Dear MAC members,
Please continue to post your insightful reactions and analysis regarding "The Help". This discussion is important. You would be surprised how many of my well-educated, politically aware friends have gone to see this movie because the only available info on it was that it's a "must see" theatrical event.
In response to some of the messages:
TO DAVID OH:
- I am primarily focused on Media Justice advocacy, but a sub-specialty of mine is anti-racism (the recognition, analysis, and dismantling of institutional racism) and from that perspective you and I seem to share a common analysis. You wrote that these movies have found "a formula for at least domestic success - the reasons for which are less clear." All of the proposed reasons you listed are in part the answer, but I think the point you made in your second paragraph is the primary reason for the continued popularity of this movie genre. When I speak to various groups on the topic of anti-racism, I often use the book "Black Like Like Me" to illustrate this point:
We have a wealth of narratives (written by such African-American notables as Richard Wright, James Baldwin and W.E.B. DuBois) which describe the reality of black life in America. A white reporter temporarily darkened his skin so that he could go under cover, supposedly to experience what life was really like for a black man in America. The book was a bestseller and the subsequent movie (in 1964 starring James Whitmore and Roscoe Lee Brown) was a hit, far beyond any movies based on works written by the aforementioned black authors. What explains this disparity in financial success? The perceived veracity of the authors. The story of our experience wasn't completely believable and palatable until it was told by a white man.
- Your question about how these responses will be used is a good one. I am simply asking that we give some thought to this issue and asking that we share our thoughts with the hope that we raise our collective level of consciousness. I don't intend to use anyone's responses for any other purpose. However, I suspect that we all will learn from this exchange of ideas and will incorporate what we learn here so that our future work and actions will reflect that increased awareness.
TO KATHLEEN FEARN:
- I identify with everything you wrote. Your concluding questions were on point - for every anomaly found in black social behavior, there is a logical reason behind it's occurrence. My sister is an award winning black playwright. She decided not to see this movie because she agrees with you and others - the only version of this story with any validity would have to be the African-American version.
TO ANITA-FLEMING-RIFE (aka "Supergirl")
- The media edits the history of the civil rights movement to serve the purposes of the corporations which now own our media. This is why we only hear about Dr. King's dream, rather than his reality (which was that he progressed beyond that 1963 speech to a more radical philosophy). When he deviated from their script, he was literally denied press coverage for the last two years of his life. The symbol of Dr. King (circa 1963) is the civil rights image that has been chosen and packaged by the mainstream media. Rev. Shuttlesworth, with his more confrontational and fiery style, did not suit their purpose.
- It would be nice if MAC and/or the AEJMC paid tribute to Rev. Shuttlesworth during the plenary session at the 2012 convention. They should show some video so people can see who he was.
TO MIA MOODY-RAMIREZ:
- This is not a popularity contest - all views are welcomed and contribute to the analysis. As a Christian, I agree that God's hand is involved in all of our fights for justice. There is a balance to the universe. But I will point out that you cited three things you felt were positive about the movie however you did not rebut many of the points made here against the movie. I don't think anyone is saying that one cannot find any redeeming qualities in the movie - just that the harmful points outweigh the positive ones.
- I am surprised you feel most people have not been exposed to the image of the stereotypical, privileged white mother who turns her children over to a black mammy because she is too preoccupied with other things to properly care for them. I don't think the harmful aspects of this movie's message are justified by the what might be the author's desire to publicize such a point that is already widely known.
- You wrote that the author did not have black men in the movie because "She did not want to further stereotype them". The lawsuit notwithstanding, this is supposedly a work of fiction therefore the author has the freedom to create any black male character she chooses. She could have written about outstanding black men like my father, either of my grandfathers, my brother, my black male friends, etc. Your statement implies that if she created any other black male characters, she would have been forced to make them negative characters. That implication troubles me. Please let me know if I mistook your meaning.
TO E. K. DAUFIN:
- Can you please write to let us know what happens when you cover this with your class?
TO Sharon Bramlett-Solomon:
- Thanks for the article links on the maid's lawsuit. GREAT update! I will forward this information to others.
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Karen J. Bond Executive Director
National Black Coalition for Media Justice (NBCMJ)
Phone: (847) 328-4849
Cell: (224) 616-1119
Email Address: [log in to unmask] Website (currently under construction):
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"UNTIL THE LION HAS HIS OWN HISTORIAN, THE TALE OF THE HUNT WILL ALWAYS GLORIFY THE HUNTER."
-African Proverb
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