Basic Trope: In an all-minority cast, there will be one white person.
- Straight: The cast of the sitcom Troper Town is a Five-Token Band consisting of Alice (black), Bob (Japanese-American), Carla (Mexican-American), Danny (Indian-American), and Edward (white).
- Exaggerated: Edward is the only white person ever seen in the show.
- Downplayed: Other white characters play important supporting roles, but Edward is the only white main cast member.
- Justified:
- Troper Town takes place in a neighborhood with a lot of people of color thanks to segregation laws that have just recently been reversed, Edward and his family are the first white people to live there.
- Troper Town takes place in the historically non-white place, such as middle of Sub-Saharan Africa.
- Inverted: Edward is a black man in an all-white cast.
- Subverted:
- The cast is later joined by Faith, who is Caucasian.
- Edward is later revealed to have been Switched at Birth and adopted by a white family, and his real family are Iranian-Americans.
- The Troper Town pilot frames Alice as the protagonist and Edward as just one of her friends in the ensemble. In episode two, however, the show pivots to be all about Edward.
- Double Subverted:
- She's later revealed to be half-Cherokee.
- That was a mix-up, he's really white; or he doesn't make an effort to reconnect with them or get in touch with his heritage. His attitude doesn't really change as a result.
- Only one or two special episodes do this, in other episodes, Edward becomes Out of Focus and Bob becomes the main character.
- Parodied:
- Not only Edward is the only white guy, but he even mimics his friends too.
- Edward is considered a minority since he is white and has albinism.
- Edward is the only one who has literally white skin in the cast full of people with vibrantly unnatural skin tones.
- Zig Zagged: The cast's roster keeps changing so there is sometimes only one white person in the main cast.
- Averted:
- There's always more than one white person in the cast.
- There is no white character in this show.
- Enforced: The creators don't want to alienate the white viewers, so they add in Edward.
- Lampshaded: "Ever feel weird surrounded by all this color, Ed?"
- Invoked: Alice, Bob, Carla, and Danny allow Edward to join their friend group because they need a white friend.
- Exploited: Manipulative Bitch Sadie turns Edward to feel guilty about being the only white guy.
- Defied: Edward doesn't join their friend group because he doesn't want to be the only white guy.
- Discussed: "Edward, you're the white friend. Every self-respecting diverse friend group on TV has one."
- Conversed: "Oh, that character's Edward. He's the token white guy that's necessary in these shows about minorities."
- Implied:
- Alice lists her close friends: Bob Yamaguchi, Carla Suarez, Danny Patel, and Edward Worthington-Smythe.
- Amongst the cast full of Ambiguously Brown characters, Edward is the only one who has fair skin.
- Deconstructed:
- Being the Token White means that Edward has not experienced the discrimination the others have, and is occasionally insensitive about certain issues. This causes friction among the group and alienates him for a while.
- Inversely, Edward is (or feels) mistreated or overshadowed by his minority friends.
- Or more positively, having all-minority friends makes Edward more empathetic on racial issues. He proudly supports Black Lives Matter and other anti-racism movements, and when he's around white friends and family, he calls them out on their microaggressions.
- Reconstructed: Edward is welcomed back into the friend group after he makes an effort to be less insensitive and more open-minded.
Back to Token White
