The Help

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Emilia Perez isn’t the only Oscar contender that stirs debate, as the history of film awards has often seen unexpected victories and questionable choices. Back in 2011, Tate Taylor’s film The Help sparked quite a stir when it earned four Academy Award nominations and one win, and now this controversial period drama appears to be garnering attention once more on Hulu.

In 1960s Jackson, Mississippi, the story The Help delves into the lives of African-American housekeepers who work for affluent white families. The narrative primarily revolves around Aibileen Clark and Minny Jackson, two Black women who endure mistreatment from their employers. This hardship is brought to light by Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan, a young, aspiring white writer. As the story unfolds, Minny, Aibileen, and other maids in their community encounter numerous instances of racism and hostility from their employers: Minny gets fired for using an indoor “whites only” bathroom during a perilous tornado, while another maid is brutally arrested. Skeeter later publishes this injustice in a book that gains immense popularity, allowing her to distribute the profits among the women whose stories she documented. Yet, at the end of the film, Aibileen loses her job partly due to Skeeter’s book and decides to embark on a writing career herself.

The movie “The Help” is adapted from Kathryn Stockett’s 2009 novel of the same title. While Stockett marketed her book as a work of fiction drawn from historical events during the Civil Rights Era, a woman named Aibileen Cooper emerged in 2011, alleging that elements and characters from the story had been illegally taken from her real-life experiences. Cooper was once the maid for Stockett’s brother, and she contended that her life bore striking similarities to the character Aibileen. However, the claim was dropped in 2011 due to the passage of time.

In the movie titled “The Help“, we see a talented group of actors take center stage. Viola Davis plays Aibileen, Octavia Spencer portrays Minny, and Emma Stone is cast as Skeeter. At the 84th Annual Academy Awards, the film was up for Best Picture, with Viola Davis being nominated for Best Actress, and Jessica Chastain in the Best Supporting Actress category. It was only Octavia Spencer who took home the prize for her role as Best Supporting Actress in this prestigious event.

Why is ‘The Help’ So Controversial?

Despite garnering significant praise and financial success, The Help has been viewed as contentious by some fans and actors alike. Critics argue that it oversimplified the Black Civil Rights Movement, serving more to comfort white audiences than portray the harsh reality of the violence and discrimination endured by people of color during that era. This perception stems from the film’s narrative focus on Skeeter, whose perspective is prioritized over the maids, who were meant to be the film’s central figures. Instead, their experiences take a backseat in the storyline.

In simpler terms, while some white characters in “The Help” display despicable behavior, they are contrasted with kinder characters like Skeeter and Celia Rae Foote (Jessica Chastain). These sympathetic figures reflect the persistent notion of white guilt within our culture, but they also reinforce the stereotype of the white savior. Consequently, the story’s aim to depict the lives of African-American maids is overshadowed by its focus on satisfying and appeasing a primarily white audience.

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2025-02-07 01:33