I like to play devil’s advocate sometimes. I personally enjoyed The Help more than I thought I would, but I do agree with and acknowledge the issues brought up in several articles. My contribution to the discussion is rather long (oh dear!), so I put it in spoilers for anyone interested.
[spoiler]When a film attempts to depict a minority culture, it’s almost inevitable that people from those respective cultures will be offended and outraged. This is not to say that those offended by The Help are wrong in feeling offended, but I expect controversy with these sort of things and I think the overall intention of unifying people in overcoming evil racism should at least be somewhat appreciated given the popularity of the book and film; both have clearly had an impact. It may not be a prime example of depicting civil rights history (in a fictional setting or otherwise), but I see it as more of a stepping stone. Stockett should have done better research, obviously, but I think her good intentions mean more than anything. It’s a lesson for future storytellers to grow from, and I don’t think it should make The Help a bad film.
Also, I think the term “racist,” despite its dictionary definition, should be more clearly defined when used. The Help obviously does not portray whites as inherently superior to blacks; in fact, almost all whites depicted in the film are evil and we as an audience are manipulated into despising them. Now, The Help may and probably does include multiple black stereotypes, and for that it could be labeled as perpetuating stereotypes. But I think drawing a line between inaccurate stereotypes and blatant white suprematism should be necessary.
One thing that bothers me about criticism of The Help is the suggestion that Skeeter is the protagonist. Ha! Really, even though Emma Stone has many admirers nowadays, how many people were strongly affected by her character? How many people cared about Skeeter as much as Aibileen? Compare that to how many people have universally praised Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer. I don’t think that can entirely be attributed to “white guilt” and patronizing, either; both actresses gave fine performances and had more dimensional characters than the white women in the film. The film is not purposely portraying blacks negatively, but it could have been executed in a more respectful, less ignorant manner. This can most certainly be attributed to the director/writer, producers, and author of the original book. More consulting and research should have been done, or perhaps a talented black writer could have written the screenplay (I liked the directing style—it had a nice, refreshing pace and feel).
I wanted to share some quotes from articles criticizing The Help for depicting black women as condescending stereotypes. Both articles are well-written and make several strong points but have a common thread of criticizing whites for ignorantly sugar-coating things and trying to be optimistic about overcoming racism.
"I listened to the women around me [in the theater watching The Help ], certainly well-meaning, many of them of the Golden Girls demographic, chattering about how much they loved the book and how excited they were and how long they had been waiting for this movie to open. I wondered if they were reminiscing about the good old days, then decided that was unfair of me." (In the same article, this woman also discusses seeing another movie about racism and not wanting to see a white person for three days after.)
Firstly, I appreciate the honesty of this statement and sympathize as well (though I have rarely felt judged by my skin color outside of attending a primarily black school years ago), but this quote truly upsets me. I feel like it puts the burden of guilt onto innocent people, and furthermore the assumption that skin color correlates with actions is upsetting and arguably quite prejudice. Sure, there may be a sound reason for feeling such a way, and at least the author immediately admits it’s “unfair” but regardless I’m hurt by this. Furthermore, no one should have to feel this way and it’s extremely unfortunate (not wrong—unfortunate) that people’s scars are still healing. I can’t tell anyone how to feel, especially when I haven’t walked in that person’s shoes, but having these thoughts are only going to separate people in the end and this article makes me wonder just how many historically oppressed people feel this way and if the author herself will ever be able to overcome those feelings.
"Implicit in The Help and a number of other popular works that deal with the civil rights era is the notion that a white character is somehow crucial or even necessary to tell this particular tale of black liberation."
With the issue of a white character coming to the rescue, I suppose it could be interpreted the same way people criticize damsels-in-distress in Disney films, but I see it more as a situation where two parties join together in unity and help one another and society in general. During the March on Washington, for instance, there were whites attending, and there were white conductors and supporters for the Underground Railroad. Whites were not the heroes of the Civil Rights Movement, but they certainly were there to stand up against racism, and that shouldn’t be ignored simply because it’s “not their fight.” People outside the minority (whichever minority that may be) should not be criticized or mocked for helping in overcome oppression. Examples: the recent debate over gay marriage and adoption rights in America (take note: there are many gay/straight alliances across the countries), women’s rights (men can be feminists, too!), the Holocaust, and so on and so forth. Of course, all of these events and groups have different circumstances, but they still share some common elements.
Back to the film’s story, the hero of the film is not Skeeter, because I would argue that viewers care more about ending the suffering of blacks (specifically female maids) than Skeeter proving her skills as a writer. I got the impression from the film that if characters like Aibileen and Minnie “spoke up” without a sort of safety net provided by the published book, there would have been dire consequences. I would have loved to see the maids/help gain the strength to speak up on their own, but what would have happened as a result? Whether or not this is historically relevant isn’t as important, because it’s relevant in the reality of the book and film themselves.
Even though the horrors of lynching and such were not discussed in the film and neither was the treatment of women by male characters (who are generally not present for the most part), I hardly feel that Americans watched this film without the anxiety of such a thing occurring. At least I didn’t. On that note, to say this film is “candy-coated” may be true, especially because it has such an optimistic resolution, but I hardly think it is void of suffering. On multiple occasions I was upset and uncomfortable.
Now, I would like to see Hollywood actually fund a movie that is historically accurate and brutally honest, in which blacks are not “magical” or speak with a stereotypical broken dialect, but I guess we may have to wait for that, unfortunately. I don’t think we should have to wait for such a thing in 2012, but it seems inevitable. One major issue with depicting a culture respectfully is to involve people from that culture as much as possible. Directing, writing, acting, etc. It’s usually best for a person to tell their own story or at least a story they can relate to. That said, I also think a white woman should be able to write a novel about the suffering of blacks without being criticized, and seeing that one of the sites mentalguru linked to recommended such books, they do exist! Also, here’s a list I found of movies depicting racism. Funny (scratch that: sad and disappointing) to see how most of these feature white characters at the forefront. I don’t think each individual film is wrong in doing that, though I haven’t seen most of them, but I would like to see that cliché overcome.
Personally, one of my favorite movies involving racial issues is Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing, which initially has subtle tension but gradually climbs to an alarming and disturbing climax which suggests the severity of modern-day “closet racism.” Moreover, DTRT does not necessarily glorify one culture over another, and everyone essentially has their flaws (note: the film has racial stereotypes but I see it as more intentional than actual ignorance). It’s a brilliant film for anyone interested.[/spoiler]