The Help Film Techniques

The Help tells the story of a young, white woman trying to write a novel to expose the reality that black women face in the south. Though the film highlights some important parts of the Civil Rights struggle, it downplays the extent of the issues. Though it perfectly portrays the terrorizing reign of whites over blacks, overall The Help is historically inaccurate by stereotyping characters, telling a good vibes only story, and making an unrealistic case to hit a target

The Help, in light of the top of the selling novel by Kathryn Stockett, is a movie about segregation in Jackson, Mississippi in the mid-1960s. the work clarifies, African-American ladies had couple of alternatives yet to work as abused domestics for affluent white families. While socialites endowed the bringing up of their youngsters to the house keepers, the last were scarcely ready to tend to their own particular families. And this happen after the united states Civil War.

The movie, The Help, is based on the book written by Kathryn Stockett. It was released in 2011 and directed by Tate Taylor (Taylor, 2017). The Help is set in Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960’s, and it is about the experiences black women had as maids for white families. These women decided to risk it all and tell their stories in an effort to show what is was really like for them (Taylor, 2011). The Help illustrates how these women fought racism and prejudice by becoming unified with one another. This paper will address how prejudice, discrimination, stereotyping, and inequality affect the characters and their relationships in the story.

The novel, “The Help”, by Kathryn Stockett, focuses on the social issue of segregation in the United States, specifically in the south. Stockett demonstrates the issue of racial segregation between blacks and whites in the 1960’s by applying allusions, and point of view.

“‘Don’t you ever wish you could change things?”’ (10). In Jackson, Mississippi during the 1960’s, woman ahead of her time, Miss Skeeter, proposes an idea to write a book about the lives of colored maids in Jackson. Aibileen and Minny, two maids, are among the first ones to agree to help Skeeter, despite the potential danger to themselves. In The Help, Kathryn Stockett creates an engaging and immersive world that explores racism and social injustice by using well-developed writing, the ideal amount of imagery, and strong characters.

In the Film “The Help” characters also encounter situations that want to be forgotten. During the 1960’s (The time frame which the film was set) people with light skin colour where seen to be in power. Black people were forced to follow under their rules, working for them and catering their every need. Human beings are seen to be equal now but the sets props and costumes created a feeling of historical authenticity. During the movie footage of newscasts from the television were shown from the era creating visual context for the viewer reflection on the time of the era.

Kathryn Stockett’s, The Help, introduces two main characters in the novel who reveal their drastic experiences of the day-to-day life of an African American during the early 1960’s. These hard working ladies, Aibileen Clark and Minny, dedicate and spend their lives taking care of white families and raising their innocent children. Discrimination played a big role in the society during this era, and was considered normal; however, these tough and independent women took every day as a new challenge to look for the the best outcome. In the novel, Kathryn Stockett interprets nature imagery to symbolize the traumatic experiences and struggles each black minority undergoes.

One scene in the film where the cinematographer’s choices illuminate a character or issue for the viewer is when Chick Mallison is talking to his uncle, Gavin Stevens and he is talking about when he first met Lucas Beauchamp. In this scene Chick Mallison and Gavin Stevens are both in a two-shot sitting on the bed, then it goes close-up on Chick; from the close-up on his face the camera starts to pan right showing a gun and then starts to fade into the next scene. This is important in the film because we know as the audience we should be ready to see a flashback, this flashback is important because the way Chick and Beauchamp meet will be of importance of the film later. The flashback is Chick is rabbit hunting with his family servant, Aleck

There are several different Psychological themes throughout the movie “The Help”. In this paper I will be discussing 3 of which I feel are very important. My intentions throughout this paper is to make everyone aware of not only the Discrimination shown in the movie but also the way that Peer Pressure, and perspective ties into making this a powerful movie. Hopefully I can use this paper to make others aware of the hardship and oppression that not only African Americans went through but all African American Women especially. This movie shows how racism is not inherited but simply passed down from generation to generation.

In the film The Help, directed by Tate Taylor, an important scene included is when Eugenia, mostly known as Skeeter, confronts her mother Charlotte about her childhood maid Constantine. The main purpose of this scene within the film is to help Skeeter find the truth of why Constantine had left Skeeter and her family after all the things they had been through, for the audience watching this answers the story created within the film. Four significant aspects in this scene are dialogue, voice overs, cinematography and the use of sound effects.

Based off of Kathryn Stockett’s 2009 novel, The Help is a movie told from an African American’s point of view during the early 1960’s in Jackson, Mississippi. The three main characters include, Aibileen Clark, Minny Jackson, and Eugenia (Skeeter) Phelan. Skeeter is a young writer who has recently returned from the University of Mississippi. She has been advised by the Elaine Stein, who is the head editor at Harper & Row, to write about a topic she is passionate about, that way she can continue her dream of becoming a serious writer. In addition, Skeeter accepts a writing job down at the Jackson Journal where she writes a housekeeping column. Ironically, she has no housekeeping experience as she grew up with in house help. In order to keep her job she goes to Aibileen, her friend Elizabeth Leefolt’s housekeeper. At this point in her life, Aibileen is just trying to get by. She writes out her prayers on a daily basis as a way to clear her mind since she is fairly reserved on the outside. On the contrary, Aibileen’s friend Minny is also a housekeeper, but she has a rather sharp tongue which doesn’t usually work in her favor. Consequently, she is trying to find a new employer, but is having trouble since there is a bit of discord between her and the most influential socialite in Jackson, Mississippi.

A Tate Taylor film, The Help (2009) emphasizes the extreme, racially-charged stereotypes thus endorses racial thinking. Blacks in this film are represented broadly as common house maids, or domestic slaves, but specifically as oppressed, unhappy, impoverished, and products of hardship through the utilization of racist stereotypes and juxtaposition with the lives of affluent whites in the southern United States, a juxtaposition which immortalizes the racial gap between whites and blacks.

Society has changed and evolved throughout time. Perhaps one of the most significant changed in contemporary American society is the treatment towards African Americans. “The Help” a feature film directed by Tate Taylor is based on the non-fictional novel “The Help” written by author Kathryn Sockett. The feature film explores the life of African American maids of Jackson Mississippi, in the early 1960’s. The 1960’s displayed all African Americans to being left out of the “American dream” through neglect and racism. African Americans faced prejudice and discrimination in almost every aspect of their life, from jobs to housing and even their education. They were denied the right to sit at the same lunch counter or use the same public rest

After seeing the movie “The Help” I feel that it is a well written and directed movie that teaches about racism. “The Help” is a movie about how black servants were treated in the early 1960’s down south. The settings and sceenery were acurate in potraying the time era. “The Help” was released on August 10, 2011. The movie was directed and written by Tatae Taylor. The movie “The Help” was based on the book “The Help” written by Kathryn Stockett. `There were several awards rewarded to “The Help”. One award was for best performance by an actress ina supporting role, which was awarded to Octavia Spencer who played Minny Jackson in the movie. “The Help” was also awarded with the best motion picture of the year.

The movie The Help by Tate Taylor on the importance of the 1960’s society. In Taylor’s work he often portrays the struggle and difficulties of black women. The pain and frustration that those women who were oppressed by the white society, are contributed in the movie. The Help, a movie about race and class relation in Jackson, Mississippi in the early 1960’s. Has profound the historical importance because the impact it had on Africa American women during that time period. The movie is noteworthy for its aesthetic scene in the film. Lastly it has moral significance because it portrays the racism going on during that time period.