A split based on use: Mighty Whitey

Not going to beat around the bush on this one, the definition of Mighty Whitey is basically "foreigner lives with natives and learns their way of life, eventually saving them from other foreigners." What it's really being used for is a cynical "white is the bestest race in the world" or "white people can master other cultures if they have a few weeks of practice."

There is the trope, and then there is the Unfortunate Implications associated with it. The general use of the trope has more to do with the Unfortunate Implications than the actual definition. I've seen Mighty Whitey being used whenever there is a white leader in a Five-Token Band, regardless of the plot or situation.

I doubt this misuse is going to change because the definition doesn't even support the UI to begin with, the name itself is causing the misuse. So instead I think we should split off the official definition into something like Foreign Savior Plot and leave Mighty Whitey for the Unfortunate Implications aspect. One can exist seperate from the other, as the original intention of MW is that the foreigner comes to respect another culture.

edited 9th Feb '11 7:36:03 PM by KJMackley

I agree that Foreign Savior Plot is distinct from Mighty Whitey.