Review of The Help (2011) by Nedryerson1 — 14 Jan 2012

Every minute while watching The Help, I was constantly surprised. At first, the movie seemed to me a simple story a young woman trying to become a well known writer collecting testimonies of black maids; but is so much under it. There is a society that lives in a perfect but paradoxical situation. This is formed by small families, in which neither of the parents have time to raise their children, so that job is done by a black maid, which in some cases are treat like a slave. The relation between the housewife and the maid is ruled by an unbreakable protocol; the black employees must use another bathroom than the family, different dishes to eat, not share food or drink with a white person and not touch a white adult because they can spread disease; but, and here is the paradox, they can take care of the children. Another paradox is that the white people treat the blacks as if they were animals, when twenty years ago, they criticized the Germans for their treatment of the Jews. I know that those things are on different levels, but both violet human rights.

There are two things in the movie that are remarkable: the influence of the society in a single person and how that can make the difference between someone who discriminate black people (in contact with the society) and someone who treats them as equals (isolated from the society). The other thing is a concept, the idea that a small action (gathering stories or telling your own) can mean a big change in human mentality.

This film deals with issues from different perspectives, but that is only complete with dazzling performances and a strong screenplay.