Monday, February 23, 2015

Retro Review - The Help



FINALLY.

A movie with a non-white, non-male protagonist!

But as expected of all such movies, it's kinda about slavery.


This movie follows the stories of two female house servants "of colour" (Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer) as they serve white families and help them raise their children in racist Mississippi. Emma Stone plays a young journalist who tries to give them a voice in a time that they are given none by recording their stories for publishing.

Thing are so bad for the blacks that I'm not sure if the white antagonist characters are stereotypically portrayed, or if it was a horrifying reflection of society at the time.

I've seen so few of such movies that I cannot give much of a critique, but I'm left with one terrifying thought and question:

A generation ago, the oppression of the blacks was so complete that people did not think it strange. In fact, the ones on top in society did not even notice they were being absolute racist. Everything they knew, and all that society told them, was that they were in the right.

My question is thus: What are the groups our generation discriminates against without us even realising?

TL;DR
Watch this movie and search your soul.

Bechdel Test: Passed. The male characters in this movie hardly even talk to each other.

No. of films seen this year with:
     White man saving the world - 3
     Non-white/male protagonist - 4 (This counts as 2!)

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