“The Help:” No More Than a Chick Flick

I must preface this movie review by admitting that I did not read the book. The book is usually better, so I guess I had better be a good sport and give it the benefit of the doubt.

Overall, The Help is simplistic. To begin with, no one seemed to have made much of an attempt at ensuring historically accurate details. People wear outfits which vaguely resemble stereotypes of vintage Southern attire yet remain modern enough for today’s woman to find attractive and appealing. Every scene seemed to be composed by someone imagining what things had been like, based on second-hand stories, having never actually experienced the lifestyle for herself. A veneer of history with no tangible attachment to reality.

The bad characters are bad, the good characters are good, and there is little in between. The only character who shows any development is Skeeter’s mother, who in the end regrets her abusive treatment of the family maid. The values and interests of every other character remain the same throughout the film. And of course everyone in the audience wants to believe that they are just like Skeeter, the woman on the edge of society, ahead of her time who risks jail to ensure that the maids are heard and justice is served, all while accelerating her career as a journalist.

Yes, the audience at which The Help is directed wants to believe that they are a Skeeter, not a Hilly, the privileged, self-righteous Southern belle who ruthlessly belittles and degrades her maids. But the truth of the matter is that the vast majority of us are Hilly’s. We lack charity towards others, whether or not they be of our own race, background, economic class, or religion. The only way we will ever truly be able to change is if we admit to ourselves that we are not Skeeter.

Unfortunately, The Help does not make us question ourselves; it wraps the story up with a nice red bow. At the end of the movie, everyone is happy, as if all racism or hatred or misunderstanding had been conquered. As if the battle for equality were over and won. As if there were no more work left to be done. Hilly receives no empathy, only scorn. She is such the epitome of awful that she is unrealistic. The fact that such a character would not really exist undermines the whole premise of the story. In reality, even the bad guys are people too, and if we try to treat them as in-human, we only delude ourselves. People may harbor Hilly’s feelings, but the only way to overcome such people is to understand them, not to write them off as ridiculous, outlandish, vulgar, or misinformed.

For a film attempting to comment on the state of our society, I found it disappointing. If you are looking for a movie that will make you forget your woes and feel good about yourself, then by all means, go, enjoy The Help. If you are looking for a movie that challenges your feelings about yourself and how you see the world, keep looking.


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