The Help: Film Review and Discussion
The film The Help (2011), which was adapted for the screen and directed by Tate Taylor from the novel by Kathryn Stockett attempts to tackle heavy complex subject matter from a questionable perspective. The film is set in the 1960s in Jackson Mississippi, two details that make the film as loaded and complex as it can possibly be. The 1960s were the Civil Rights era in America, and Jackson Mississippi was a dangerous place. It was home to the confederacy and was a place where hundreds of innocent blacks had been lynched, among many other horrors that they suffered. This review will focus on two characters: Skeeter Phelan, the main character, played by Emma Stone, and Minny Jackson, played by Octavia Spencer.
Emma Stone’s character Skeeter is perhaps one of the most problematic in a film that is already very problematic. The film attempts to tell the story of the marginalized women who have survived the Jim Crow era, one of the ugliest eras in American history. Instead the film teeters on the edge of being a “white savior” movie, attempting to tell the story of these marginalized women through the lens of the brave and spunk woman who is trying to help them (Skeeter/Emma Stone). Stone’s character has just graduated college, and her experiences away from home have created a sense of dissonance between the people she grew up with and the realities of the world. Her mother (Allison Janney) is incredibly sick and wants her to focus on finding a husband. Skeeter continues to hang out with her old friends in town and edit the Women’s League paper, but she is eager to become a legitimate writer and establish herself via a real piece of writing. She gets the idea to do a book interviewing the black women of the town, who have worked as...
In fact, the reviewer seemed to make it clear that this film would provide insight even for people well-familiar with the comfort women story. Three survivors talk about what they endured as comfort women, and how that has continued to impact them and their lives, to this day. The reviewer describes the women using graphic detail, which is an interesting and anomalous phrase. After all, would not one expect
Film Noir Among the various styles of producing films, it has been observed the noir style is one that has come to be recognized for its uniqueness in characterization, camera work and striking dialogue. Film Noir of the 1940s and 50s were quite well-known for their feminine characters that were the protagonists, the femme fatale. This was most common with the French, later accepted in the United States. There might have
It also says a lot about our society that so many people went to see the film and endorsed the film. It is not because this film is about heroes or heroism. It is because the film's ultimate message is to never forget the people who died in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. It was a time when the people of the country came together in support and
Black Panther: Cinematic Review Black Panther, directed by Ryan Coogler, is a lightening rod of a film, and one that successfully creates and maintains stunning visuals, heroic characters, and a timely message, which challenges the superhero genre as a whole. Black Panther, however, is not a perfect film, and it often struggles in terms of story-telling and character development. However, the visuals and imagination of the film, along with its social
Movie Critique: The Pursuit of Happyness When it comes to film making, the subject of rags to riches tales have been one of the most common subject for many filmmakers. Most film viewers have watched a number of movies that revolve around a financially broken protagonist making it big. However, in the post Y2k era, it is a common perception among many that a movie has to be high on graphics,
Not only does Nichols provide a good context for the many paradoxes that can confront film studies with his insightful and thoughtful introduction, but he also shows how sharing approaches and methods can help to stimulate a lot of the best writing regarding film. In addition he shows many of the common problems that are seen and deals with the contradictions that appear. Like the first volume of the anthology,
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