friend in very short order, the kind, sweet, good-natured Cassie smiles as she tells the racist that she can become white, no problem. [[BewareTheNiceOnes She]] turns into a [[BearsAreBadNews polar bear]], opens her jaws around his head and roars in his face. [[BloodKnight Rachel]] reappears at that moment to complain that Cassie is stealing her act.

Like with ScaryBlackMan, a villain simply being white [[Administrivia/PeopleSitOnChairs is not enough to qualify them for this]]. There has to be an emphasis on the fears of people of color (generally black people) surrounded by white people. The intimidating white presence doesn't have to consist of explicit bigots, and they may not even be racist. They may be simply currying in the fear that can be generated by the racial clash, not necessarily a true believer in such ideology. Pragmatists who understand how to turn the fears of their subjects against them are also covered by this trope. Due to how ingrained this is in popular culture, the white person in question doesn't even [[FeelingOppressedByTheirExistence need to do anything]], necessarily, to justify fear of them; their mere presence can be enough.

--->"The Space Shuttle exploded! That n***er must have done it!"

* ''Film/{{Master}}'': Zoe gets flooded by white people chanting the N-word at a college party, and Gail struggles with being the black master of a college where the upper echelons are almost all white. [[spoiler:Liv is arguably the ultimate example if, as is heavily implied, she's actually white but posing as black, given that she menaces Zoe for making a complaint against her, and possibly kills her.]]

* ''{{Literature/Animorphs}}'': In one Megamorphs, the team find themselves in an alternate timeline version of Princeton University (one where the American Revolution failed and the French won Trafalgar). Marco notices that there are less than half a dozen women in sight, and absolutely no black people, then one student calls Cassie a very bad word indeed. Having just witnessed the death of her boyfriend and her best friend in very short order, the kind, sweet, good-natured Cassie smiles as she tells the racist that she can become white, no problem. [[BewareTheNiceOnes She]] turns into a [[BearsAreBadNews polar bear]], opens her jaws around his head and roars in his face. [[BloodKnight Rachel]] reappears at that moment to complain that Cassie is stealing her act.

** Bob, a black man from New York, spends most of the show scared that he would get robbed, shot, or killed for making the slightest wrong move, and highly suspicious of the residents. He wasn't written as black, but then a black actor was cast, and his character fell into place for the actor as someone who is very insulated and keeps to himself out of extreme(ly justified) fear of white people.

Like with ScaryBlackMan, a villain simply being white is not enough to qualify them for this. There has to be an emphasis on the fears of people of color (generally black people) surrounded by white people. The intimidating white presence doesn't have to consist of explicit bigots, and they may not even be racist. They may be simply currying in the fear that can be generated by the racial clash, not necessarily a true believer in such ideology. Pragmatists who understand how to turn the fears of their subjects against them are also covered by this trope. Due to how ingrained this is in popular culture, the white person in question doesn't even [[FeelingOppressedByTheirExistence need to do anything]], necessarily, to justify fear of them; their mere presence can be enough.

Often overlaps with [[CopHater a distrust of police]], due to suspicions of {{Profiling}} and PoliceBrutality disproportionately affecting minorities. The MinorityPoliceOfficer may be called on to defuse the tension somewhat. Then again, that officer himself might be subjected to an intimidating white presence if he's the only minority on the force.

[[folder:Anime]]
* Enforced in ''Anime/RyuTheCaveBoy'' where pale skin is seen as a bad omen. When baby Ryu is born with it, the Big Horn Tribe force his mother, Esta, to feed him to dinosaurs.
[[/folder]]

* ''{{Literature/Animorphs}}'': In one Megamorphs, the team find themselves in an alternate timeline version of Princeton University (one where he American Revolution failed and the French won Trafalgar). Marco notices that there are less than half a dozen women in sight, and absolutely no black people, then one student calls Cassie a very bad word indeed. Having just witnessed the death of her boyfriend and best friend in very short order, the kind, sweet, good-natured Cassie smiles as she tells the racist that she can become white, no problem. She turns into a [[BearsAreBadNews polar bear]], opens her jaws around his head and roars in his face. [[BloodKnight Rachel]] reappears at that moment to complain that Cassie is stealing her act.

* ''Film/{{Get Out|2017}}'': Black man Chris attends a party thrown by the family of his (white) girlfriend Rose, which is entirely populated by white people (with black servants). He describes to Andre [[spoiler:who is actually the cult's victim]] that he gets nervous when there are too many white people around, and the combination of microaggressions and downright creepy behavior proves him right, leaving Rose the TokenGoodTeammate. [[spoiler:And she's possibly the worst of the lot.]]

* A major theme of ''Film/HisHouse''. The main characters, Bol and Rial, are South Sudanese refugees who have fled to London. Their nearest neighbour is an unfriendly, chain-smoking old woman who never waves back and tells it would be better if they went back. Their case worker seems to mean well, but is InnocentlyInsensitive and tells Bol he hopes he's "[[YouAreACreditToYourRace one of the good ones]]". At one point, Bol is approached outside a church by a tough-looking guy who says he has "got something" for him, but [[spoiler: it turns out to be a welcome package the church group had put together. Still, the scene shows just how on-edge Bol has become.]] At one point, Rial asks a group of black teenagers for directions, hoping they'll be more sympathetic, but they [[BoomerangBigot make fun of her accent and tell her to "go back to Africa"]].

This is TruthInTelevision. However, as a stereotype trope, Administriviua/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease

This is TruthInTelevision. However, as a stereotype trope, no real-life examples, please!

The OppositeTrope of ScaryBlackMan, this is the intimidating white presence. While the ScaryBlackMan will usually be intimidating because he is big, strong, and [[AngryBlackManStereotype angry]], the intimidating white presence is generally more nuanced. Earlier media featuring the intimidating white presence will favor the outwardly racist, prejudiced type. In later examples, though, the intimidating white presence is as likely to be [[CondescendingCompassion condescending]], [[YouAreACreditToYourRace patronizing]], [[WickedCultured well-educated]], and of course, will [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial aggressively deny being racist]], though secretly [[FeelingOppressedByTheirExistence feel oppressed by their existence.]] The AngryWhiteMan may be a participant, but he's far from the only one. It's also very likely to appear in a WhiteAngloSaxonProtestant setting. Sometimes the presence can be architectural rather than human, in the form of StepfordSuburbia.

* ''{{Literature/Animorphs}}'': In one Megamorphs, the team find themselves in an alternate timeline version of Princeton University (one where he American Revolution failed and the French won Trafalgar). Marco notices that there are less than half a dozen women in sight, and absolutely no black people, then one student calls Cassie a very bad word indeed. Having just witnessed the death of her boyfriend and best friend in very short order, the kind, sweet, good-natured Cassie smiles as she tells the racist that she can become white, no problem (technically their fur is transparent, but polar bears are indeed white). She settles for opening her jaws around the racist's head and roaring in his face, and Rachel reappears at that moment to complain that Cassie is stealing her act.

* ''Art/TheProblemWeAllLiveWith'' by Creator/NormanRockwell depicts six-year-old Ruby Bridges being escorted into her newly desegregated school by four federal marshals, against a backdrop of racist graffiti and ProducePelting. The angry mob of white protesters who made the guards necessary is not depicted in frame; rather, the picture is seen from the mob's perspective, [[PrejudiceAesop placing the viewer among them]].