Hello MAC members: I am reading with interest your comments on "The Help" and want to suggest that one of us propose a panel on a critical reading of this film for the 2012 convention. Maybe MAC members who have offered comments could participate as presenters. The panel could be a teaching panel to emphasize the use of critical race theories or other theories, historical lenses, etc. to advance a critique of this text within the context of cultivating media literacy skills among students. The film could be a case to explore. Let's consider. I know Felecia has called for proposals and extended the deadline to Oct. 19. Cordially, Ilia Rodriguez University of New Mexico On Thu, 13 Oct 2011 16:44:05 -0500 "E. K. Daufin" <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Thank you all who have shared so far. I will be sharing >your voices with my Mass Media & Society class. Earlier >in the semester I tried to talk about the problem with >products of this type. One African American male student >(who has dropped out of sight twice and probably won’t be >in class to hear it) said, “I thought everyone KNEW it >was a story written by a White woman.” He just didn’t >get it and I couldn’t reach him. Thanks for the help. > > Know Justice; Know Peace, > Rev. Dr. E-K Daufin > Professor of Communication > Media & Society Size Equity National Expert > Winner - 2000 MaryAnn Yodelis-Smith > Research Award AEJMC CSW > AEJMC MAC Membership Chair > Alabama State University > 915 S. Jackson St. > Montgomery, AL 36101-0271 > (334) 229-6885 > www.home.earthlink.net/~ekdaufin<http://www.home.earthlink.net/~ekdaufin> > Your research and creative activity referrals are >welcomed. > With all my heart I want to work with and for kind, >competent, strong people who love and help me and I they. > Ashe! > >From: FOR THE MINORITIES AND COMMUNICATION DIV. OF AEJMC >[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Kathleen >Fearn > Sent: Thursday, October 13, 2011 4:05 PM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Re: SEEKING OPINIONS ON "THE HELP" >==>White-Authored Narratives of Black Life > > I saw the film and I can see why you didn't. I am >seething that I spent $8 to see it. I know so much more >about the issues and the time than the author and I >didn't have to interview anybody. That little addition >to the recipe for the pie is small stuff compared to >things that actually happened. Also, reviews are calling >it a "feel good" movie. Who feels good -- white people? > I feel bad that the central black maid (I have blocked >out the names of characters in my effort to forget the >film) was unemployed at the conclusion. What was she >going to do? Certainly not be a writer? And where were >the black men? I think there was one we didn't see who >beat up his wife. What did black husbands think about >their wives being mistreated when they could do little to >help? What did black children think about their mother's >sharing their breasts with white babies? That's the >movie that we are missing. > > Sent from my iPad > > On Oct 13, 2011, at 1:13 PM, Karen Bond ><[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote: > Dear MAC members, > A movie written by a man about the pain experienced >during childbirth would get little attention because >obviously there are women who could write more credible >accounts. So why do we always pay so much attention to >books written by whites about the pain of the black >experience in America? For me, a movie written by a >white woman about the pain of the black experience has no >value. In fact, the ability for so many whites to get >rich off of this literary formula insults and belittles >my experience as a black woman. > > > The signature on my email messages has always read: > "Until the lion has his own historian, the tail of the >hunt will always glorify the hunter." > > > And so it goes. "The Help" once again glorifies white >woman as the savior of black women. > > > When "The Help" came out, I sent out the message below >to some of my associates seeking their opinions on the >movie. Now I'm asking MAC members what they think about >the issues raised in the message below: > > > ------------ Forwarded message ------------ >From: K J Bond ><[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> > Date: Aug 16, 2011 > Subject: FYI, I've decided NOT to see “The Help”. . . > >FYI, > > > I've decided NOT to see “The Help”. > > > I saw “Driving Miss Daisy”, “Crash”, and “Avatar”. On >one level, I enjoyed some of these movies. But by the the >time “The Blind Side” came out, I had a decision to make: >Could I sit through one more film that perpetuated the >falsehoods of “the white savior myth”? I decided I >couldn't and so I did not see “The Blindside”. And I >will not see “The Help”. I do not want to risk the >chance that my financial contribution to its box office >receipts might encourage Hollywood to continue plying the >nation's consciousness with this misinformation. > > > In addition to “the white savior myth”, the negative >image of Black men in this movie is also a problem for >me. As far as many of us know and have experienced in >this life, Black men are awesome. However, this fact is >rarely represented in film. Once too often I've seen the >reinforcement of an insulting and false Black male >stereotype used as a handy plot device. This is one more >reason why I will not be seeing “The Help”. > > > One might say that I should not pass judgment on a film >I have not seen, but this is no different than my >decision not to see the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre”. I read >about the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” movie and concluded I >don't actually have to pay money to see people's limbs >being severed in order to decide this movie is not for >me. Based on having seen other horror movies of its >type, I knew that I literally could not stomach seeing >it. And likewise, after researching “The Help” I believe >the movie is most definitely not for me. > > > The owner of FOX television, arch-conservative Rupert >Murdoch, also owns The Wall Street Journal. Here's what >The Wall Street Journal said about “The Help”: > “ 'The Help' is bound to be a hit. Just as readers loved >the book, for good reason—its resonant themes transcended >its imperfect craftsmanship—audiences starved for >substance after a long, dry summer will embrace the >movie. They'll do so not only for the white guilt it >addresses, and deftly mitigates, but for the plot's >entertaining contrivances (chief among them a climax of >cyclonic uplift), the bonds of love between whites and >blacks and a cast of outsize characters...” > > > So Rupert Murdoch's movie reviewers think one important >reason people will love and “embrace” “The Help” is for >how it “deftly mitigates” white guilt (mitigates, as in >“to reduce”, “to lessen”, “to decrease”). Hmmmm... >interesting that THIS is a theme (purpose?) that >resonates throughout the movie for them. > > > Below, I have copied some interesting opinions that >helped me make up my mind about the nature of this movie. >I invite you to copy this email message to all you feel >might benefit from it. Please participate in my informal >survey - drop me a line to let me know whether you intend >to contribute to The Help's box office receipts and why. > > > Thanks! > > ~ Karen > > > > ============================================================================= > ============================================================================= > > HOW RACIST IS “THE HELP”? > http://blogs.indiewire.com/anthony/archives/how_racist_is_the_help/ > Anthony Kaufman's ReelPolitik Blog > > “Why should I complain about making $7,000 a week >playing a maid? If I didn’t, I’d be making $7 a week >being one.”—Hattie McDaniel > > > Despite Hollywood’s best intentions and well-meaning >saccharine storytelling, it gets race wrong, repeatedly. >From “Driving Miss Daisy” to “Crash” to “The Blind Side” >to “Avatar,” whiteness remains Hollywood’s dominant >force, and its stories of racial redemption continually >fail to grapple with the realities of America’s horrible >racism, past and present. > > >For all those giving a pass to “The Help,” forgiving the >film’s reactionary core for its strong performances or >heartwarming uplift, I suggest you consider the >deep-seated problem of perpetuating the white savior >myth—once again. It reinforces stereotypes, powerful >images of subjugation, that endure in the public >consciousness. > > > I like what Boston Globe critic Wesley Morris wrote in >his review of the film: > “The best film roles three black women will have all >year require one of them to clean Ron Howard’s daughter’s >house. It’s self-reinforcing movie imagery. White boys >have always been Captain America. Black women, in one way >or another, have always been someone’s maid. These are >strong figures, as that restaurant owner might sincerely >say, but couldn’t they be strong doing something else? >That’s the hardest thing to reconcile about Skeeter’s >book and ‘The Help’’ in general. On one hand, it’s juicy, >heartwarming, well-meant entertainment. On the other, >it’s an owner’s manual.” > > > In a post called “Why Can’t Critics Just Get Along,” >David Poland criticizes critics for criticizing the fact >that “The Help” was made, at all, and not reviewing the >film on its relative faults and merits. But Poland >doesn’t seem to read Morris’s point—and mine, as >well—that the film’s faults are integrally mixed with its >premise. To make a film that purports to be about the >struggles of black servitude that is actually just >another tale about a white person’s empowerment is >grossly irresponsible, from a political perspective, and >kind of lame, from a narrative perspective. > > > In his 1965 essay, “White Man’s Guilt,” James Baldwin >writes about America’s racism: “One wishes that >Americans, white Americans, would read, for their own >sakes, this record, and stop defending themselves against >it. Only then will they be enabled to change their lives. >The fact that Americans, white Americans, have not yet >been able to do this - to face their history, to change >their lives - hideously menaces this country. Indeed, it >menaces the entire world.” >Forty-six years later, it seems, the American white >establishment still can’t seem to understand that they >are responsible for racial discrimination and >subjugation, and not, as “The Help” would have it, >responsible for breaking down those walls. > > > I also can’t help wonder what does it say about “The >Help” that Ablene Cooper, an African American nanny and >housekeeper who works for “The Help” author Kathryn >Stockett’s brother and sister-in-law, filed a lawsuit >against Stockett, claiming that the central African >American maid in the novel — a woman named Aibileen Clark >and portrayed in the film by Viola Davis — was based >largely on her likeness without her approval. A judge >will decide on the case next week, as millions of >Americans will fork over cash, enriching more white >Americans. The exploitation continues. > > ============================================================================= > ============================================================================= > > THE HELP: Boston Globe Movie Review > http://www.boston.com/ae/movies/articles/2011/08/10/race_class_and_hollywood_gloss_in_the_help/?page=2 > by Wesley Morris > > ...Skeeter’s exposé is meant to empower both the >subjects and the author, but “The Help’’ joins everything >from “To Kill a Mockingbird’’ to “The Blind Side’’ as >another Hollywood movie that sees racial progress as the >province of white do-gooderism. Skeeter [a white woman] >enjoys all the self-discovery and all the credit... The >novel made a lot of people feel good. It was sneaky. >Stockett wrote tolerably in Aibileen and Minny’s voices - >in a way that keeps black vernacular inside dignified >English, and avoids the literary dehumanization that Toni >Morrison has written about. But as much as the book was >about race and class, it was really about how feminism >empowered Skeeter, and Stockett, to address other >injustices... Tate Taylor, a childhood friend of >Stockett, adapted and directed the movie. He applies a >thick coat of gloss to most scenes. It’s hard not to >imagine what trouble the passive, largely absent husbands >of these bigoted women are up to off-screen. The death of >the civil rights activist Medgar Evers is reported on >television, so white supremacy is in the air, but the >movie would have us believe that the racism of the time >was the stuff of bridge clubs. Indeed, the meanest male >in the movie is the abusive, mostly unseen black husband >who, in a poorly made sequence, comes after Minny... “The >Help’’ comes out on the losing end of the movies’ social >history. > > ============================================================================= > ============================================================================= > > RACIST OR RAVING: WHAT CRITICS ARE SAYING ABOUT “THE >HELP” > http://www.thefrisky.com/post/246-racist-or-raving-what-critics-are-saying-about-the-help/ > > by Jessica Wakeman > > ...Some critics, both armchair and professional, say the >new flick starring Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Octavia >Spencer, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Allison Janney is a >white-washed, even racist version of the civil rights >movement that praises a white woman as the savior of the >poor black folks. (Cough “The Blind Side” cough.) They >ask why Hollywood makes films about civil rights through >the lens of white people, instead of giving due credit to >the African-Americans who fought for their rights. And >that is certainly a worthy question to ask. > Others (me, for instance) read and loved the book and >are excited to see the movie, imperfect as the narrative >may be. (Though I agree it would be better for Hollywood >to make more films that tell a less white-centric >narrative.)... > > > ...Whether you decide to see the movie or not, or to >read Kathryn Stockett’s novel or not, is up to you. To >help give you an idea of some of the controversy >surrounding “The Help” I’ve rounded up the criticism from >all angles: >From Akiba Solomon at Colorlines: > “As a racial justice and gender writer, a pop culture >observer, and an African American woman who rides for >Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Cicely Tyson and Aunjanue >Ellis, I feel obligated to see this film. But, damn it, >I’m jaded, and it has absolutely nothing to do with >watching black women portray domestic workers onscreen. >(There’s no shame in domestic work, unless you’re talking >about their employers’ abuse and wage exploitation.) I >just can’t bring myself to pay $12.50 after taxes and >fees to sit in an aggressively air conditioned, possibly >bed bug-infested, New York City movie theater to watch >these sisters lend gravitas to Stockett’s white heroine >mythology. I’m sorry, but the trailer alone features way >too many group hugs to be trusted.” >From Martha Southgate at Entertainment Weekly: > “Implicit in The Help and a number of other popular >works that deal with the civil rights era is the notion >that a white character is somehow crucial or even >necessary to tell this particular tale of black >liberation. ... This isn’t the first time the civil >rights movement has been framed this way fictionally, >especially on film. ... Why is it ever thus? Suffice it >to say that these stories are more likely to get the >green light and to have more popular appeal (and often >acclaim) if they have white characters up front. That’s a >shame.” >From Ann Hornaday at The Washington Post: > “One of those truths, which “The Help” deserves praise >for bringing to light, is that racism should be >understood less as a matter of black grievance than of >unexamined white privilege and pathology. ... [Racist >character] Hilly’s monstrousness is in keeping with “The >Help’s” tendency to reduce its characters to stock types, >but it has the effect of enabling white viewers to >distance themselves from racism’s subtler, more potent >expressions.” > Tami at What Tami Said: > “This is my worry: That even if “The Help” film gets it >right, viewers will see just another movie about a >spunky, young, white girl, setting the world on fire, >while the lives, stories and agency of black women remain >invisible.” > And last but not least, what I thought was the strongest >review of “The Help”: Wesley Morris at The Boston Globe: > “The movie is too pious for farce and too eager to >please to comment persuasively on the racial horrors of >the Deep South at that time. ... The death of the civil >rights activist Medgar Evers is reported on television, >so white supremacy is in the air, but the movie would >have us believe that the racism of the time was the stuff >of bridge clubs. Indeed, the meanest male in the movie is >the abusive, mostly unseen black husband who, in a poorly >made sequence, comes after Minny. ... “The Help’’ comes >out on the losing end of the movies’ social history. The >best film roles three black women will have all year >require one of them to clean Ron Howard’s daughter’s >house. It’s self-reinforcing movie imagery. White boys >have always been Captain America. Black women, in one way >or another, have always been someone’s maid. These are >strong figures, as that restaurant owner might sincerely >say, but couldn’t they be strong doing something else? >That’s the hardest thing to reconcile about Skeeter’s >book and “The Help’’ in general.” > > ============================================================================= > ============================================================================= > > IS VIOLA DAVIS' CHARACTER IN THE HELP JUST THE >STEREOTYPICAL BLACK MAMMY? > http://gayblackcanadianman.com/2011/04/21/is-viola-davis-the-stereotypical-nurturing-black-mammny-in-the-civil-rights-drama-the-help/ > > I cannot contain my anger and disappointment that Viola >Davis decided to star in the new film The Help. Hollywood >produces very myopic representations of black women. >Black women are either whores like Halle Berry in >Monster’s Ball or maids like Viola Davis in The Help. The >social construction of the binary of black female >sexuality is very limited. The film roles available for >black women tend to be two dimensional and not nuanced. >Black women in North America are still presented as >inferior to white women. The white woman is still placed >on the pedestal as the true image of womanhood. > > > ...Of course, the white woman saves the day since the >purpose of The Help is to promote the narrative that as >black people we cannot save ourselves... The genesis of >The Help is that in order for white people to be >interested in movies about black people, a white person >must always be the protagonist. > The Help is just another form of the classic white >saviour movies. Usually in a white saviour movie, the >white protagonist has an epiphany and decides to help the >black people that are constructed as victims. I am so >tired of the racist white saviour narrative that black >people need to be saved by whites. > > > Another problem I have with The Help is the film >promotes the racist narrative that black women have no >agency. The only purpose black people have in the film is >to serve white folks. Black womanhood is constructed as >just to be loving and nurturing. The Help does not >present Viola Davis or Octavia Spencer’s characters as >three dimensional women. Hollywood consistently promotes >the discourse that a black woman’s purpose in life is to >exist in an anterior time. I cringed when I heard the >line in the trailer “we love them and they love us.” > > > Yes, black women loved working in the domestic sphere >and served rich white women. Of course, The Help ignores >the fact that in America, black women were blocked from >higher educational opportunities for decades... The >majority of black women had to work in domestic work >because that’s the only form of work they were offered! > > > Two years ago, Sandra Bullock's racist film The Blind >Side, also promoted this abhorrent narrative disavowing >black agency. The Blind Side made over $200 million >dollars at the North American box office. Hollywood will >continue to make racist movies such as The Help because >the public supports this bigotry. Would the general >public really want to see an honest movie about black >female domestics that were raped by white men? > > > ...The trailer for The Help is so racist and sexist >against black women. I just feel sick watching this >racist garbage! It is so sad that the best role Viola >Davis can get since her Academy Award nomination for >Doubt is just being the black mammy! ...The Help >engenders the discourse that a black woman's purpose is >to be subservient to white folks. I also find the racist >narrative of the white saviour in The Help problematic. >In the 1960s civil rights movement, my black elders >helped themselves - they did not sit and wait for white >folks to gain freedom! > =================== > ONLINE COMMENTS: > =================== > "I want to read the African-American version of The >Help.” > =================== > Erin Aubry Kaplan wonders "Why must blacks speak dialect >to be authentic? Why are Stockett's white characters free >of the linguistic quirks that white Southerners certainly >have?" The Christian Science Monitor notes the same >problem, wondering about the "decision to convey only >black voices in dialect, with nary a dropped 'g' among >her generally less sympathetic Southern white >characters." > =================== > “Many have taken issue with the core theme of the movie >– a young white girl helping to ‘empower’ black women in >the South. And then there’s anger that strong black >actresses like Viola Davis are ‘reduced’ to playing maids >in 2011.” > =================== > “I did check the book out at local public library about >2 weeks ago. But after reading the inside jacket I got on >the computer to find out who the author was. After >finding out the author was a Caucasian and, based on the >topic, I returned book to the library without even >reading a page. Why? I personally felt that if this >writer wanted to write a book about her personal life >experience as a young woman growing up in Mississippi in >the 60's, she should have told the story from her own >personal perspective. To try and tell the story from her >maid's perspective I felt would be superficial.” > ================== > “My concern is over the specific types of stories about >race that get such critical, mainstream acclaim. Stories >like Precious, the Blind Side, etc. suggest that there is >a very specific set of requirements for a movie dealing >with race, and anything outside of that mold isn’t going >to get that level of attention. > ...I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I do worry (and >have seen support for this worry in the reviews I’ve >read) that this script was chosen for its ability to be >boiled down into the preferred narrative about race, one >that too often simplifies a complex issue and leaves >white people feeling all warm and fuzzy about their >enlightened perspective.” > ================== > > ============================================================================ > > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > 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]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> > Website (currently under construction): >www.nbcmj.org<http://www.nbcmj.org> > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > > @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ > > UNTIL THE LION HAS HIS OWN HISTORIAN, THE TALE OF THE >HUNT WILL ALWAYS GLORIFY THE HUNTER. > > -African Proverb > @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@