The Help

               For months after the theatrical release of the movie The Help I heard and read about its greatness.  I did not doubt what others had experienced but I did not know if it was something I would be excited about.  Curious, I put it on my movie list and waited for the disc to arrive.  Now having watched the film not just once, but twice, I can easily see why there were so many rave reviews.  I am here to say, each and every one of the praises given about this film was well deserved.            

                After graduating from college in the early 1960s, Skeeter (Emma Stone) returns to her Jackson, Mississippi home with the desire to become a writer.  The only option she can find in her area is the author of a house cleaning advice column.  Determined to make it work, Skeeter accepts the position.  There is one problem; Skeeter does not know much about cleaning.  While usually she would ask her own beloved maid Constantine, she is unable as Constantine is no longer with the family.  Instead, Skeeter asks one of her friends if she can consult with their maid, Aibileen (Viola Davis).  While the friend is reluctant, she does let Skeeter ask Aibileen questions for the column.  This is where it all begins.

                Ever since returning home, Skeeter has been appalled by the disturbing and abhorrent behavior she has witnessed towards the African American maids of the neighborhood.  While working with Aibileen, Skeeter comes up with the idea to write a book about the experiences of the maids as they worked in their white employers’ homes.  At first Aibileen is dead set against helping Skeeter with her book.  She, along with the other women, is justifiably scared of revealing what they have been through.  They could easily lose their jobs if not experience much worse consequences.

                Despite her initial reluctance, Aibileen does come around and tell Skeeter her stories.  Then Aibileen’s best friend Minny (Octavia Spencer) gets in on the project.  For quite some time it is only these two women who will speak to Skeeter.  Then another maid is brutally arrested for theft and the other women decide to come forward.  With all these stories Skeeter is able to put her book together and open the worlds’ eyes to what is really going on in these women’s lives.

                What was so interesting about this film was the differences in each maid’s experiences.  Some had employers who were downright nasty and cruel.  Others ended up becoming dear friends with the family members and were treated with great respect.  No two stories were the same and sometimes the experiences changed drastically depending on what generation was being discussed.  It was not always the older generation that gave the bad treatment.  Often it was the other way around.  The children the maids had seen grow up were the ones who treated the maids terribly.     

                While there were humorous parts (my favorite scene was watching Minny vacuum a taxidermy bear) it was clear this was a serious movie.  Some may think the way the women were treated is a thing of the past.  I strongly disagree.  There have been too many experiences of my own, things I have witnessed, and stories I have heard showing me that we are not far from sliding back to the mentality of those times.  Now, I am not saying anything I have experienced has been as terrible as what the women in the movie went through.  I am not saying that by a long shot.  What I am saying is all too often I see people in all walks of life treated poorly simply because someone can.  They are treated as though they are lesser in order for the other to feel more powerful.  Why do we do this to each other?  Watching this movie reminds me that everyone needs to be aware how we treat others, especially those who are there to help us.  Besides, one never knows what secret someone may know about you.  Just ask Minny that question.