The motif is explicitly Orientalist, given both its implication that white culture holds the solution to the problems of non-white characters and its designation of non-white characters as an unfamiliar Other in their own space.
The most circulated takedown of the movie on the web comes from the American actress Constance Wu, who wrote, “We have to stop perpetuating the racist myth that white man can save the world.” Wu’s criticism is based on her rejection of the “white savior” motif common in film and literature, in which a white character rescues non-white characters from some form of hardship. A historical fiction action film, The Great Wall tells the story of a group of international warriors, led by the American actor Matt Damon, who band together to fight monsters on the Great Wall of China. As promotional stills and trailers were released for the American-Chinese co-production The Great Wall, much controversy arose from the film’s alleged whitewashing of a Chinese story.
