Is pretty damn good. You guys should go see it.

8/26/2011 8:35:19 AM

hope to soon

8/26/2011 9:13:34 AM

I'd like to see this too. The book was pretty good.

8/26/2011 10:04:49 AM

loved it

8/27/2011 9:08:26 PM

My favorite part is when the black lady shits in the food.

8/27/2011 10:13:06 PM

This seems like one of those heartwarming women empowerment movies, but I see dudes recommending it, so maybe i'm wrong.

8/27/2011 10:32:22 PM

I'm so sick of films that pussyfoot around racial tensions and shit like that.

BRB GONNA GO WATCH MANDERLAY, THE TWO TOWNS OF JASPER, AND DO THE RIGHT THING.

8/27/2011 10:32:37 PM

AHA, I saw it. I'm glad I didn't read the book.

[Edited on August 28, 2011 at 3:22 AM. Reason : Less mean.]

8/28/2011 3:18:44 AM

^Why is that? Just so the ending wasn't spoiled? or??

8/28/2011 9:47:24 AM

No, I'm afraid I'm in the same boat with armorfrsleep and spöokyjon in that I'm not a big fan of the treatment of the material, and I'm kinda annoyed that it's such a success.

Despite several enthusiastic recommendations, I followed my instincts and never read the book. But here's someone who did, and they wrote over 100 blog posts about why they didn't like it:

http://acriticalreviewofthehelp.wordpress.com/

[Edited on August 28, 2011 at 5:30 PM. Reason : (The only reason I saw the film is cause my friend really wanted to.)]

8/28/2011 5:16:56 PM

I really don't want to be too critical, by the way. I myself love to get swept away in stories and whatnot... My friend majored in African American studies, and she was one of the last people I figured would be all about The Help, but she loved it and cried/clapped in the movie and everything. And I don't consider her stupid or overly manipulatable...so...to each their own...but there are lots of interesting criticisms that may be worth a read to some people.

[Edited on August 28, 2011 at 6:18 PM. Reason : ]

8/28/2011 6:17:58 PM

^^ That's sad to see someone get so worked up and waste so much energy over a work of fiction.

The movie/book was entertaining (didn't read the book, but the gf did, and pretty much everyone has said the movie follows along very well with the book). I don't think it was meant to be historical book/movie on the plight of an African American woman in the deep south in the earl 60's.

It was, however, informative about issues that were going on in that time and gave a decent depiction of African-American maids in white houses in that era. I've been in several houses in Charleston where there were actual large portraits of just the maid and the children and those children (now grown up) said that were pretty much raised by their maid/nanny.

It was a good, fictional movie. I really really like Emma Stone as well.

8/29/2011 9:55:01 AM

Aww, geez, I didn't want to get argumentative about this...

It was barely informative about the issues of the time at all. Everybody in the film was a giant stereotype, which is understandable considering it was written by a woman who didn't actually study her material. I mean, Disney movies are more realistic than this.

And we didn't need you and your observations in Charleston or this book to know that black women worked as domestics, raising white children. That fact has been thoroughly documented because people love to talk about it. I recently read a book by another woman, Jane Borden, and she made a point to ramble on about her family's black servant who she had never even met.

Three hundred years ago, people probably fantasized about killing their masters/families in order to be free. I think you ought to go back in time and tell them not to worry: in 2011, one of their fictional descendants gets to shit in a white lady's pie. And it's a hilarious hit of the summer!

8/29/2011 1:01:35 PM

Quote :

"Three hundred years ago, people probably fantasized about killing their masters/families in order to be free. I think you ought to go back in time and tell them not to worry: in 2011, one of their fictional descendants gets to shit in a white lady's pie."

You're just like the girl writing the blogs...getting your panties in a wad over something this movie/book was not meant to be. It's not meant to be a history course on the life and times of southern black women in the 1960s. It's a freaking fictional movie.

That being said...there are still a lot of people that really don't know how bad it was back then. This movie sheds a little light on it. That's it. That's all it does. And it does it in an entertaining way.

Quote :

"Aww, geez, I didn't want to get argumentative about this..."

right...

8/29/2011 1:54:31 PM

I really didn't want to be argumentative, and you're the on with your panties in a wad. You're the one getting defensive and imposing on me, demanding that I accept your version of what it was meant to be.

If it's just a largely meaningless, entertaining piece of fiction, then there's no need for you to say another word.

8/29/2011 2:12:02 PM

Quote :

"If it's just a largely meaningless, entertaining piece of fiction, then there's no need for you to say another word."

Is this how you have arguments/discussions with people? If so...then I'm pulling this card with you in Sports Talk from here on out. Maybe it will get you to quit posting there.

8/29/2011 4:13:52 PM

I should have been more clear. You're downplaying the material, claiming it's just meant to be entertaining and incidentally informative. According to you, me and that blogger "girl" should not criticize it because it's just entertainment. It's just a "freaking fictional movie." In other words, you're attempting to reduce it to something that's not worth discussing...so you probably shouldn't be discussing it, right?

It's called The Help, and it's a story written from the perspective of multiple people, primarily three black domestics in the Deep South at the height of our nation's Civil Rights movement. But you're insisting that it wasn't "meant to be historical book/movie on the plight of an African American woman in the deep south in the earl 60's." I'm sorry?

You is not smart.

[Edited on August 29, 2011 at 5:56 PM. Reason : ]

8/29/2011 5:49:45 PM

Quote :

"You're downplaying the material, claiming it's just meant to be entertaining and incidentally informative."

Where did I say that?? Is this how you think you win your arguments, but making up opposing sides?

I'm in the middle of the words you are putting into my mouth and what you and the blogger are saying. It is informative and does show people what went on in the deeps South in the early 60's...in an entertaining way. If the author/director had wanted it to be a non-fiction/A&E/History Channel piece of work, then they would have made it so. But instead they wanted it to be a fictional work that sells tons of copies and movie tickets...and they made it that way.

8/29/2011 6:20:16 PM

If you prefer, you can remove "incidentally" and replace it with "secondarily."

My point is that you're downplaying the informative aspects of the film in favor of calling it entertainment. According to you, we shouldn't question the value of the information because the information isn't the important part...it's entertainment! It's fiction! Don't analyze it!

I thought that blog I posted was an awesome, accessible piece of digital scholarship with an unusually deep and informative analysis of the text and our history. And you...you were actually saddened that somebody would get their "panties in a wad"?!?!

I mean, do you normally sit back and eat up everything you see on TV? Now I am saddened by you. Wendell Pierce summed up some of my feelings:

Quote :

"The Help was well done but was a passive version of the terror of Jim Crow South... My mother told me how she wasn’t allowed in the kitchen. She couldn’t eat during a 12-hour shift... She couldn’t drink water from the kitchen but had to go to the faucet outdoors... Watching the film in Uptown New Orleans to the sniffles of elderly white people while my 80-year-old mother was seething, made clear distinction...the story was a sentimental primer of a palatable segregation history that is Jim Crow light..."

But don't let me stand in the way of your entertainment. If you wanna enjoy some bullshit, that's your business...but you don't gotta go around trying to shut everybody else up.

8/29/2011 7:43:51 PM

Quote :

"The Help was well done but was a passive version of the terror of Jim Crow South"

This is pretty much what I've been saying.

The difference between you and I, is that I can separate myself from the fact that this isn't an accurate historical representation of that time and enjoy the movie without getting offended. It touches on some issues and raises people's awareness of some of the atrocities of the time, but again...it's not an A&E documentary.

How many times do I have to repeat the same argument before you can get it through your thick skull?

8/30/2011 6:21:01 AM

If by “pretty much,” you mean “not at all,” then I would agree. You have repeatedly described the film as informative…did you actually mean misinformative? When you said it “shed a little light,” did you really mean that it only shed light on the less horrific/more tolerable parts of our past?

And that’s good for you that you’re happy to separate yourself and enjoy the movie. You’re aware that this book was originally compared to To Kill a Mockingbird, and it was picked up by a gazillion book clubs as a critical reflection of our nation’s history of race relations? You do realize that other people are enjoying this film as an accurate and meaningful depiction of the Deep South?

I’m not saying you’re an evil person, and I don’t want to truly insult you, your girlfriend, or anybody else in this thread who loved the book and movie. And it should be perfectly fair/fine that, while you’re enjoying your entertainment, some of us will continue to question and analyze what is possibly the largest external influence on our daily lives (media). If you don’t want to, or you only want to do it selectively, that’s your business. But don’t waste your time feigning sadness for the people who do. And don’t try to silence the people who are happy to “waste so much energy” on a task that doesn’t interest you.

The fact that other people examined this film on a different level than you should not take away from your enjoyment of the film. Your insistence on being defensive about this matter is something you might want to think about.

8/30/2011 9:56:00 AM

Quote :

"And that’s good for you that you’re happy to separate yourself and enjoy the movie. You’re aware that this book was originally compared to To Kill a Mockingbird, and it was picked up by a gazillion book clubs as a critical reflection of our nation’s history of race relations? You do realize that other people are enjoying this film as an accurate and meaningful depiction of the Deep South? "

I don't think anyone in the thread has said it was anything other than entertainment. Certainly no one has called it an "accurate and meaningful depiction of the Deep South." I think it's mostly brain candy with a "based on semi-real historical events" backdrop. Not every movie or book seen or read has to be accurate, researched, or non-fiction. It's entertainment, it's meant to make money, not expose the viewers to the actualities of the deep south.

8/30/2011 10:22:52 AM

i haven't seen the movie but i've read the book. i interpreted it this way:

Quote :

"I think it's mostly brain candy with a "based on semi-real historical events" backdrop"

it's fiction. that's all.

8/30/2011 10:32:39 AM

Quote :

"Your insistence on being defensive about this matter is something you might want to think about."

My insistence?? Do you ever go back and re-read your posts? You are probably the most defensive person on this website.

I'm just glad I can separate fiction from non-fiction. And I don't have a problem with people who had no idea that stuff like this went down, finally being exposed to some of it. And the fact that people who know the full extent of it (like you and the blogger), is great too. But I do think you both are wasting your time on tearing apart the historical aspects of a fictional film.

Quote :

"some of us will continue to question and analyze what is possibly the largest external influence on our daily lives (media)."

The only media that has an influence on my daily life is Sportscenter. You seem to be the one that the media is affecting so much.

Quote :

"And don’t try to silence the people who are happy to “waste so much energy” on a task that doesn’t interest you."

I'm actually doing the opposite of silencing. I've pretty much egged you on (not that it was difficult...you are overly sensitive) to preach to the masses about this subject. If I were trying to silence you I would have never responded to your post in the first place. I know that every time I post something in this topic you are going to get riled up and come back with an even more lengthy response.

Quote :

"I’m not saying you’re an evil person, and I don’t want to truly insult you, your girlfriend, or anybody else in this thread who loved the book and movie."

I'm very intrigued as to how I, or anyone else who enjoyed this movie, would even be consideredevil because I liked a fictional film that touched on some Southern racial issues in the 1960s.

Quote :

"You’re aware that this book was originally compared to To Kill a Mockingbird, and it was picked up by a gazillion book clubs as a critical reflection of our nation’s history of race relations? You do realize that other people are enjoying this film as an accurate and meaningful depiction of the Deep South?"

I actually think people like you and the blogger are the ones that are doing this. Not to say there haven't been people harping on how amazing this book is (moreso the book than the movie...as is usually the case). But as for the movie, the majority of critics have said something extremely similar to the critic you quotes above:

Quote :

"We get a fairly typical Hollywood flattening of history,[quote] and your cited critic.. [quote]The Help was well done but was a passive version of the terror of Jim Crow South"

Quote :

"a Barbie Band-Aid on the still-raw wound of race relations in America."

etc...


I just think it's unfortunate that people are looking on this movie as a negative for race relations. The people who already knew how bad it was in the "Deep South" are talking about it not going deep enough. But the people who didn't know how bad it was thought the racist things in the movie were horrible. Either way, it's shedding a negative light on how blacks were treated back then. So what exactly are you angry about again??

8/30/2011 10:32:50 AM

First off, historical accuracy is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to criticisms and questions about this movie. If you notice, I haven't even really gotten into the meat of this stuff...because I don't even know where to begin with the "IT'S FICTION!" mindset. Understanding that fiction can still matter is a hurdle you should have handled a long time ago.

You have not egged me on, and I've hardly preached to the masses here. If you'll take note, the primary focus of all my posts has been on your assertion that others are foolish for analyzing this text/film. If you believe my "lengthy" responses to you have been time-consuming or difficult, then you don't know how quickly I type.

My remark about "evil" was designed to imply that I don't believe you're trying to promote propaganda or misinformation or distortion.

And, yes, people are embracing the book as a meaningful reflection of race relations in America. It was initially described on NPR as like one of the most important books since To Kill a Mockingbird, and people ate it up.

If all these critics are presumably in agreement with me, how can you still contend that this blogger and I are being unreasonable? Can't we just be different from you? Why do you care so much what we think about your entertainment? I've been getting at this point from the start...if it's just a little story to you that's not worth analyzing in any depth...why are you still talking about it?

A convenient and contrived negative light is still convenient and contrived. And, again, I really don't know where to begin with you. I don't even necessarily think that this type of material has to have a particularly negative light, but you're so unaware and basic in your thinking about this type of stuff... And you proudly admit to it: Sportscenter is the only media that matters to my daily life! But then you have the arrogance to confidently call out people who do care and who do actively monitor their entertainment?



And that's the last post I got to give.

8/30/2011 11:53:14 AM

Quote :

"Sportscenter is the only media that matters to my daily life!"

I said its the only media that affects my daily life. I watch the shit out of everything else...I just don't let it affect me the way you and all the other "the media is evil!" type people.

It would really suck to get worked up about this stuff the way you do. But hey...it's your life, live it the way you want.

8/30/2011 12:15:40 PM

white people arguing over the struggles of the negro ITT

8/30/2011 12:23:05 PM

I feel like I would feel about this movie the same way I would about The Blind Side.

8/30/2011 1:44:21 PM

I think the comparison to the Blind Side is pretty accurate, as well as Remember the Titans or Look Who's Coming to Dinner...the original not the one with Ashton Kutcher.

8/31/2011 11:35:36 AM

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner came out almost 45 years ago (1967).

It's a whole nother space/time.

8/31/2011 1:30:23 PM

Saw it today. Decent. Didn't read any of the big walls of argumentative text in here.

8/31/2011 4:41:50 PM

A lot of movies based on books don't do the books justice, but I thought The Help was really good. Hilly in the movie was exactly what I pictured when reading the book. My stepmom said she heard one part from the book was missing in the movie, but I couldn't think of it. Oh well.

9/7/2011 10:30:31 AM

Saw it this weekend...good movie.

I weep for the 3 minutes i lost while reading this thread though.

9/12/2011 11:17:20 AM

Saw this tonight, good flick.

10/2/2011 1:15:22 AM

I saw it...It was great, so I purchased the book. Should've been the other way around, oh well!

10/3/2011 8:39:47 PM