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The Help Movie Essay

951 Words4 Pages

Ashley Hernandez Mr. Davidson HIST 1302-2004 Movie: The Help (2011) Setting: Jackson, Mississippi, August 1962 – late 1964 Length: 2 hr 26 min Director: Tate Taylor Cast: Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jessica Chastain, and Octavia Spencer. Synopsis: The making of this movie was adapted from the book “The Help” written by Kathryn Stockett in 2009. The story is taken place in the 1960’s, and a young writer chooses to interview one of the African American maids that would also raise the children of the whites. So as the writer and maid collaborate, a lot more colored women come forward to participate in writing, and it turns out to be a big step to show everyone what they had to face with the unfair treatment. No historians were …show more content…

The movie is based on “The Help” novel written by Kathryn Stockett. The movie portrayed the time period realistically by showing the way African-Americans were seen and handled during the “separate but equal” era and civil rights movement. The movie was taken place in 60’s, and the civil rights movement, calm protests, and the famous speeches of Martin Luther King Jr, were taking place alongside of the main characters lives. I think the historical value is very big because of the information they have in the film along with the very detailed accusations that the main African-American characters encounter, which was the reality of what African Americans went through back then. I think the historical value will continue to rise as the years go by. “The Help” is a constant reminder of how disgusting the racism was, but also how much we have improved as a nation, with the amount of equality we have today. Comparable films: The three movies that are similar to “The Help” are “The Long Walk Home, 1990”, “The Rosa Parks Story, 2002”, and “Mississippi Burning, 1988”. These three movies I have listed are similar because the movies show a problem the characters have faced because of racism. They have shown the inside perspective of what it was like to live in a time period with the struggles of hatred and inequality blacks had to face, just like “The Help”

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