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Analyzing The Movie 'The Help'

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“The Help”, is a comedy-laced drama about racially segregated Jackson, Mississippi and the tensions between upper class white households and the black “help”. The movie follows the lives of Aibileen and Minny, two black maids who work for the Leefolts and Holbrooks, respectively. They are approached by Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan, a journalist who is looking to write a book about the racism and discrimination the help face working in white households. The book showcases the blatant racism that is characteristic of the American south in the 1960’s, showing it from the perspective of not only the oppressed or the oppressor, but also of the liberal middle man. This movie can catch the attention of anyone willing to watch it, because although it is seemingly geared towards the “chick flick” crowd, “The Help” is a movie that can entertain and intrigue any audience. An emotional rollercoaster, the film flip-flops between tear-jerking, emotional scenes and comedic relief so seamlessly that you don’t know how to feel. However, that’s not to say that you come away with mixed feelings; the filmmakers do a good job of holding their message of hope down while not haranguing you with sadness until you just can’t finish the movie, a problem that so often plagues films trying to make light of racial issues. “The Help” was not a movie I expected to fall in love with, but as soon as I watched it I definitely did. Not only is the story beautiful and touching, but it shows it’s issues in a way that …show more content…

Every scene shows an incredible amount of finesse and detail, and really makes the movie absolutely touching to see. Although it revolves around a more depressing issue, it maintains its comedic value and shows that it will be able to stand the test of time as an absolutely inspiring

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660 Words | 3 Pages

The Help by Kathryn Stockett Segregated bathrooms, lunch counters, and schools. Being treated like nothing more than dirt. For many African Americans living in the South this was part of their everyday life. The Help, written by Kathryn Stockett, is the story about the problems with racial prejudice and the mistreatment of the African Americans, many of which worked underneath whites. The bitter seed growing inside of Aibileen is a symbol of how she feels about her mistreatment of blacks.

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223 Words | 1 Pages

The movie, The Help by Tate Taylor, is about the treatment of African American maids during the 1960s and the main character, Skeeter Phelan trying to help them by publishing a novel about how the maids were treated like and how it affected their life. Both of these stories take place in the

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724 Words | 3 Pages

The story takes place at the height of the Civil Rights Movement in America, when desegregation is finally achieved. Flannery O’Connor’s use of setting augments the mood and deepens the context of the story. However, O’Connor’s method is subtle, often relying on connotation and implication to drive her point across. The story achieves its depressing mood mostly through the use of light and darkness in the setting.

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1746 Words | 7 Pages

Kathryn Stockett’s The Help, attests to the hateful and cruel reality that is the life of African Americans in Jackson, Mississippi circa the 1960’s. Stockett writes many anecdotes surrounding the relationship between Constantine, an African American maid, and the child she cares for, Skeeter. Skeeter reflects upon a memory of Constantine and

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589 Words | 3 Pages

In the novel, The Help, by Kathryn Stockett, there are many characters that can be identified as an antagonist throughout the story. However, Hilly Holbrook is the most significant of them all. With her attitude towards colored people, her controlling personality, and the methods she uses in order to have her way, it is obvious that Ms. Hilly is a definite villain of this novel. In the novel, many white families, including Ms. Hilly’s, had hired African American maids to help them around the house.

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418 Words | 2 Pages

In Sociology, stereotypes are described as "pictures in our heads" that we do not acquire through personal experience. I believe that stereotypes are a mental tool that enforces racial segregation and self-hate. As well justification for dehumanizing minorities. Such as Black women are "Mammy", "Welfare Mothers", "Uneducated", " Inferior", and "Poor". White women are "Pure", "Desirable", "Affluent" and "Superior".

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724 Words | 3 Pages

Part A: I chose to watch the movie His Girl Friday. I found the concept of the movie to be quite entertaining and felt that it would be interesting to watch. I found the characters to be intriguing. The storyline also seemed very interesting; I wanted to learn more about it.

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611 Words | 3 Pages

I really enjoyed this movie, even though this is my second time seeing it, so i was able to really pick up on what is going the second time. I think the movie did a great job portraying mental health issues, they showed the impacts it has on family and friends. I think it could help people either get help or at least be aware of mental health

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1574 Words | 7 Pages

Nazish S. Quraishi Professor Ahmadi ENGL 101-13 10 January 2016 Courage Triumphs over Racism The film “The Help” (November 24, 2011) of genre historical fiction directed and scripted by Tate Taylor is a faithful adaptation of the bestseller novel The Help penned by Kathryn Stockett. It is a story about how three women team up to form an alliance and secretively work on a writing project that would be shunned otherwise. The film portrayed the time when segregation existed between the whites and the blacks to be specific in the early 1960s in Jackson, Mississippi. The film began with a flash-forward scene where Aibileen a black domestic maid is being interviewed, how it feels to work for a white family?

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1584 Words | 7 Pages

The Help focuses on the story of a upper class writer that tries to find her social identity as well as others. With help from the maids of Jackson, Mississippi, they all overcome stereotypes and discrimination. Aibileen's story was the foundation idea for Skeeter because she had been through so much in her life that she decided to tell her story. The fact that she was black, and a woman the role of a maid for the upper class families were passed down from generations so she saw her fair share of being looked down upon. Being a part of the Black/African African race, there were certain things

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696 Words | 3 Pages

The Help (2011) directed by Tate Taylor, is an inspirational, courageous and empowering story about Southern women in the 1960s. It's the story of the help: the black maids of Jackson, Mississippi, and the relationship with their white employers. The central theme of the film is courage, and how the characters embrace courage to overcome obstacles and fight for social justice. Whether it is their ability to deviate from in-group norms, or overcome fear, courage is essential throughout the characters' journeys. In this essay, I will analyse the situations endured by the characters, and how they respond to these situations with courage.

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366 Words | 2 Pages

Review of The Help The movie “The Help” is about a girl called Skeeter in Mississippi in 1960s who returns from college and whose dream is to become a writer. When Skeeter realises how bad black people are treated and their labour relations she decides to write a book about how it is to be a black maid in the southern states. She starts with interviewing her best friends maid, Aibileen. Soon more and more maids want to help and come forward and tell their stories both good and bad.

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3436 Words | 14 Pages

1.0 INTRODUCTION The Help is an example of American drama film. It was released in August 9, 2011 and its length was 146 minutes and directed by Tate Taylor. The film was adapted to a novel, where there has been a long tradition of African- American women serving as “The Help” for upper-middle class white woman and their families. Descriptions of historical events of the early activities of thecivil rights movement are peppered throughout the novel, as are interactions between the maids and their white employers.

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610 Words | 3 Pages

The Help is set in Jackson, Mississippi during the 1960s. Skeeter, a southern society girl, interviews the black women who have spent their lives being servants for wealthy white Southern families. There are various scenes throughout the film that show social stratification, racial inequalities, gender inequalities, and class inequalities. Massey’s Social Stratification Theory states that humans allocate people to different categories. These categories often lead to inequality which is implemented socially.

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822 Words | 4 Pages

In this era, we people are often known to be attached to someone around us that it almost becomes a burden, but that burden is forgotten because the fact that that someone is going through that part of his/her life, we never thought of leaving them behind. People can’t live alone. Even though we came to this world alone and leave it at the same way, we always cherish what we have and giving all the care it needs. The movie shows us that we are all meant for something. No one is worthless, no one is more special of less special.

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