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Little Fires Everywhere: Showing the White Savior Complex for What It Is
Disclaimer: This story contains spoilers of the Little Fires Everywhere limited series
Hulu’s limited series Little Fires Everywhere has garnered much attention and praise since its March debut and rightly so. The show, which is set in the late ’90s, was adapted from the New York Times Best Seller Little Fires Everywhere written by author Celeste Ng. The series manages to successfully tackle ideas of race, class, and motherhood when mothers Mia Warren, played by Kerry Washington, and Elena Richardson, played by Reese Witherspoon, find their lives closely intertwined with one another as chaos ensues upon them both.
As viewers make their way through the series, it’s clear that both women play into this chaos for their own personal, and arguably selfish, reasons. However, it also becomes increasingly obvious that this chaos plays a major hand in revealing the truth behind the white savior mentality that is presented through the character of Elena.
When Elena Richardson is introduced, it doesn’t take long to realize the type of woman she is. Though on the surface, she seems little more than a conservative…
