WELCOME! If you’re been linked here via an article from The Root, I hope you’ll read additional posts on my site (which has been up since June, 2010) You see, I recognized Kathryn Stockett put segregationist ideology into the mouths of her black characters as amusing anecdotes. Lines like “Don’t drink coffee or you’ll turn colored” (Aibileen Pg 91) as well as “Plenty of Black men leave their families behind like trash in a dump” (Minny Pg 311).
That’s why I researched digitized copies of real newspapers from 1963 and have scans and links on this site. Just for such an occasion. You’ll find the words of real, 1963 residents of Jackson, Mississippi here and here (only if your stomach can stand it)
UK Cover of the Help AKA The cover they dared not put on US bookshelves
I’ve already got up the ten plus issues with the novel of The Help, so I thought I’d create one on the movie.
Starting from number 12, here are the reasons that didn’t quite make the TOP TEN:
“It should not be ‘Why is Viola Davis playing a maid in 2011?’ I think it should be ‘Viola Davis plays a maid and she gives the f—ing performance of her life.’ ” – Actress Octavia Spencer, co-star of The Help in a quote from EW magazine.
I don’t doubt that Viola Davis will get an Oscar, a Golden Globe and a Sag nomination AND win all three of them. But Louise Beavers beat her to the first nominated title of greatest maid on screen.
Louise Beavers in Imitation of Life, touted as "the greatest screen role ever played by a colored actress"
And Hattie McDaniel took home the first Oscar statuette for giving the greatest f-ing performance of HER LIFE. And this was during segregation, when things were a whole hell of a lot tougher:
Hattie McDaniel's haunting Oscar pic. Hard not to wonder what she was thinking or going through
Salt and Pepper's here. The comedic duo of Celia and Minny, making segregation fun for all, as Octavia Spencer plays the straight man to Jessica Chastain's ditzy blonde bombshell with the heart of gold.
Here are the top ten, beginning with Number 10:
Emma Stone’s hair. It looks as if they used hairpieces and wigs and finally took pity on her with the Shinalator, but Stone kinda reminds me of Shirley Temple in The Little Colonel or The Littlest Rebel.
Maybe that’s why I ‘ve termed her “Oh Golly gosh darn, spunky Skeeter saves the day!”
Oscar loves period piece movies, and since Americans are due for a win in this category. (I believe last year England walked away with best costumes, I’ll have to check)
Giving them the Sandra Bullock stare
Sandra Bullock laser cats stare number two by Emma Stone. Oh it's about to be on.
Shirley Temple
Number 9:
This is a little quibble, but why are most of the black characters dressed so badly? Not poorly, just in god awful outfits. I do believe even maids had standards in clothing.
Minny in tears and an ugly dress
Number 8:
Executive behind The Help Movie was probably right:
The Help Tweet with name blocked
Number 7
All the "blacker the better" maids in one room, as the film attempts to duplicate Stockett's words with heavy handed film shots
Number 6
Shrieks and squeals from Skeeters pals
Number 5
Painful just to watch overacting
Number 4
The Loop or Bryce Dallas Howard’s neverending saga of over the top emotion
Scream the prequel
Tears over toilets during segregation
Hilly, played by Bryce Dallas Howard thinks Minny is using her bathroom and spreading disease
Catfight between Hilly and Skeeter
Number 3
Law, they done gone an took away all Cicely Tyson's teeth for the movie
Number 2 (it’s a tie)
The tasteless HSN tie-in to the movie. With items “inspired” by the film, like cookware by Emeril.
Um, Um. Nothing says lovin’ like implying that blacks need to stay by the oven.
The “You is kind, you is smart, you is im-po-tent” tutorial meant solely to manipulate the emotions of viewers, just like in the novel. Look for this clip to be shown during awards time, and I hope the camera pans to black audience members squirming in their seats.
Young Actress playing Mae Mobley learning her "You is" isms, a contrived and condescending piece of dialogue meant to "inspire"
Number 1 :
“The scene where Viola Davis is sitting on a toilet in a garage in 108 degrees, and then a white woman comes out and tells her to hurry up was visually brutal. To me that’s worse than seeing a lynching. It just is.” – Tate Taylor, screenwriter and director of The Help
Oh dear. Oh dear me. WTF was he thinking? WTF, was he even thinking at all?
Here’s a link to a post providing information on Taylor’s interview with Chris Witherspoon of TheGrio.com:
Unfortunately, Tate Taylor has been building up a virtual portfolio of verbal gaffes.
Here are the runner-ups to his number one ranking:
“My key objective was to give this movie street cred especially within the African-American community, to represent them and not sugarcoat it,” said Taylor.
LA Times interview By NICOLE SPERLING
Reprinted by http://www.kansascity.com/2011/08/05/3058228/the-help-actresses-talk-roles.html
Oh my heavens. What? WHAT? Where does “Street cred” even enter the conversation? Wait, don’t tell me, appealing to African Americans means using terms on our “level.” Because he sure wouldn’t have used “street cred” in trying to ”represent” a group of Mormons.
“About 20 minutes into the movie, you’re craving fried chicken,” says director Tate Taylor. That movie is The Help, the new film based on Kathryn Stockett’s best-selling novel . . .”
Article link: http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/the-help-southern-food
Hmm. Guess he never got the memo on how often African Americans were linked to demeaning ads featuring chicken, especially during segregation
It's Chicken Time! The stereotype of blacks loving chicken is resurrected in The Help
1950s bigoted advertising, for of all things, blacks and fried chicken
Tate Taylor's Chicken Party
acriticalreviewofthehelp
August 23, 2011
**edited to add** So I see The Root has finally gotten around to jumping on the controversy. And that’s what this link is. Ah well, better late than never I guess. Too bad they picked someone who did a half ass job writing and researching it
The author of the piece didn’t bother to note I’ve been here for over a year, have excerpts from the book galore. But if it’s all about giving Stockett and co a free pass by quoting “they wisely admitted making shit up” then the piece smells more like someone’s sucking up.
Why not ask about the Medgar Evers error (by Stockett, link is a few sentences below) or “The scene where Viola Davis is sitting on a toilet in a garage in 108 degrees, and then a white woman comes out and tells her to hurry up was visually brutal. To me that’s worse than seeing a lynching. It just is.”(quote by director Tate Taylor)
But if any of his/her supporters come over here, it would be a teachable moment.
Like how Kathryn Stockett didn’t bother to take a look herself, as in research the minority culture she skewed in the novel.
Check out this error on Page 277 why don’t you, where Stockett has Skeeter claim Medgar Evers was “bludgeoned” and then repeated it herself in three (known) audio interviews.
Link with audio links: https://acriticalreviewofthehelp.wordpress.com/2011/04/09/medgar-evers-error-in-the-help/
Or how Stockett put segregationist ideology into the mouths of the black characters as if they were amusing anecdotes African Americans routinely used, like “Don’t drink coffee or you gone turn colored” uttered by Aibileen and Minny’s highly offensive “Plenty of black males leave their families behind like trash in a dump, but that’s not something the colored woman do. We’ve got the kids to think about” among many others.
As far as the movie, if African Americans, like the maids in this film came in only one skin tone then someone ought to tell Wentworth Miller, Vin Diesel, W.E.B. DuBoise, Lena Horne, Fredi Washington, Barack Obama . . .
Now let’s see if they take their “indignation” over to Skockett’s site. I highly doubt it.