The Help (2011), directed by Tate Taylor, is based on a novel by Kathryn Stockett (2009). Both the literary and cinematic versions had garnered considerable popularity and attention upon their release. The novel stayed on the New York Times Bestseller List for over 100 weeks, while the screen adaptation was the 13th top-grossing film of 2011. The Help was written with the intents to raise awareness toward racial segregation in the southern-set America in the 1960s. While receiving positive feedbacks from credible reviewers such as Sunday Times calling it “the other side of Gone With The Wind” (2009) and New York Times, “button-pushing, soon to be wildly popular” (2009), The Help has generated extensive controversy. The opposite side asserts
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Minny lives under the same roof with her abusive alcoholic husband. Upon knowing that she lost her job, he gives Minny a black eye. As for Aibileen, her husband left years ago when her son Treelore was just a kid, putting Aibileen into a state of depression and profound emptiness after losing Treelore in an accident. When addressing this particular problem, ABWH asserts that such depiction is misleading, distorted and do not represent the historical realities of black masculinity. (ABWH, 2011) Meanwhile, the white men in the movie are gentle, and often caring to their wives. When Yule May asks if she could loan money from Hilly and her husband William Holbrook. William decides to take off to work right away, avoiding to cause a scene or be involved with the matter by letting Hilly make the decision. Before leaving the house, he kisses Hilly on the cheek as usual. On the other hand, although Stuart Whitworth does not leave a good impression on his first blind date with Skeeter – rude, offensive and drinks too much, he begins to be a decent and understanding man around Skeeter after explaining to her that he just got out of a relationship. In the later stage, Celia Foote hires Minny to be her secret maid and hides it from her husband Johnny Foote, Minny is afraid that Johnny would beat her to death upon discovering her existence. However Johnny turns out to be very welcoming to Minny, helps her pick out the grocery that she dropped on the floor, and even offers her a lifelong employment. In other words, The Help as an anti-racism movie seems to have stereotypical racist implications per
Minny lives under the same roof with her abusive alcoholic husband. Upon knowing that she lost her job, he gives Minny a black eye. As for Aibileen, her husband left years ago when her son Treelore was just a kid, putting Aibileen into a state of depression and profound emptiness after losing Treelore in an accident. When addressing this particular problem, ABWH asserts that such depiction is misleading, distorted and do not represent the historical realities of black masculinity. (ABWH, 2011) Meanwhile, the white men in the movie are gentle, and often caring to their wives. When Yule May asks if she could loan money from Hilly and her husband William Holbrook. William decides to take off to work right away, avoiding to cause a scene or be involved with the matter by letting Hilly make the decision. Before leaving the house, he kisses Hilly on the cheek as usual. On the other hand, although Stuart Whitworth does not leave a good impression on his first blind date with Skeeter – rude, offensive and drinks too much, he begins to be a decent and understanding man around Skeeter after explaining to her that he just got out of a relationship. In the later stage, Celia Foote hires Minny to be her secret maid and hides it from her husband Johnny Foote, Minny is afraid that Johnny would beat her to death upon discovering her existence. However Johnny turns out to be very welcoming to Minny, helps her pick out the grocery that she dropped on the floor, and even offers her a lifelong employment. In other words, The Help as an anti-racism movie seems to have stereotypical racist implications per