The Help
Nang Lani and I watched The Help Sunday last week. I liked it a lot! It's drama based on 1960s America and deals with racial issues, specifically about black women raising children from white families, including all the intricacies and complications of the master-servant relationship, racial discrimination, and social classes. I made it sound so serious there, but if I had to describe this movie in one word, it would be spunky.
The movie is an adaptation of the popular book by Kathryn Stockett. It's set in Jackson, Mississippi. Skeeter, played by Emma Stone, is an aspiring journalist who wanted to write stories from the perspective of the helps. Two women, Aibileen and Minny, agreed to speak with her but with reservations because they were afraid to be found out and lose their jobs. Also, close interactions between blacks and whites were frowned upon, to say the least.
Skeeter has problems of her own as well. She is unmarried and her mother and friends are pressuring her to find a man. She is also struggling to convince more women to participate in her project, as required by her editor before the story can be published. Also, she needed to write about her own nanny, who has suddenly left their household while she was away for college. As she writes, she discovers truths that gave her conviction and belief that these stories need to be published for the helps to have a voice.
The Help has a lot of funny bits. Even if the underlying subject is loaded, the quirky characters and circumstances give it a fresh and endearing vibe. There are necessary villains, of course, but they make you root for the heroes more.
Here's a memorable quote from Skeeter's mom after Skeeter's book was published. "Sometimes courage skips a generation. Thank you for bringing it back to our family."
I forgot the source but I read somewhere that this book was rejected 60 times before getting published (Googled another source). The author revised the manuscript countless times until it was approved for publication. Perseverance is a virtue. If she gave up, we would not experience this gem of a movie. Thank you, Kathryn Stockett.
Watch The Help!
Skeeter has problems of her own as well. She is unmarried and her mother and friends are pressuring her to find a man. She is also struggling to convince more women to participate in her project, as required by her editor before the story can be published. Also, she needed to write about her own nanny, who has suddenly left their household while she was away for college. As she writes, she discovers truths that gave her conviction and belief that these stories need to be published for the helps to have a voice.
The Help has a lot of funny bits. Even if the underlying subject is loaded, the quirky characters and circumstances give it a fresh and endearing vibe. There are necessary villains, of course, but they make you root for the heroes more.
Here's a memorable quote from Skeeter's mom after Skeeter's book was published. "Sometimes courage skips a generation. Thank you for bringing it back to our family."
I forgot the source but I read somewhere that this book was rejected 60 times before getting published (Googled another source). The author revised the manuscript countless times until it was approved for publication. Perseverance is a virtue. If she gave up, we would not experience this gem of a movie. Thank you, Kathryn Stockett.
Watch The Help!
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