This past weekend I entered the movie theater to see The Help expecting a small crowd of mostly Black people and maybe one or two White women who had read the book already and felt compelled to watch the film version.
I was met with the complete opposite. The movie theater was filled with White men and women who had no doubt grown up in the era The Help was set in and were ready to share how good the book was- as did the woman who set beside me- and how good they hoped this movie would be.
I cried, I laughed, (cliche as it sounds) and I saw a different side of the Civil Rights movement than I think I’ve ever seen in a film. The kind of racism shown in this film was a kind that existed and was all to real during this time period. As relevant as the Ku Klux Klan was in the lives of Black people, latent racism, is a guise of ”Christianity” was present as well and was presented in this film in a way that not only acknowledged it for what it was, but made it unavoidable.
As I sat down in my seat I found myself watching the audience around me almost as much as I watched the movie- watching the facial expressions and reactions of those in the audience more than anything and watching the movie with a critical eye as well. Mainly in search of any signs of stereotype. As I watched, I saw some things that made me cringe but I more so I saw what the movie was trying to say and the story it was trying to tell. No, it didn’t address every single aspect of life during the Civil Rights movement but what it did do was tell a side of the story that was real for some women during that time.
Criticism over this movie was sure to come. I expected it the minute I heard the name and certainly when I heard the storyline, but what I understood the movie to do was to take one aspect of life and understanding during the Civil Rights movement and magnify it for us to talk about and to better understand. Growing up in the South I’ve known and heard many White people who honestly thought they were doing Blacks a favor and who felt like, as is stated in the movie, they weren’t “real racists.” They weren’t apart of any Klan so what was the problem? If anything, this movie should spark conversation on what that meant to the Black community; and it does for me.
For all of the critical reviews, both good and bad, YOU should see this movie for yourself. Make your own judgement, but go open to seeing the story as well. It will make a difference.
