The world was not ready for them to tell their stories on their own: The Help

Honestly I did not expect to like "The Help" and found myself much more captivated by the film than I thought I'd be: it's not totally my kind of movie, on the surface - quite melodramatic at times, a bit overplayed, lots of tearjerker scenes, some over the top comedy, annoying soundtrack - and yet, and yet - the movie as a whole works very well, does not pander to the audience, presents a pretty honest and unflinching look at race relations in the South in the 1950s and early '60s. At first, I was a little disturbed by the concept: white southern girl Skeeter (Emma Stone) decides to write a book capturing the "perspective" of the many maids in her community - was this going to be another movie in which the white people have to speak for the blacks, like the horribly condescending The Gods Must Be Crazy? But actually, as it develops, the black women are the real heroes - two of the maids in particular (here's hoping Viola Davis gets the Oscar for her role!) - risking everything to tell their stories in the only way that they can. They are recognized and honored, but The Help is honest enough that it has plenty of rough edges as well - in fact, most movies would have ended on the fake triumphal note of everyone's joy over the success of the book, which earns Skeeter a shot at a job in NYC - but the movie goes on from that point and we see how difficult and sad it will be for these black women who have to continue to live and work in this small city (Jackson, Miss. - home of Eudora Welty, who wrote very little about these themes) - the world was not ready for them to tell their stories on their own. So, yes, I accept that it's a shame that there were so few great roles for black actors this year other than maids - but it is a historical piece that effectively captures the mood of the time and that among the maids creates two fully realized characters and looks unflinchingly at the stark differences between the conditions of black and white communities in Jackson.