Review of The Help (2011) by Jeremyp — 13 Aug 2011

T's an entertaining movie for white folk who need to convince themselves that they rise above the trashy white southern women depicted in the film. The black women are noble, and all, but one, white woman is a caricature of southern segregation and divided class.

It's another chick flick of the south along the lines of "Steel Magnolias" and "Fried Green Tomatoes." The subject matter: the economic enslavement and debasement of poor minority women to a racist elite is a far too serious and shameful part of our history to be taken this frothily.

But I guess that like "All In the Family" if it takes comedy to get our history of racism, however briefly, into the consciousness of those too busy to notice then that's what it will take.