The Help ***/5: Another jab at the Old United States South

The Help (2011)

The Help is an old fashioned melodrama which is skewed towards female perspectives of race in the United States South which will forever be famous for the Jim crow legislation. It is accurate to see this film as another jab at the decaying values of the United States south which declined following the defeat of the confederacy in the US civil war (1861-1865). The values of the south are influenced by the perception of master and slave; the master being white and the slave being black. It was also known for the Lady Antebellum characters or the southern belles that would pride themselves on snatching a husband. The gentleman callers would act with due decorum to land themselves a wife as they practice archaic modes of chivalry associated with romance which involve placing these women on a pedestal. This film focuses primarily on the southern belles and their attitude towards their maids in 1964. By this time the civil rights movement, led by Martin Luther King Jr, was in full swing and it was a time when black people in the US would try and reassert pride in themselves and demand equal treatment within the institutional framework. The maids in this film fall within that category for at first they reflect the timidity of blacks of the time who came into contact with whites but they eventually feel empowered to come forward and reveal the heinous treatment meted out to them by their white employers. In this film the institutional aspect of Jim Crow within the home comes with the new proposal by a southern belle committee to build separate bathrooms for the coloured help. The reasons given for this measure are, predictably, archaic or apocryphal when they say that blacks are disease ridden and nasty etc. Skeeter (Emma Stone) arrives on the scene and is disgusted with the Jim crow laws instituted in the homes especially as she was raised by a black mammy herself. She supposedly represents the so called modern woman who is more interested in her career than landing herself a husband like the other southern belles of the Lady Antebellum era.  Skeeter writes the domestic columns for the local journal when she returns home and  becomes inspired to use the medium of print to expose the decadent values of her friends who treat their maids disparagingly. In order to do this she must record the stories of several maids who are brave enough to expose their masters. The two who are most daring are Aibileen (Viola Davis) and Minny (Octavia Spencer) who decide to divulge information. They are motivated for various reasons. One (Aibileen) is fed up with the treatment of the daughter of her employer and feels that she is more of a mother to the child. She has raised so many white children that she was unable to spend time with her own son who died tragically. The other is motivated by the issue with the toilet since she is fired for using the bathroom designated for her employers instead of battling the rainy elements to use the bathroom built for her as the maid. She also does something with a pie that upsets her former employer and eventually sees her ostracized by the wider community apart from the white  female  character  considered white trash(or a descendant of white trash) who is likewise ostracized from the wider communities. The film is overly manipulative and its sole intent is to shock the audience. It is not as riveting as Mississippi Burning (1988) and not as philosophical as Gone With the Wind (1939). It merely seeks to expose these decadent values. It never really questions the values of the old south from a historical perspective and why it has declined or why the views of the southern belles seem archaic. The filmmakers assume that the audience know why it has declined and that is because of racism when in fact the real reason is because of the decline of a way of life that is no longer relevant in the modern world. There are still white racists out there and they are not only in the south. The film therefore does not rise to any height that would deem it as anything more than just a jab at the United States south. The lack of a philosophical and historical context undermines the film since it relies on the tears of the females to keep it moving. The men are quite silent in this film since it is clear that the ku Klux clan was still prevalent at this time and the filmmakers wanted to downplay their role. They had to downplay their role because the book that is published, recording the testimony of the maids, would not be that significant in undermining the Jim Crow legislation.

What’s good about this film?

This film does have good elements that deal with the lives of the maids. Everyone knows of Mammy from Gone With the Wind (1939) however there has never been an interpretation of the lives of these black individuals who catered to the domestic whims of their white employers. It is true that Mammy was a slave in Gone with the Wind (1939) however she must have had her own way of living and her own personal thoughts. This film by highlighting the lives of these black maids, which has not been dealt with in any considerable degree before in film, does offer some new insights. It is clear that in previous takes on the Old south the lives of the employers (or masters depending on the context) normally took centrestage and the black employees would be relegated to supporting roles. They still try and stay to type however since Emma Stone still retains the starring role and the black actresses are (still) relegated to supporting roles. It is the white lady who rescues the black females and gives them hope since the blacks are incapable of rising up on their own. The blacks of the civil rights movement took the initiative whereas here that is not the case. It is good that the lives of these black maids are highlighted although they still remain on the fringes by aiding their white masters learn sympathy.

The film also does highlight the influence of the north and how it continues to represent modernity in contrast with the archaic values of the south. In the film the northern perspective is represented by the editor at Harper Row who is clearly career oriented and stresses certain modernist values such as a woman getting her own apartment as opposed to living with her mother waiting to be taken in by a man or sitting at a table with two men at a table; in the south such actions would be frowned upon and gossiping would be rife. It is no wonder that it is a publishing house in the north that helps to publicise the issues of the maids. This is reflective of the civil war where the north defeated the confederate states in the south and tried to introduce modern principles such as the abolition of slavery which would release a fresh pool of wage labour to exploit as opposed to having slaves which would be incorporated into constant capital as opposed to variable capital associated with wage labour. The North also represents industrial development whereas the south still remains more agrarian in culture. This is why the publishing house is located in the north. After the defeat of the south in the civil war the Northerners tried to present the façade that the carpet baggers and the independent blacks, were thriving with their high wages although that was an illusion. This is why a character such as Skeeter who is more focused on her career, as opposed to finding a husband, is frowned upon in the south but embraced in the north.

The film does highlight the structure of power in the decadent south by showing the inferior status accorded to blacks. The blacks were to defer to the whites in every matter and this would mean that they would have to be content with inferior living accommodations and playing second class in every regard such as moving aside if a white individual is in their path. In this film the black maids are to be content with using a bathroom of inferior quality. The film does try to show Skeeter getting acquainted with the Jim Crow legislation with the pamphlet she carries around. The references to blacks as niggers and being disease ridden still persists to this day anytime there is an uprising. There are still many white individuals that persist with the ideal that they are superior since black people are not world leaders in economics. Until black people are seen as more than simple labourers but are capable of innovations that will result in social change then the perception of the whites that they are superior will still persist. Blacks were instrumental to social change with the great Egyptian (or some states in North Africa) and Mesopotamian civilizations that influenced the perception of the world of the time whereas now they are divided as a race and are merely the lackeys of the whites. The Jim Crow legislation merely reinforced this perception of the inferiority of blacks. The black man will forever have the stamp of slavery unless he can compete with the white and Asian civilizations for economic superiority. In this film there is nothing new that people don’t already know although there are blacks who seem to believe that they are white and can put the vestige of slavery behind (the imbeciles). One good feature in the film was the presence of the white female character considered white trash by the southern belle committee since white trash was accorded in some instances the same inferior status in some cases as blacks. This was the case even during the days of slavery in countries throughout the Americas. In this case it is a perception of class as opposed to race. The husband of that same white woman appears enlightened by comparison. Minny is able to leave her husband since she gets some share of the royalties from the sales of the book. It is then a issue of class in this sense as the black woman is oppressed by her own black man.

The film also shows the actresses emitting bucket loads of tears. This flair for the melodrama will influence the perception of some members of the audience, particularly the females, since it will appeal to the sentimental core.  I will not single out any particular actress since there are times in the film when all everyone does is cry. There is so much crying that it is difficult to highlight any particular actress in my mind. The one actress that stood out for me was not Viola Davis as Aibileen  but Octavia Spencer as Minny who is the least sentimental. In the final scene you do feel a bit for Aibileen but did she really want to be caught with her white employers for the rest of her life. It seems she did and I was not moved seeing the black maid trying to hold on to the white family. If she is fired she should try and find another job. The perception that these women see no better for themselves as maids is still relevant since most blacks see themselves that way working for the whites.

 

What’s bad about this film?

The main issue I had with this film was the lack of a philosophical or historical context. The world of the film was too isolated for me by focusing on the domestic issue while not highlighting all the issues of the time during the 1960’s. The film does not elaborate much on the way of life in the south  when seeking to give its own spin on the reasons why its values represent those of a decadent society. It only highlights the racism that prevailed during the time while not highlighting the various facets of the society which would help to explain the institutionalized racism that persisted. The racism is merely common knowledge  however it is not all. The reasons the whites feel they are capable of ruling the blacks is as a result of their economic superiority. This issue is not highlighted to any great extent except in a few scenes where a certain black maid would ask for money to send her sons to college or when they send the same maid to prison for stealing a discarded ring. They, the whites, demonstrate their power by throwing her in prison, an institution which is famous for many black political prisoners throughout America. The perceptions of the south are overshadowed by the sentimental nature of the film and the comedic tone that the film assumes at times. There are few references to the civil rights movement or the Ku Klux clan. The lack of a reference to the Ku Klux clan is significant, for instance, since it is the values instilled in the females by the males which accounts for their racist ideals. In the scene where the black maid asks for money to aid in paying the tuition for her children going to university we see the man get up without saying much of a word thereby leaving it to the female to handle the matter. If the film did feature some civil rights activities it would help to strengthen the resolve of the black maids as opposed to seeing the white woman Skeeter as the only way out. The white woman was not the only way out. The sentimentality of the final scene therefore does not resonate effectively since it is clear that Aibileen seems to be wandering in the wind with no inherent purpose since her defeat/ victory is minor in comparison with the  civil rights movement in deinstitutionalizing racism in the south. Had she found a sense of higher purpose as a result of the confessions made to Skeeter she would have walked away more victorious or she would not have waited on the whites to dismiss her. She would instead take it on her own head to leave a particular job since there is a higher purpose that now influences her destiny; instead she waits on the instructions of the whites. Minny also seems like a retrograde character when she is offered lifetime employment at a certain household. This merely reinforces her servile position and does not in any way elevate her above anything more than another maid. The publication of the book in no way influenced the perception of the whites then. The absence of the civil rights movement therefore still relegates these characters to the same positions we discovered them in at the beginning. There is no real resolution or the sense of a new direction and this could only have taken place with the sense of a higher purpose which would be featured in the civil rights movement. Having Aibileen cry a lot does not alter her condition. It only makes people sympathize but it does not alter the consciousness of the audience or direct them in seeing something new.  Also in the case of the black females it is clear that the men should have been mentioned as one of the factors that contribute to the oppression of these maids. If the men are being lynched and abused when they step outside their homes they will inevitably take it out on the female at home. This is one reason why the black females are cowardly. How good would it have been if they could have a cameo by a Martin Luther King.

It is not highlighted effectively why the woman considered white trash is so chummy with Minny since they were basically in the same boat. If there was one line saying ‘They have always considered white trash almost as low as us niggers.’ I would have been more at ease. Also when a black man is shot and the blacks are told to get off the bus there is no insight into the incident. We only see the blacks scampering home. We know it is racial violence but it would have gone a far way to understand why the blacks are so cowardly when it comes to the whites. It was those members of the Ku Klux clan that went around enforcing their principles of racial superiority. It is a pity this film did not tackle these issues head on. Skeeter must be extremely naive if she is unaware of Jim Crow legislation. She has to read a pamphlet to understand the situation. Her naivete was repulsive to me, as a black man, and cast her in a superficial mode. If they featured the activities of the Ku Klux Clan her naivete would be even more amazing.

The film relies on too much melodrama and you could see the actresses winding up the tears and at times I did not care what they were crying about. There are some extremely manipulative moments such as when the child tells Aibileen that she is the only mother she knows. Do they really expect us to believe that the child was thinking so highly?

I also wished to hear more stories of the maids. We only witness Skeeter recording them but do not hear much of the stories of the maids. The film merely focuses on Skeeter trying to make a difference. If Aibileen had been the lead for instance we would have gotten a better interpretation of the lives of the many maids. We could see their lives in action as opposed to hearing a recording. Look at the approach in Goodfellas  (1990) for instance where we are introduced to a whole range of characters. The perception is skewed when a white woman is the lead since we will not get a sense of the roles of  the other maids.   It is clear that they needed a visible star to project to the audience and that happens to be  Emma Stone.

I am sure there are other criticisms of the film that I can dwell on but this is not the place to do it however a film such a Mississippi Burning was more forthright in tackling the institutionalized racism in the south and thereby highlighting the difficulties in breaking down its barriers which still exist today. A little book about maids does not say much about the system. Gone with the Wind also highlights why the members of the south cannot accept their decline in light of the advance of industry.