The Help


The help is a movie about a dark period in American history that is remarkably funny. I think it's refreshing because you can have different approaches to traumatic events. It's hard for me to describe why the movie is so funny without ruining one of the best parts of the movie, so I won't talk about it, but I will address some of the criticism that has been directed towards the movie. Actress Viola Davis has since distanced herself from the movie saying that it did not provide voices for the black characters in the film. It seems such an odd thing to say, and you wonder if she actually watched the movie. Because yes a white character is used as a sort of framing device - the movie is all about the lives of these women who have to live within the framework of this rich, white, very racist society. Maybe her criticism is because we do not see major events in the lives of the black characters in the film, we only hear about them, whereas we do see major events in the white characters lives. But I think instead of criticizing this film for what it is, why not make another film about the same character but focusing on those aspects of her life?  So in short I wasn't expecting to enjoy the film, but I ended up liking it.


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