The Help : Memories of the Old South

Memories of the Old South

“God says we need to love our enemies. It's hard to do, but it can start by telling the truth.”

Aibileen Clark, a maid

     After discovering segregation through the eyes of a little girl of the American south, Harper Lee’s in To Kill a Mockingbird, the movie The Help offers us a new perspective about one of the darkest times of America’s history. The film focuses on the daily life of coloured maids in the segregated city of Jackson in the 1960s, through the point of view of Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan, a tonic young woman who dreams about becoming a famous writer. The movie, released in 2011, reminds us that in thirty years between the time of and To Kill a Mockingbird in the 1930s, and the time of The Help, nothing changed.

     Tate Taylor’s film introduces us to three different categories of characters: first, the help, that is the coloured employees, then the stereotypically southern characters, and finally the young spirits who want to make a change. Once the grounds are laid, the director follows the path of Skeeter, performed by Emma Stone, who has just got a job as a cleaning advice giver at the local newspaper. She decides to ask hints from her friend’s black maid, Aibileen Clark. Aibileen, magically portrayed by Viola Davis, has spent her whole life raising white people’s children, instead of taking care of herself and her own children. Sadly, her son died in a tragic accident few years ago. Here starts the real story. Rather than giving Skeeter cooking or cleaning tips, Aibileen decides to accept the young woman’s offer and to give her testimony about her life as a black maid in southern homes. There is only one problem: writing a book which criticizes social codes at the time is strongly forbidden by the Jim Craw law, “Separate but Equal”. Secret meetings with the other maids they convince to participate to the collection will continue throughout the movie, until the triumphant, but anonymous, publication of the book.

     The film treats a difficult subject, but is quite well handled by Tate Taylor and his outstanding feminine cast, lead by Viola Davis, Emma Stone, Octavia Spencer and Bryce Dallas Howard. Such a female cast clearly put the men out of the front scene. The particular care given to the historical reenactment, costumes and set brings great credibility to the film, which could, at first, pass for a caricature of the different classes of the time. However, the movie is marked by significant omissions, such as historical events simply skimmed through, for example, the murder of Medgar Evers by a Ku Klux Klan member. He was a young black activist and member of the NAACP, who was investigating the murder of Emmett Till. Thus, the film does not show enough to the viewer about the real dangers incurred by coloured people at the time. Considering the almost nonexistence of the Civil Rights movement, every isolated “rebellious” act would be severely and violently repressed by the states or even by racists groups like the Ku Klux Klan.

     I met a young girl, Elena, who cried and laughed while watching the movie. She studies English at high school and is really interested in America's history. Even though the events took place about fifty years ago and on the other side of the world, she feels very concerned about these socials issues. I asked her a few questions about the film and Segregation in the United-States.

     I believe you really liked this movie, so, why did you enjoy it so much and what did you think of the choice of telling us the story through Skeeter's and the maids' eyes ?

     Elena : As far as I’m concerned, I really enjoyed seeing this film. This story reminds us how terrible it was to be a coloured person during Segregation, above all, in Mississippi. The originality of this movie comes precisely from this switching of different points of view. In fact, I’ve seen lots of films about Segregation, including Mississippi Burning, and I’ve always thought that the point of view of people who lived segregated wasn’t highlighted enough. That’s why I think this film is really special. I also enjoy this film because of its, compared to the sadness of this period. Moreover, I’m keen on the different maids who each had anecdotes to share. I also admired Skeeter, not only because she had the bravery to write about maids during this dark period, but also because she made her dream came true by becoming a brilliant writer.

     Did this film teach or make you discover new things about Segregation in America and about what happened at this time, or do you think, like many critics, that it's mostly a dramatic movie ?

     Elena : As I said before I've seen a lot of films about Segregation, so I didn’t really discover new things which I didn’t know before. Instead, this film reinforced my opinion about the cruelty of Segregation. Saying that it’s a dramatic movie is not really fair, considering the film is based on true stories. In my opinion, films like this can not only teach facts of history, but also the mentality of white and black people who lived during this period. Human beings always need a scapegoat in order to shift their hatred onto somebody else. During this period, it was the black people who took the rap. This is awful to say, but sadly, it's the ugly truth and you can observe this type of comportment through world's history.

     And finally, do you think it's good, today, to still talk and make films about this dark period, which a lot of people think we should all forget ?

    Elena : Our mistakes help all of whole humanity to go further. According to me, it is essential to talk about this dark period, and not only this one but the others, like World Wars or dictatorships. We must not forget about these periods which show the cruelty, nastiness and the narrow mindedness of human beings. People often want to forget about these times, but I think that it's our duty to remember past mistakes.

            In spite of real absence of important points of history, The Help, and especially its cast, marked the memories. Indeed, Tate Taylor, signing here his third movie, films a cruel reality with a light touch. Let's hope that nobody will ever forget the courage of these women.

Mattia C.