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Making list of white-guy-leads-foreigners-in-a-foreign-land movies

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Paragon Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-23-03 01:16 AM
Original message
Making list of white-guy-leads-foreigners-in-a-foreign-land movies
Tom Cruise's new movie "The Last Samurai" is part of a movie sub-genre that has always annoyed me...the white-guy-leads-foreigners-in-a-foreign-land movie. You'd think the rest of the world was hopeless and lost before whitey showed up. Help me work on a list of this particular cliche. So far I have:

The Last Samurai
Lawrence of Arabia
Dances With Wolves
The Power of One
Last of the Mohicans

What else?
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Don_G Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-23-03 01:18 AM
Response to Original message
1. Shogun For One
And just about any Tarzan movie or the Bob Hope/Bing Crosby Road pictures.
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Paragon Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-23-03 01:25 AM
Response to Reply #1
3. Good one
Comedies never occurred to me -- thanks!
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Cat Atomic Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-23-03 01:23 AM
Response to Original message
2. Big Trouble in Little China
Edited on Thu Oct-23-03 01:24 AM by Cat Atomic
:)
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HEyHEY Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-23-03 01:25 AM
Response to Original message
4. Seven years in tibet
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Paragon Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-23-03 01:27 AM
Response to Reply #4
7. Ding ding
Yes! Thank you.
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Cat Atomic Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-23-03 01:25 AM
Response to Original message
5. Oh- The Bible.
Edited on Thu Oct-23-03 01:25 AM by Cat Atomic
I was surprised to learn that Jesus was a Swede. Well- he is in those children's books anyway.
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Paragon Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-23-03 01:26 AM
Response to Original message
6. Got another - "The Air Up There"
God, that one looked so bad, I was ashamed to watch the commercials.
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HawkerHurricane Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-23-03 01:38 AM
Response to Original message
8. Welp...
I hate to be this way, but...
"Lawrence of Arabia" is based (loosely) on a true story.
As was "Glory" which has the same pattern.
There are a number of cases of British Officers leading native troops in the 18th and 19th century to victory; that's where a lot of the stories come from.
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Paragon Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-23-03 01:42 AM
Response to Reply #8
9. I know, I know...
...but it fits the list. I don't necessarily count "Glory" as it's a pretty balanced portrayal -- Col. Shaw led because he was white (and privileged), not necessarily because he was the best soldier.
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HawkerHurricane Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-23-03 01:48 AM
Response to Reply #9
10. Glory...
Showed military leadership that was typical for the time: Upper Class ('nobles') were appointed to command positions; while the troops were commoners. This leads to a lot of situations where the White 'nobles' lead minority troops. It's a affect of European colonialism; and there are some good stories about it.

Of course, Hollywierd has GOT to make up even more stories with the same pattern; I'm not sure why except for
a. Racism
b. a belief that the audiance won't accept a minority hero (ie audiance racism)
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punpirate Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-23-03 01:49 AM
Response to Original message
11. Lord Jim ??? n/t
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AlGore-08.com Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-23-03 02:01 AM
Response to Original message
12. Keys to the Kingdom
Gunga Din
Robinson Crusoe
Shogun (although it was a mini-series)
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charlie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-23-03 02:12 AM
Response to Original message
13. It doesn't strictly fit your category
but Mississippi Burning is one that annoys me. White FBI agents using Bruce Willis tactics storm the KKK and extract justice on behalf of helpless southern blacks. Pshaw, right... The film says fuck-all about MLK or civil rights activists, and gives undue glory to JE Hoover, who would've shot King and black agitators himself if he could've gotten away with it.
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FlemingsGhost Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-23-03 02:18 AM
Response to Original message
14. "Man Who Would Be King"
Edited on Thu Oct-23-03 02:20 AM by DemsUnite
Sean Connery and Micheal Cain, I believe.

on edit: "The Beast" with Jason Patric as a Russian soldier in Afghanistan
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Guaranteed Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-23-03 02:19 AM
Response to Original message
15. Mr. Johnson
Pierce Brosnan directs Africans in building a road.
Saw it in my Black Studies movie class.
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ILeft Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-23-03 02:34 AM
Response to Original message
16. A Man Called Horse
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MSchreader Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-23-03 03:07 AM
Response to Original message
17. City of Joy
As I recall, that movie had a similar dynamic.

Martin
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Brewman_Jax Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-23-03 06:56 AM
Response to Original message
18. Little Big Man
with Dustin Hoffman. I know that there are more, I'll remember as time goes on.
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