After anxiously awaiting for “The Help” movie to open at my local theater, I took my mother and off we went to see this much anticipated movie, based on the Kathryn Stockett novel, which has been a NY Times Bestseller for months! We were not disappointed! “The Help” movie may very well win for Best Movie of 2011, in my unsolicited and personal opinion. The movie is packed with multiple strong themes, comedic relief, well written drama, strong characters, and poignant reminders of the Civil Rights era, where African Americans had no rights. “The Help” made me proud to be living in the present, where there is unity.
What are the strongest themes embedded in “The Help?”
Moral Courage
Award winning actress/producer, and native South Carolinian Viola Davis played the role of Aibileen Clark, a third generation black maid who I think revealed the most important theme in “The Help,” and that was moral courage. Aibileen was the first negro maid to step up to the plate and tell her heart-wrenching story to Skeeter (Emma Stone) a budding young journalist who wanted social change in her racial hometown of Jackson Mississippi in the 1960’s.
Aibileen showed extraordinary kindness to the white children she raised for racists white families. Aibileen, whose own son lost his life because of racism, remained a hopeful and Godly woman who found in her heart the courage to get the truth told from a black maid’s perspective with the desire for a change to come to heal the racial divide of her era. Aibileen also encouraged the neglected white children in her care to believe in themselves by having them repeat “You is kind, you is smart, you is important.” If everyone had the kind of moral courage to do what is right that Aibileen had in the movie, our world would be a much better place in which to live.
I think Minnie (Octavia Spencer) provided the perfect example of how humor can help us stay sane through the toughest times. With the tension and seriousness of the other themes in the movie, the comedic relief Minnie provided was appreciated. Though Minnie experienced verbal and physical abuse from her husband, lost her job, and had multiple mouths to feed, she kept her humor. Minnie was a great cook and at one time in the movie uses her baking ability to get revenge on her former boss, Hilly Holbrook. She makes a ‘chocolate pie’ with an unusual and surprising ingredient to personally deliver to her and watch her take the first bite! Enough said about that, but see the movie! You will be laughing for months to come about this scene! Minnie provides many other funny moments, but we admire her as a strong lady too. She is the second Negro maid to tell Skeeter what it’s like being a black maid in a white world.
What Strong and Unified Women Can Accomplish
Aibileen, Minnie, and Skeeter (the journalist) were the dominant three women in the movie. Skeeter initiated the idea that change was possible for ‘the help’ in her hometown of Jackson, Mississippi and the world through the emerging effort of Martin Luther King. She was persistent in encouraging the black help to unify and tell their life story, in their perspective. She gained their trust by her sincere, yet strong personality. She also respected their privacy and promoted their safety by telling their stories using fictitious names in her book. Skeeter showed them she cared about their future.
Racism unfortunately was the most serious and shameful theme in “The Help.” I was born as the Civil Rights Movement was just emerging. I was too young to remember blacks and whites having to use different toilets, having to sit at the back of the bus, or them not having the right to vote, or to live without the fear of being beaten or killed by the KKK. This movie brought tears as I reflected on what life was like for blacks in the early 60’s. Fortunately, there were a few representations of intelligent whites in the movie such as Skeeter, and Minnie’s new employers, who realized the laws dividing people by color was wrong, and they had the decency to treat Minnie with respect instead of hatred.
“The Help” movie will win your respect and appreciation for the changes that have been made over the last 50+ years. This movie easily earned my rating of 5 stars out of 5. If you don’t view any other movie this year, “The Help” is the one to see in 2011!
