I met many like this in the early 90's when I attended a small university in upstate PA. I couldn't believe it. It was like we were transported back in time, literally. We (the small group of Blacks on campus) experienced blatant racism, not so much on campus but in the small town. There was only one black family in the whole town and it was the home of a professor at the university. I learned a lot from that experience and will never forget it.

Dead (at the bolded). I can sooo relate to what you're saying. I have often been the black person in class through elementary, middle school, and college yet I have also been to all black schools (high school for example). I moved around a lot so I was able to experience both worlds.

So I went to see the movie today and I thought it was good. I went about 3:00pm and the theater was full of senior citizens...lol. I do need to see it again though when it comes out on DVD before I can give my overall take on things (I always watch a movie I'm interested in at least a 2nd time since I always see things the 2nd time that I didn't see the first). Overall, I think it's worth it to go see it. Also, I didn't have an issue with the dialect that the maids used. It's obvious in the movie (and if you know about the era) that many Blacks rarely went to school if at all since it was more important to work for their families. However, I don't believe that dialect equals being unintelligent. I found Aibilene and Minnie to be quite intelligent.

I didn't read the book but I may read it now.

So I screened the movie about a month ago and just started reading the book a few days ago.

I'm not far enough into the book for a full comparison, but I felt like the civil rights issues were glossed over and for the most part divorced from the characters. The bus scene with Aibilene and the dude was beyond confusing, as was the name dropping of Medgar Evars. Because of this, I can understand the the critique from one of the reviews posted earlier about it seeming like racism was just the result of peer pressure, though it didn't play out to me that way (probably because of my frame of reference and knowledge about the topic). I did like however, that it did show that some peoples actions (not necessarily opinions) do change because of outside pressure, i.e. Elizabeth Leefolt.

As someone who cries at almost anything sad (and joyful) for that matter, I suprisingly didn't cry as much as I anticipated. But I did appreciate the balance between the humor and the "gritier" topics.

I was expecting the dialect to bother me based on commentary I had heard or read prior to the movie, but it did not stand out as overly aggregious to me.

While I find it hard to believe/comprehend, and recognize that I was and never will be in a position privileged enough to have lived without this sphere of knowledge, I recall in my freshman writing class we were reading from an anthology (topic at the time Christopher Columbus and the discovery of America) and there was at least one student who was upset/angered about the negative depiction of CC. While he had been taught the story of the "discovery" of America in school wherever he was from, he had never been taught about the death and disease aspect of said story. What he did after learning is on him, but it is very possible for young adults, who we'd like to think would be more knowledgeable just aren't.

Growing up in New Orleans and living in Mississippi now, I thought the novel was very true to the time in which it was written. I saw the movie as well and I cried and laughed! My husband even liked it. I thought everything was wonderful about it! (Really loved it when they mentioned Ole Miss a few times!!!) I think it is a must-see! Of course read the novel too!!!

Traditional first year students are late-teens/barely adults fresh out of high school. That is why the college experience (inside and outside of the classroom) is a huge learning experience. If he was an upper level collegiate or post-collegiate, I would say he ignored information that he probably had access to and such ignorance is pathetic.

******

Black Female Historians Slam 'The Help'

http://www.theroot.com/buzz/black-fe...ians-slam-help

I read an article about the real Aibilene who indeed worked for the author's family. I'm sure although fiction, there is much truth in the story.

I totally agree. I know both of my parents grew up with maids in New Orleans who had bathrooms outside of the house. (Which is just weird to me.) My parents said just about every family in New Orleans back in the 50s/60s had help of some type. Some had help 5 days a week, some had help once a week, and some even had more than one maid. My mom's maid would even show my grandmother her purse before she left every day. (Apparently she did this on her accord to show she was an honest woman.) My dad’s friend invited his maid to his wedding when he got married in the 70s. He sent a limo to pick her up because he felt she had been like a second mother to him. He wanted to make sure she was treated just like family on his big day. I had a maid until I was about 5 or 6, and boy did she make the best grilled cheese sandwiches!

Totally unrelated to above discussion, but related to The Help...I was wondering...did Kathryn Stockett choose Skeeter's given name Eugenia because it's an old Southern name or could she have had inspiration from a certain Tucker Fitzgerald?

Common knowledge ain't always common, either. There's a lot of common ignorance out there.

I grew up in the segregated South, and read the book, thinking the entire time that I was in that room, that house, and could hear those conversations. It was the "way things were" when I was a girl. We didn't have a maid, but we did have a cleaning lady from time to time.

I spent the summer of '62 with my aunt and uncle in Hattiesburg, and found things to be noticeably more structured as far as "coloreds", which was the language of the era. I remember being in the sorority house when our elderly handy man was still called the House Boy. What a courtly gentleman he was, but to think back to how he must have felt to have teenage white girls call him that gives me pause. Same with our cooks and maids, who had to "wait" on us and take our breakfast and lunch orders with no complaints.

I saw the movie yesterday AFTERNOON which makes me a senior citizen I guess. Whatever that infers. And aside from one or two exaggerated portrayals of certain characters like Celia and Mae Mobley's mama, who was just dumber than dirt, the regional dialect of all the characters was spot on.

Bryce Howard was chillingly good, Viola Davis will rightfully be nominated for an Oscar, and Sissy Spacek didn't need a dialect coach, that's for sure. She was delightful, by the way.

This seems to be what the people who have the toughest criticism about the movie and the book fail to recognize. Granted, they probably haven't read the book nor seen the movie.

It's very telling to me that those who actually experienced the era, on either side of the color line, don't seem to be as offended as those who weren't even born during that time. What does that say about what we choose to believe about our history?

It's very telling to me that those who actually experienced the era, on either side of the color line, don't seem to be as offended as those who weren't even born during that time. What does that say about what we choose to believe about our history?[/QUOTE]

Excellent observation.

If we don't tell the truth, what are we left with? It was a very rough time, and those who can tell it should tell it, with no fuzzy soft bumpers to act as shock absorbers for what we don't want to hear.

I found this to be a hard movie to watch. I cried throughout and felt sick to my stomach at the blatant cruelty. I didn't feel like there was a white savior making everything better at the end because at the end, despite a little embarrassment for Hilly, she was still on top. This movie is NOT just about entertainment.

Speaking generally, since there were/are people who experienced the era who consider certain depictions offensive: That can mean a number of things. It can mean they are accustomed to being offended by depictions of Blacks whereas younger generations have seen relatively more balanced depictions; they consider real life to be more important than media depictions; etc.

White folks would have no substantive reason to be offended by anything, anyway.

Yep.

At the same time, it is very telling that Blacks are most often on the big screen when there is a "rough time" to depict. A look at what are considered the top movies of all time with a majority Black cast (and some of the top Black actors') show how prevalent these movies are. Therefore, I don't think it's a problem with these stories being told so much as it's a problem with ONLY these stories being told.

On a related note, Aziz Ansari had a very true and hilarious interview I heard on NPR yesterday:

http://www.npr.org/2011/08/13/139606...inutes-or-less

MommyCG saw this last night and she thought it was hilarious. She told me "Go see it, you'll crack up!" I asked if she thought it was accurate (she was a young adult in AL during this era) and she said it was extremely accurate, not just in MS but the entire south. She wasn't offended at all: "That's how it really was, what can I say?"

I may go see it during this week.

I'm a straight white woman, and I'm just as offended by what I perceive to be insults to other groups as I am by insults to groups I'm in. Maybe more so, since I've got pretty thick skin.

Being white affects my perception, no doubt. But if I can see it, it bothers me no matter who's being attacked.

I saw it last night with a bunch of my sisters. I just kept thinking of the maid that still (or at least used to) work for my grandmother one day a week. I remember my mom telling me stories about the woman who used to work for my great-grandparents, and wore a uniform similar to the ones depicted in the movie. Both were African-American, and my mom was a child during the period depicted in the movie. I had a very hard time believing it was the 1960s and not the 1940s.

I also reflected on my own experience- while my mom was still working full time when I was very young, we had an in-home babysitter who watched me. My mom cut back her hours when I was about four, but that same lady stayed with us one day a week when my mom did work. She was with my family until I was 14. I wouldn't go nearly as far to say that she raised me, but the elements were just too similar for me to not think about.

While I have good faith that they were treated fairly well by the members of my family, it definitely gives me pause now.

What's that? ;)

I said "substantive" because some whites will be offended by some things but the foundation for the offense tends to be different. For instance, you are just as offended by depictions of nonwhites which is different than nonwhites being offended by depictions of nonwhites.

I'm not saying that the older people aren't expressing offense at all--their responses are a little more nuanced than the younger people, since they actually experienced it and saw that each maid's experience was different but in some levels the experiences were universal. My mom saw it and for the most part, really enjoyed it. She's of that time and saw a number of female relatives work as maids. Her only complaint was that the portrayal of black men was pretty rotten.

The people who have expressed the most offense, at least in my circles, are definitely young people of color--specifically those involved in some aspect of "the progressive struggle"--civil rights attorneys, documentary filmmakers, ethnic studies students/professors, etc. A big part of that is that they may be demanding a certain level of accuracy that is impossible for a feature film. These are also the people that can't just enjoy a TV show, book, movie, or album for its entertainment content.

Wife forced me to see it. Will be honest, I was entertained. I compared notes with others that saw it and one of the notes we all had in common was that we (blacks) were the minority in the movie theatre.

I heard a lot of people crying, especially at the end.

I finally saw the movie last night. It was wonderful. I hope that there will be several Oscar nominations for the women in The Help.

I feel that those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it. Perhaps because I have lived most of my life in Los Angeles, and I am on the older side, I am aware of the discrimination that many groups endured.

So, the far reaching grasp of Jim Crow laws: When I was young, about six or so, my father worked for a company based in Virginia. He went to Virginia on a business trip. My father told the story how he "made a mistake" by drinking out of a "Colored: water fountain. The security guard came over and asked him if he was aware that he was making a mistake. My father was confused until the guard pointed out the "Colored" sign on/near the fountain. My father apologized and went to the "correct" fountain. But he was shaken. He could have been detained by the police. And that, as well as the "colored" fountain horrified him.

I was in one of my brief stints in a Jewish Sunday school. I asked my father if the guard was a Nazi. Silence ensued.

The Help is a fabulous book. I believe that the movie is very good. There are some gaps. But, it is a wonderful movie.

Your story reminded me of something my brother did as a child in a grocery store; a Winn Dixie to be exact.

While my Mother was not looking, he snuck over to the "colored" water fountain and took a drink. We seriously stood there for a few minutes waiting to see if anything would happen to the color of his skin. When he remained a freckly white kid, we both agreed that the different water fountains were dumb. I think he was actually a little disappointed that he couldn't show Mother that he was "different".
The social experiments that 5 year olds undertake are interesting in their simplicity, and in their truth.

I just got home from the movie and was impressed by it. I read the book awhile back, so it seemed to follow it pretty closely.

I really enjoyed the movie. I thought the acting was amazing, there were plenty of parts where I was like "man if only I could smack the living daylights out of you".

I finally went to see the movie today and it was great! Like others have mentioned, it followed the book pretty closely.

This movie had a good portrayal of why people did not speak up (from both sides). Definitely a must see.

I finally saw it yesterday (the hurricane a couple of weeks ago prevented our original viewing). I thought it was fantastic. It strayed away from the book just enough to provide a little extra "kick," but I think they relied on the pie storyline way too much for laughs.

Viola Davis will probably get another Oscar nomination. Allison Janney was also good--did anyone else think she was trying to channel Dixie Carter?

Why were the mothers portrayed as being so old? Being that Hilly and Skeeter were only 22 or 23, their mothers were probably 45-50 at the very very oldest.

An excellent movie.
 

I thought it was very well done.

Local Chattanooga hero, Leslie Jordan, did his usual superb job as the newspaper editor.

I related well to the storyline... although Chattanooga, TN is hardly Jackson, MS. From 1961-1966 our African-American housekeeper helped rear me and was often a best friend to this only child. I remember how crushed my mother was when I shared with "Dee Dee" (my special name for Rosa) that I had an imaginery friend. Dee Dee's grandmother had worked for my grandmother. Our story had a much different ending, however. In 1966, Dee Dee left our employ to work in the mailroom at a local bank. A bank where my father served as president and he assisted her with this move. I worked at the bank in the summers during college and often had lunch with Dee Dee. All of these years later -- we are still friends.

Good movie.

Had funny moments.

Had sad moments.

It wasn't as funny as people made it out to be. It definitely wasn't pure entertainment. Every scene was predictably profound in that there was so much embedded in it. I have not read the book yet but I could predict most of the movie including the cake and the pawn shop/ring outcomes. I spent most of the movie being angry and pissed off. I ended the movie being angry and pissed off. Most of the people in the theater were white and that is the trend for this movie--definitely not a Tyler Perry movie. I was annoyed by some of the things the white people laughed at. I thought "What the hell is so funny? Is some of that funny laughter or nervous laughter?" I wasn't annoyed by the things the Black people laughed at.

I was teary eyed over things in the movie like the Evers killing. I wasn't teary eyed over things like the little girl who was sad at the end because the nanny was fired. It seemed sad at first until I remembered the context of a little white girl crying for her Black "mommy." Sadness was quickly replaced by anger. The movie ended on a positive note. What a good way to make white people happy in 2011 as many whites will feel that this has given a voice to the voiceless. What a funny and fun movie. In real life, I believe that more violence would've occurred if some Black folks helped write a book like that. Some violence would've happened to not only express anger but to try to reinforce the sense of control, order, and power. That's how these dynamics tend to work in real life and there is nothing more frightening than some angry people in positions of power (in most racial contexts: white people).

So, yeah, good movie. I wouldn't go around saying "omg, THE HELP IS A MUST SEEE" to white people as many white people have been doing to anyone who will listen including Black people--volunteering how awesome the book and movie are kind of like people were reading the book in the movie. That's because it is so much more than just a "great movie." And I'm always apprehensive when the mainstream (read: majority whites) are so excited over such things.

My family who grew up in the 1930s, especially the south, still refuse to see this movie. They remember how it was in the 1930s-1970s and how it still is in many areas. I will call them tomorrow to tell them about the movie and they will probably say they don't need to see this harsh reminder that has entertained so many white people. I wonder why more whites didn't love The Color Purple this much---oh, that's right, white people weren't among the main characters.

:) <-----smile

bump for the 2012

Thanks Doc.

I posted my thoughts on this movie in the current movie thread, but it seems to be this movie is a little old for that thread. I hate movies like this, although the history is true and something that we all need to be reminded of, at times. I guess I'm one of those who believes that if you don't know your history then knowing your future can be difficult. The movie pissed me off, basically, not because of what I was seeing, but because there are some folks who still believe in this today. I only watched it because I was watching it with my girl, and she wanted to see it. There was some other shit in the movie that bothered me, too.