Monday and Wednesday was the first time I’ve actually seen The Help and I have to say it was a great experience. What I loved about the film is how it had different types of women characters rather than one singular like we have seen in the previous films. We have the high white elite, the “white trash”, the educated woman, and most of all the African American maids. It was so interesting to see how these women interacted with one another and how they shared the screen together.
It was nice to see a film solely based off the women’s lives rather than their dependence on men. If anything the men were apart of the subplot and most of the time gave “the gaze” or “power” to the women. I think this was a great way to show that women can carry a film, and do not need a male element to keep the story moving. I still feel that the best element of this film is all the different types of women. The high class New York contrasted with the Mississippi women. There is so much going on and it’s great to just see a film that has women in a variety of roles not just one non-linear character.
I agree with you; I like how the women controlled the story line of this film. I thought it was interesting how in the end, Skeeter ends up without a boyfriend. Her boyfriend breaks up with her because of the release of her novel. It seems clear that the novel brought positive change to their town, which makes it funny that her boyfriend was so against it. In this way, the film shows the ability of women to be independent and have their own success. While Skeeter is upset about her breakup, the ending reveals that she is in a good place. She laughs at the comment that she will never find another man in Jacksonville. She is successful and does not need a man to support her.