Slavery, racial oppression and segregation has been a topic and theme that has been the subject and basis of many a films over the years. Films like Blood Diamond, 12 Years A Slave and Django Unchained, Crash and Freedom Writers have been lauded for their harsh and outright but equally impactful portrayals of slavery, whilst the Harry Potter and X-Men film series dealt with the issue in a subtle manner.
The Help, released in 2011, is a similar film which revolves around the social evil of slavery, but it is a much more subtle and repressed interpretation of slavery from the aforementioned films, which is it’s greatest factor which sets it apart from these films.
Directed by Tate Taylor, and based upon the book of the same name by Kathryn Stockett, and starring Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Jessica Chastain, Bryce Dallas Howard and Octavia Spencer, the film follows Skeeter Pheelan, an aspiring writer played by Stone, who wants to write a book about the harsh domestic situations black maids had to face during the Civil Rights Movement in Jackson, Mississippi in 1962.
Skeeter, in order to write her book, forms a friendship with Aibileen Clark and Minny Jackson, two black maids portrayed by Davis and Spencer, respectively. As the three progress on crafting a narrative for their book, they face obstacles from the upper white class residing in Jackson, the homes of which the black maids are employed at.
Apart from the topic of slavery, the film also looks at class inequalities, female and racial empowerment. Hilly Holbrook, played by Dallas Howard looks down upon Aibileen Jackson, neglects her only daughter and leads a group of wealthy female socialites who despise the blacks. However, Aibileen and Minny find solace in Skeeter and another woman named Celia Foote, who are kind and respectful towards them.
The major theme of the film is of courage and a variety of character exhibit this trait as the film progresses and resulting in the development of their character. Aibileen and Minny display courage in standing up against their oppressors, and letting their stories be known to the public, and inspiring countless other black maids to follow suit. Skeeter and Celia are courageous in the fact that they are willing to aid the maids to escape their harsh circumstances, whilst being shunned from their own social groups.
As a much more repressed and non violent portrayal of racial segregation, the film still succeeds to convey an important message of courage and friendship, and offer an impactful watch for it’s viewers.
For me, The Help resulted in a new wave of big budget films and television shows that focused on racial representation and empowerment of female and minority characters. Films like Black Panther, Coco, 12 Years A Slave, Wonder Woman, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Office, Parks and Recreation, Captain Marvel, Widows, Community, Mad Max: Fury Road, Incredibles 2, Ant-Man and the Wasp, and Love, Simon are such which featured strong female characters and members of the LGBTQ community and an accurate representation of actors, characters from ethnic minorities along with their culture. In such a manner, The Help made filmmakers realize the value of representation and empowerment in the entertainment industry.
Texts of A Pop Culture Buff 