So....
I went and saw The Help last night.
I must say, I was pleasantly surprised. It wasn't as offensive as "The Blind Side" (ala the big overgrown, illiterate, strong as an ox, loyal, gullible, clown saved by a white Christian savior caricature) but the overall story was pretty watered down.
The acting is solid, but I was torn about this movie. It does elicit the "Great White Hope" character, in that the maids only come together through the unlikely liberalism and goodness of a young white character. Its message for the future is also disturbing. For example, toward the end, one maid is offered salvation by a white couple who offers her the security of being their maid for the REST OF HER LIFE...a deal that makes her eyes grow wide with happiness. Meanwhile, the main white character goes off to greener pastures outside the limitations of her town.
There are also some unsettling caricatures...like a "Mammy" figure who gets misty eyed when she talks about how frying chicken makes her feel good inside.
I think they were pretty spot on in the portrayal of the white "southern belles (given that I'm from Jackson myself)." They were mostly ridiculous, petty and cold...which, to my understanding, is how they really were. It makes for some good comedic moments.
This is a "safe" film...there's no violence, and the threat of violence doesn't feel very immediate or nearby. The racism of the day feels like an omniscient boogey-man...and the white men in the film are all portrayed in an indifferent "they could care less" light...which seems VERY unbelievable. And the Black men were either abusive, docile or messengers...I mean, not a single, strong Black man?
The real sad thing about this film is what it says about Black progress in Hollywood. I haven't seen "real" roles for black women this year...and it's telling that the project that employs the most black women at once is one where they all have to play maids. Even in a trailer shown before this film for "Tower Heist," Gabourey Sidibe (from "Precious") is playing a maid...complemented by Eddie Murphy playing a convict with expert knowledge on robberies. So, blacks are either subservient, criminals, comedic clowns...or the ever present "token black friend." The exception to this rule are the few Blacks that are seen as being "negro-lite"...e.g. Will Smith, Halle Berry and Beyonce.
Many whites don't understand why Blacks are sensitive to their portrayals on film...but whites have to realize...you have an abundance of images to choose from. However, we have very few. Imagine taking your children to the movies...and the people that look like them, on screen, are usually stupefied, marginalized, subservient or comedic to the point of buffoorney. That's not the reality whites EVER have to accept, adapt to or address. This is not playing the race card...as there is no card to play when this is your life.
My grandmother was a maid, like these women in the film. She went to work every day for the local car dealer's family...doing housework, cooking their meals and taking care of their kids for $5/day. She supplemented her income ironing white people's clothes from town. She raised 10 kids and helped with the war effort at home. While a film like "The Help" gives her a voice, it also robs her of hope that things will get better. After all, one maid quits her job even though her options are extremely limited and she has jeopardized her own safety by helping Skeeter...the other maid accepts a position to be the lifetime maid of another couple and then leaves her abusive husband...and the third maid that we come to know is rotting in jail. The only people who make out with better futures are the white characters....Skeeter is off to New York. Celia learns how to cook and, through the "wisdom" of her maid, learns how to communicate with her husband and develops self worth. The young white child Viola was raising may get a "fighting chance" because Viola tells her mother to give her one. And Hilly may actually become a better person who's finally learned the error of her ways.
Finally, there is one part that really summarized this whole film to me. At one point, Skeeter is sitting at Viola Davis's table. She asks her if she ever wanted to do anything else rather than be a maid. Viola Davis nods...and Skeeter never follows up with her to ask her what she wanted to do. My feeling was she didn't ask because it was irrelevant...irrelevant to the story and to the reality of the time. Black women didn't have choices, so there was no reason to speak of dreams that they both knew were empty.
All in all, I think this film is a nice effort for what it was, and fluff for what it was not.
6.5/10
I went and saw The Help last night.
I must say, I was pleasantly surprised. It wasn't as offensive as "The Blind Side" (ala the big overgrown, illiterate, strong as an ox, loyal, gullible, clown saved by a white Christian savior caricature) but the overall story was pretty watered down.
The acting is solid, but I was torn about this movie. It does elicit the "Great White Hope" character, in that the maids only come together through the unlikely liberalism and goodness of a young white character. Its message for the future is also disturbing. For example, toward the end, one maid is offered salvation by a white couple who offers her the security of being their maid for the REST OF HER LIFE...a deal that makes her eyes grow wide with happiness. Meanwhile, the main white character goes off to greener pastures outside the limitations of her town.
There are also some unsettling caricatures...like a "Mammy" figure who gets misty eyed when she talks about how frying chicken makes her feel good inside.
I think they were pretty spot on in the portrayal of the white "southern belles (given that I'm from Jackson myself)." They were mostly ridiculous, petty and cold...which, to my understanding, is how they really were. It makes for some good comedic moments.
This is a "safe" film...there's no violence, and the threat of violence doesn't feel very immediate or nearby. The racism of the day feels like an omniscient boogey-man...and the white men in the film are all portrayed in an indifferent "they could care less" light...which seems VERY unbelievable. And the Black men were either abusive, docile or messengers...I mean, not a single, strong Black man?
The real sad thing about this film is what it says about Black progress in Hollywood. I haven't seen "real" roles for black women this year...and it's telling that the project that employs the most black women at once is one where they all have to play maids. Even in a trailer shown before this film for "Tower Heist," Gabourey Sidibe (from "Precious") is playing a maid...complemented by Eddie Murphy playing a convict with expert knowledge on robberies. So, blacks are either subservient, criminals, comedic clowns...or the ever present "token black friend." The exception to this rule are the few Blacks that are seen as being "negro-lite"...e.g. Will Smith, Halle Berry and Beyonce.
Many whites don't understand why Blacks are sensitive to their portrayals on film...but whites have to realize...you have an abundance of images to choose from. However, we have very few. Imagine taking your children to the movies...and the people that look like them, on screen, are usually stupefied, marginalized, subservient or comedic to the point of buffoorney. That's not the reality whites EVER have to accept, adapt to or address. This is not playing the race card...as there is no card to play when this is your life.
My grandmother was a maid, like these women in the film. She went to work every day for the local car dealer's family...doing housework, cooking their meals and taking care of their kids for $5/day. She supplemented her income ironing white people's clothes from town. She raised 10 kids and helped with the war effort at home. While a film like "The Help" gives her a voice, it also robs her of hope that things will get better. After all, one maid quits her job even though her options are extremely limited and she has jeopardized her own safety by helping Skeeter...the other maid accepts a position to be the lifetime maid of another couple and then leaves her abusive husband...and the third maid that we come to know is rotting in jail. The only people who make out with better futures are the white characters....Skeeter is off to New York. Celia learns how to cook and, through the "wisdom" of her maid, learns how to communicate with her husband and develops self worth. The young white child Viola was raising may get a "fighting chance" because Viola tells her mother to give her one. And Hilly may actually become a better person who's finally learned the error of her ways.
Finally, there is one part that really summarized this whole film to me. At one point, Skeeter is sitting at Viola Davis's table. She asks her if she ever wanted to do anything else rather than be a maid. Viola Davis nods...and Skeeter never follows up with her to ask her what she wanted to do. My feeling was she didn't ask because it was irrelevant...irrelevant to the story and to the reality of the time. Black women didn't have choices, so there was no reason to speak of dreams that they both knew were empty.
All in all, I think this film is a nice effort for what it was, and fluff for what it was not.
6.5/10
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