The Imitation Of Life And The Help

Both the 2011 drama film adaption of Kathryn Stockett’s The Help (1960s setting), directed by Tate Taylor, and the 1879 three-part play, A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen, challenge their audiences to consider the theme of society and class within their respective time periods. Both creators focus on female protagonists who set out to turn against the demands of their society and class to vocalise their values and beliefs. Taylor encourages the viewer to evaluate this concept, through the use of cinematic techniques that illustrate the impact of one character’s beliefs on multiple characters’ rebellion against their perceived society and class, in 1960 America. Conversely, through literary techniques, Ibsen challenges his audience to consider the possible psychological effects of conforming to one’s society and class, by focusing on the notion of female oppression as a Norwegian societal norm during the nineteenth century.

There are many differences between the book, The Help, and the movie, “The Help”. Although the director did manage to keep some of plot the same, there are still not as many similarities as differences in the book and movie.

African American’s role in this country has been long and has never been easy. During the early years of the United States, African Americans endure the hardship of slavery and had to deal with beatings, harsh working conditions and constant yelling from their racist white owners. Even after the abolishment of slavery, African Americans still endure another one hundred years of discrimination. A perfect way to examine a pivotal time in American History of African Americans and the racism they went through is seen in the movie “The Help”. The movie is set to take place “in Mississippi during the 1950s-1960s, Skeeter is a southern society girl who returns from college determined to become a writer, but turns her friends ' lives -- and a Mississippi town -- upside down when she decides to interview the black women who have spent their lives taking care of prominent southern families.” (The Help) The movie was originally based on a book written by

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.

“‘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.

Change is a controversial topic. Some people fear change, some people embrace change. Scout and Skeeter both experience change. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is set in the 1930s in Maycomb, Alabama. It is about a girl named Jean Louise Finch, or Scout. She is living in a town that is racially divided, and is trying to understand the world around her. Her father, Atticus, is guiding her down a road of morality and justice; however, she still has to figure some of it out on her own. The movie The Help, directed by Tate Taylor, is based on the novel, The Help, written by Kathryn Stockett. It takes place in Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960s. It is about a southern girl named Eugenia Phelan, or Skeeter, who returns from college to become a writer. Skeeter draws quite the attention in her small town by asking to interview a black woman apart of the Help, black nannies that raise white babies. This particular maid is known as Aibleen. As the two of them continue their collaboration, it becomes much more than an interview. Scout and Skeeter both change their beliefs and ideals throughout their respective storylines in their views on discrimination, standing up for what they believe in, and looking at a new perspective.

Imitation of Life is a film directly focusing on the relationships between mother and daughter. Although the main characters, Annie and Sara Jane, and Lora and Susie, seem similar in their relationships, the film juxtaposes them in terms of race. On the surface, the relationships presented are, at best, considered to be normal struggles between mother and daughter. Analyzing the specific trials and problems will reveal a difference in Black motherhood and White motherhood. Annie and Sara Jane face racial and identity issues, that cause the relationship to shatter. Lora and Susie encounter a sense of abandonment and loss of love, which in turn creates a divide between them. While jointly living, and raising their girls together, Annie and

There are many similarities between To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and The Help by Kathryn Stockett. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout Finch, a 9 year old girl and her brother Jem, sees the problematic behaviour in their fellow neighbours in the town of Maycomb, Alabama in 1933. Their father, Atticus Finch is a well known lawyer who feels morally obligated to defend Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping Bob Ewell’s daughter, Mayella. In contrast, The Help is set in 1962s Jacksonville, Mississippi, where a young woman named Skeeter Phelan helps a group of black maids publish a book describing their hardships working for white families. Along the way, Hilly Holbrook, an influential and ignorant woman, proposed the "Home Help Sanitation

The film “The Help” (2011), is a story based on the daily lives of prominent white women and the relationships with their African-American housemaids in Jackson, Mississippi, during the 1960s Civil Rights movement in America. A well-to-do white woman and central character in this film, Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan, aspires to be a journalist and decides to write and publish an exposé of the stories of the housemaids in Jackson to achieve this goal, however, only two maids, Aibileen Clark and Minny Jackson are willing to discuss their experiences with her. The other maid’s in Jackson resist telling Skeeter their stories, fearing the punishments they would endure if the authorities were to find out. In spite of this, after the malicious arrest of one of their befriended maids, all of the maids begin to share their experiences, which consist of racial hostility and being treated as intrinsically subservient to white people. The story Skeeter publishes entitled The Help, creates a disturbance among the white families in Jackson, by exposing the racism the maids are faced with, forcing the white families to reflect upon how they have treated their maids. The storyline represented in The Help exhibits examples of the primordial approach to race and ethnicity, as well as numerous sociological concepts including segregation, internalized oppression, and white privilege, which will be exemplified in this paper in order to uncover the race relations evident within this film.

The Help chronicles a recent college graduate named Skeeter, who secretly writes a book exposing the treatment of black maids by white affluent women. The story takes place in 1960s Jackson, Mississippi, during the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement. The death of Medgar Evers triggers racial tension and gives the maids of Jackson the courage to retell their personal stories of injustice endured over the years. The movie depicts the frustration of the maids with their female employers and what their lives were like cleaning, cooking, and raising their bosses’ children. The Help shines a light on the racial and social injustice of maids during the era of Jim Crow Laws, illustrating how white women of a privileged

Imitation of Life can indubitably be considered one of the most moving and influential films ever produced in American cinema history. Based on the 1933 novel by Fannie Hurst, the movie is directed by John Stahl and stars actresses Claudette Colbert and Louise Beavers; it depicts the story of two widows, one black and one white, who meet, become friends, and work together to obtain their piece of the American dream for their daughters and themselves (Flitterman-Lewis, 325). The two women’s success is countered by despair that is ultimately the result of their daughters’ actions. One mother looses the man that she loves when she realized that her daughter has become her rival for his affection,

The movie “The Help” was based In the early 1960’s in Jackson, Mississippi. During this period of time it was very segregated, very much so that whites did not want African Americans to have contact with them, but were expected to fully take care of their children from birth to adulthood. Most of the African American maids later developed a strong bond with the children that they looked after. They tried teaching the kids to see no color, just to later witness them grow up to be brainwashed by the world to think of African Americans as less than. Except for one southern girl named Skeeter Phelan, who saw the equality in everyone. And one day she decided to interview the maids to get their perspectives on life and to get their story out to the world. At first the maids were hesitant because it would be serious consequences if anyone knew who exactly spoke up, but Skeeter did whatever she could to make sure all the maids were anonymous and no one knew. She risked many hardships like losing her relationship with her boyfriend and also building tension with the women of the Junior League. Successfully the maids stories got out and it opened eyes little by little.

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 stimulating film exposes the fallacy of Britain’s corrupt and homophobic culture throughout the Second World War.

Another issue in the movie was attitudes. All races have attitudes towards people that are not like their own, whether they are good or bad. Attitudes I believe are connected with experiences. What one experiences with another race can affect the way their attitude is towards them.