Facing issues like religious hypocrisy, strong racism, and intense societal norms was made possible by the strong female cast that anchored the drama in the new film adaptation of the New York Times best-selling book of 2009 The Help. With acts of courage, love, and the embrace of truths and values, it cannot be denied that the plot inspires thought and a sense of unity among its viewers.
To top all of that off, the multi-dimensional characters wonderfully brought to life by some of this generation’s best actresses in Hollywood today, performed and made the movie plainly enjoyable from beginning to end. Yet does it in a way it which it cannot be forgotten.
The story revolves around Eugenia “Skeeter,” a fresh out of college girl that soon realizes her calling towards raising awareness and reversing the treatment of “the help,” the black women who work in local homes. Skeeter was raised by a maid that left a remarkable mark of her childhood. She is very drawn to the women who raise her friends’ children, Skeeter wanted basic rights for these maids because they do not have any.
Inspired to write a book that will greatly create tensions in the foundation of her hometown, Skeeter lobbies for help and tries to get the maids together for a straight story. She wants to get an insider as to how it’s like to live in the shoes of the maids. With their freedom and safety on the line, “the help” start expressing their innermost thoughts and experiences.
With all these tearjerker scenes however, as I was watching this movie with two of the staff members of my journalism crew, I can’t help but notice one important thing. It sets this movie apart from the usual flow of historically controversial events that happened in America: the minimal appearances of male characters in the movie.
Emma Stone as the plucky Skeeter, Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer as maids Aibileen and Minny, Allison Janney as Skeeter’s former beauty queen mom, the manipulative Hilly Holbrook, and her mother, Sissy Spacke: all stand strong in their intensely remarkable acts.
However, only about two to three guys had major roles in the movie. “Major” doesn’t even seem like the right word– the males have made very small appearances in the film. The center point of the movie is about the every day lives of black maids, which were for the main part, only women.
Many of the viewers’ observations about the almost-lack of participation from male characters raised questions. The most controversial part of the movie when it comes sex orientation was when the character Minny, played by Ocatvia Spencer, was a battered wife. She is constantly beat up by her husband and she seems just to chill under his wings besides the bad circumstances. This doesn’t fully explain the reality of what was going on during setting of the movie, which was the height of the Civil Rights Movement.
Overall, as a result of the female power cast participation in the movie, I personally find the plot to be empowering. It served as a tip to the women who worked in these homes, serving as second mothers to their bosses’ children, nurses, seamstresses, cooks and everything else. The movie absolutely showed a positive portrayal of these women. They weren’t just maids, or some ordinary minority group in the story, but they were people who made real impact in the lives of those they helped raise.
So all in all, this movie totally brings the messages of courage from the women who dared to challenge the system set in the society. It touches on the evil and the good done by both blacks and whites, showing what humans, especially women are capable of doing. For its teary scenes to humorous moments, and cast of exceptional talent, “The Help” earns high marks and a definite thumbs up from me.
http://www.accesshollywood.com/the-help
