...And this isn't even getting into how movies about minorities still put white people in the foreground. How are we supposed to believe Tom Cruise is The Last Samurai? This guy is the last samurai? This guy? This guy's the last samurai? This guy. This guy is the last samurai. Fuck you.
— Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, How is This Still a Thing: Whitewashing
"But Quentin, I mean, [you're] the outsider let into the inner sanctum of secret knowledge. As someone born in 1902, I find a heterosexual white male hero very relatable."
— Hyman, The Magicians (2016)
"Then if you can figure any of that out, try to figure out why this blue aliennote , isn't working with this blue aliennote , who's working for this blue aliennote , to kill this green aliennote , who both want to kill this purple aliennote , as does this Christmas-colored aliennote . But if you get confused, just remember: the hero is still the white guy."
Penny: I'm a side character?
Derek: Look, no offense. It's just... Quentin's the center of the whole thing. He's the one that knows everybody. He's the one the little British girl picked to save the world.
Penny: Or he's the one that looks like you.
Derek: Not fair. Todd looks like me. He's not the center of shit.
Penny: But he could be. All I'm saying is you think you've seen stories like this before, so you can guess what's going to happen... who's important and who isn't. But that's because you are trapped in your POV. You have a classic case of White Male Protagonism, Derek, and a Librarian simply can't have that.
Derek: Look, no offense. It's just... Quentin's the center of the whole thing. He's the one that knows everybody. He's the one the little British girl picked to save the world.
Penny: Or he's the one that looks like you.
Derek: Not fair. Todd looks like me. He's not the center of shit.
Penny: But he could be. All I'm saying is you think you've seen stories like this before, so you can guess what's going to happen... who's important and who isn't. But that's because you are trapped in your POV. You have a classic case of White Male Protagonism, Derek, and a Librarian simply can't have that.
