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"The Help" is a 2011 film directed by Tate Taylor that tells the story of Black domestic workers in 1960s Mississippi and a white journalist who documents their experiences. The film was widely watched and discussed for its portrayal of racial dynamics and the relationships between white families and their Black household employees during the Civil Rights era.
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Film · TMDB
8.2Aibileen Clark is a middle-aged African-American maid who has spent her life raising white children and has recently lost her only son; Minny Jackson is an African-American maid who has often offended her employers despite her family's struggles with money and her desperate need for jobs; and Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan is a young white woman who has recently moved back home after graduating college to find out her childhood maid has mysteriously disappeared. These three stories intertwine to explain how life in Jackson, Mississippi revolves around "the help"; yet they are always kept at a certain distance because of racial lines.
Cast
- Emma Stone as Skeeter Phelan
- Viola Davis as Aibileen Clark
- Bryce Dallas Howard as Hilly Holbrook
- Octavia Spencer as Minny Jackson
- Jessica Chastain as Celia Foote
- Ahna O'Reilly as Elizabeth Leefolt
Themes
- based on novel or book
- mississippi river
- exploitation
- racial segregation
- racism
- writer
- maid
- moral courage
- ressentiment
- southern belle
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Wikidata facts
- Duration
- 146
- FilmAffinity ID
- 512560
- Official website
- dreamworksstudios.com/films/the-help
Show 6 more facts
- publication date
- 2011-08-09
- title
- The Help
- Commons category
- The Help (film)
- capital cost
- 25000000
- box office
- 216639112
- review score
- 62/100
Sources (15)
via Wikidata · CC0
~22 min read
Article
The Help is a 2011 period drama film written and directed by Tate Taylor, and based on Kathryn Stockett's 2009 novel of the same name. The film features an ensemble cast, including Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, Octavia Spencer, Jessica Chastain, Allison Janney, Cicely Tyson, and Sissy Spacek. The film and novel recount the story of a young white woman and aspiring journalist Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan. The story focuses on her relationship with two black maids, Aibileen Clark and Minny Jackson, during the civil rights movement in 1963 Jackson, Mississippi. In an attempt to become a legitimate journalist and writer, Skeeter decides to write a book from the point of view of the maids, exposing the racism and discrimination they face as they work for white families. Black domestic workers in 1960s United States were referred to as "the help", hence the eponymous title of the journalistic exposé, the novel, and the film.
DreamWorks Pictures acquired the screen rights to Stockett's novel in March 2010 and quickly commissioned the film with Chris Columbus, Michael Barnathan, and Brunson Green as producers. The film's casting began later that month, with principal photography following four months after in Mississippi. The film is an international co-production between companies based in the United States, India, and the United Arab Emirates.