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Following her Oscar-winning role inRoomthat catapulted her to the big leagues, Brie Larson signed on for her marquee gig as Captain Marvel in the MCU. While she was a pivotal figure in the narratives of the franchise, her second standalone filmThe Marvelswhich was released in 2023, failed to impress at the box office.
But a look back at Larson’s filmography will show that the actor has faced even more criticism for one film that earned the dubious distinction of being the quintessential white savior movie. A discerning fan brutally pointed out the grave stereotypes propagated in this film that would make even the Oscar winner cringe today.
This Brie Larson Film Is a Forgettable Example Of The White Savior Trope
While Brie Larson is synonymous with her Marvel gig asCaptain Marvelalong with other projects, fans may not be aware that the star has done her share of cringeworthy roles. Larson was part of a film titledBasmati Bluesin which she played the role of a scientist who comes to India to create and market genetically modified rice.
Set in a village in Kerala, India, the biggest problem of the film was its blatant stereotyping of Asian characters and situations. In addition, theOscar winner’sprotagonist being glorified as the quintessential white savior who is the only hope for a helpless population, did not go down well with audiences in the country.
The film also has other done-to-death cliches like the protagonist riding a horse to save the day, struggling to eat ‘monkey masala’, dancing to Bollywood tunes, befriending street animals, and falling in love with a local. Prominent cartoonist Manoj Vijayan aptly described the glorification in an interview withNPR.
It plays to stereotypes of an exotic but backward people just waiting for a white person to swoop in and save them.
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An instagrammer of Indian origin named Nila Varman went to town as she ripped apart these aspects of the film and other serious ones that glaringly stood out. In herInstagram handle, she first pointed out the discrepancies in the demography which set the film in the southern state of Kerala, but shows it to be in Bilari, Uttar Pradesh, as per a signpost indicating this detail.
She also called out the makers’ indifference in realizing that every state in India speaks a different language, which was completely not taken into account when the dialects of Tamil, Malayalam, and Hindi formed a confusing melange.
Someone please tell me where this film is taking place. I feel like the filmmakers were like ‘Oh but all Indians speak the same language no one’s going to notice’. WELL, GUESS WHAT? I NOTICED!’
Varman also revealed that she literally gave up any hope of the film salvaging some respect after an Indian character was seen calling her own people savages. With Larson breaking into cringeworthy song and dance at the drop of a hat, the movie on the whole could be seen as a complete misstep on the part of the actor.
Matt Damon And The Debacle That WasThe Great Wall
WhileBrie Larson’sBasmati Bluesdid little to change the narrative around cultural stereotypes,Matt Damontoo faced a similar dilemma. Despite an impressive repertoire of films under his belt, there have been times when the Oscar nominee has made some wrong decisions that he has regretted.
One of these choices included his role in the American-Chinese productionThe Great Wallalso co-starring Pedro Pascal. In the film, Pascal and Damon play two European mercenaries who are imprisoned by the Chinese Emperor in The Great Wall of China and join forces with the local army to protect the kingdom from destruction.
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Though the film made almost$335 millionat the box office, a lot of the themes in the story did not go down well with audiences and critics. Many viewers targeted the controversial white savior trope that the film encouraged, thereby unconsciously demeaning the importance of the Asian experience. Damon too concurred with the general opinion about the tone deafness of the film inWTF with Marc Maron.
I was like, ‘This is exactly how disasters happen, It doesn’t cohere. It doesn’t work as a movie’. That’s as s***ty as you can feel creatively, I think. I hope to never have that feeling again.
TheOcean’s Elevenstar went on to add that while he regretted doing the film, his family at home including his daughters, also gave him flak for accepting the role.
Basmati Bluescan be rented on Apple TV.
Sharanya Sankar
Senior Writer
Articles Published :1230
Sharanya Sankar, Writer for FandomwireHaving completed her Masters degree in Journalism and Mass Communication, Sharanya has a solid foundation in writing which is also one of her passions. She has worked previously with Book My show for a couple of years where she gained experience reviewing films and writing feature articles. Sharanya’s articles on film and pop culture have also been published on Film Companion, a popular film-based website. Apart from movies and pop culture, her interests include music and sports. She has contributed over 650 articles to Fandomwire so far.
