The Help is a 2011 period-drama film directed by Tate Taylor which challenges the societal racism of a 1963 Jackson, Mississippi. The film follows its white protagonist, Skeeter (Emma Stone), in her attempt to write an exposé on the mistreatment of the dark-skinned maids and nannies in Jackson. The dominant attitudes in this society come from the white population, as they have more power and numbers than those with coloured skin. Conflicts between characters from the opposing races reveal discriminatory attitudes from the white populace towards the darker skinned people. Attitudes such as dark-skinned people being untrustworthy, unclean and worth less than their white counter-part are presented to the audience through symbolic, audio and technical
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A conflict which reveals this attitude is after the murder of Emmett Till when a bus driver pulls over announces “Coloured people off. The rest of you let me know where you’re going and I’ll get you as close as I can”. Although it was “some nigger” who was assassinated, the bus driver throws the coloured people, who are more likely to be in danger, off of the bus and away from safety and takes care of the white people. This action presents to the audience the superiority the white people have over the coloured people in this 1963 Jackson, Mississippi society. It also reveals the disregard the white people have for the safety of the black minority. However, once again, the dominant attitudes of the society are disobeyed by Celia during an interaction with Minny, her housemaid. In the scene, Minny sets up Celia’s lunch in the dining room and takes her own plate to a small table in the kitchen to eat. Celia then brings her own plate back over to Minny and sits down to eat with her. Minny protests and says “We’ve been over this, you need to eat in the dining room, that’s how it works” but Celia fires back with “I’m fine right here, Minny”. The initial action in this scene, which shows Minny separating herself from Celia, presents the idea that Minny has succumb to the attitude that she needed to stay away from Celia because she is white. However, Celia’s disregard of the segregation, which would define her superiority to Minny, shows that she views Minny more equally than the dominant attitude in her society implies that she should. All in all, The Help presents a society which dominantly believes that it is right to position white people above their coloured counterparts, and through interactions between the two races, this attitude is
A conflict which reveals this attitude is after the murder of Emmett Till when a bus driver pulls over announces “Coloured people off. The rest of you let me know where you’re going and I’ll get you as close as I can”. Although it was “some nigger” who was assassinated, the bus driver throws the coloured people, who are more likely to be in danger, off of the bus and away from safety and takes care of the white people. This action presents to the audience the superiority the white people have over the coloured people in this 1963 Jackson, Mississippi society. It also reveals the disregard the white people have for the safety of the black minority. However, once again, the dominant attitudes of the society are disobeyed by Celia during an interaction with Minny, her housemaid. In the scene, Minny sets up Celia’s lunch in the dining room and takes her own plate to a small table in the kitchen to eat. Celia then brings her own plate back over to Minny and sits down to eat with her. Minny protests and says “We’ve been over this, you need to eat in the dining room, that’s how it works” but Celia fires back with “I’m fine right here, Minny”. The initial action in this scene, which shows Minny separating herself from Celia, presents the idea that Minny has succumb to the attitude that she needed to stay away from Celia because she is white. However, Celia’s disregard of the segregation, which would define her superiority to Minny, shows that she views Minny more equally than the dominant attitude in her society implies that she should. All in all, The Help presents a society which dominantly believes that it is right to position white people above their coloured counterparts, and through interactions between the two races, this attitude is