The Help (2011)

[Judy Hamilton]

has received bad review from the MSNBC reviewer..In response to this mans statements all I can say is he may have been born north of the Mason Dixon Line, for sure he was born after me and did not live in the segregated South where I was raised


This a story of the culture and atrocities and absurdities that belong only to the South.. if one does not follow the story line as near truth, it is because he or she were born too late and were not immersed in the culture of southern homes..civil rights were boiling during the time frame depicted in this movie, the Jim Crow Laws were challenged..remember Rosa Parks?? As a black (my grandmother called them Niggers) I am sure she encountered daily insults rivaling the insult of riding in the back of the bus

I read the book..and tried to place myself at a couple of the white ladies luncheons..Were I there back then, I like to believe in the best of me, and not tolerate them. I would feign headaches or leprosy or whatever to break out of the grasp women held on each other. The story of Abilene s son Treelore cut close to the truth as did the painful shunning of Celia..who only wanted acceptance and to be friends


Read the book..if you can then go see the movie

Judy

[Susan Unger]

Joanne Vergin and some other facebook friends were talking about this book. It sounds good. I ought to check out the book or watch the movie.

[Julie Reed]

Joanne Vergin and some other facebook friends were talking about this book. It sounds good. I ought to check out the book or watch the movie.

This book is a great read. I really enjoyed it. I'm really wondering if the movie can be as good as the book but will go to it when it comes out.

[Valisha Trammell Hall]

This book is a great read. I really enjoyed it. I'm really wondering if the movie can be as good as the book but will go to it when it comes out.

Julie, the movie definitely does the book justice. Of course the book gives details that can't be depicted in a movie, but I only caught a few events that were left out of the movie and they were minor. Believe it or not, all the major events in the book were in the movie as well.

[Dana Grant]

This book is a great read. I really enjoyed it. I'm really wondering if the movie can be as good as the book but will go to it when it comes out.

Julie, actually it IS as good as the book, although due to time constraints, they did have to take a couple of things out of the movie and blend a few more things. But it basically stayed true to the book for the most part, I thought. (the naked man was left out, for which I was truly thankful, to be honest......LOL)

[Dana Grant]

has received bad review from the MSNBC reviewer..In response to this mans statements all I can say is he may have been born north of the Mason Dixon Line, for sure he was born after me and did not live in the segregated South where I was raised


This a story of the culture and atrocities and absurdities that belong only to the South.. if one does not follow the story line as near truth, it is because he or she were born too late and were not immersed in the culture of southern homes..civil rights were boiling during the time frame depicted in this movie, the Jim Crow Laws were challenged..remember Rosa Parks?? As a black (my grandmother called them Niggers) I am sure she encountered daily insults rivaling the insult of riding in the back of the bus

I read the book..and tried to place myself at a couple of the white ladies luncheons..Were I there back then, I like to believe in the best of me, and not tolerate them. I would feign headaches or leprosy or whatever to break out of the grasp women held on each other. The story of Abilene s son Treelore cut close to the truth as did the painful shunning of Celia..who only wanted acceptance and to be friends


Read the book..if you can then go see the movie

Judy


I was in the 4th grade when our schools were desegregated, and the first black students were "allowed" in "our" schools. It was horrible the way black people were treated, and there was much of it still happening when we lived in Tennessee in the late 80s. I was appalled at some of the things I saw there....it took me back to my days growing up in West Virginia. I remember getting in deep trouble because I rode home in the car of a young black man who was a friend of mine in high school. I remember the riots that broke out during that time in the 60s. This movie brought back a lot of very uncomfortable memories of my growing up years.....shameful memories, really. It is an excellent movie, and it really could have been true, it is so close to what the culture was like in those days.

[John Kennedy]

Saw the movie last week. It rang true to the times.

[Ryan Scott]

We're going Friday. I'm sure my wife will have something to say.

[Jon Bemis]

We saw it earlier this week and both my wife and I thought it was a really well made movie. Truly horrible the things that transpired during that time.

[Julie Reed]

My husband and I finally saw this movie. After reading the book I was anxious to see it. I thought it was one of those movies that an award should be given. The story was great and acting was great. I'm hoping that it will at least be recognized in some way. People were clapping at the end of it. Seeing it was time well spent.

[Ryan Scott]

Fantastic movie; everyone should see it. It deals with the grand topic of injustice in real and redemptive ways.

[Larry Parsons]

I was in the 4th grade when our schools were desegregated, and the first black students were "allowed" in "our" schools. It was horrible the way black people were treated, and there was much of it still happening when we lived in Tennessee in the late 80s. I was appalled at some of the things I saw there....it took me back to my days growing up in West Virginia. I remember getting in deep trouble because I rode home in the car of a young black man who was a friend of mine in high school. I remember the riots that broke out during that time in the 60s. This movie brought back a lot of very uncomfortable memories of my growing up years.....shameful memories, really. It is an excellent movie, and it really could have been true, it is so close to what the culture was like in those days.
Dana, I grew up in W.Va and I was in high school when we recieve our first black students and black teachers and really I don't remember having that much trouble with them, Oh we had fight but most those was because race it was most because of a girl.In fact after one year they were there you begin to see black and white run around together in thier cars. Some of our most popular student were black and everyone like them and they were Nazarene and no they didn't go to white Nazarene church. You sound like my sister in the 60's who also got in trouble being the only girl with much of black guy but if I remember it anther black boy who gother out that mess.
Thanks
Larry

[Mike Schutz]

One of the best movies I have seen in a long time. A strong recommendation for both men and women.

[Dana Grant]

Dana, I grew up in W.Va and I was in high school when we recieve our first black students and black teachers and really I don't remember having that much trouble with them, Oh we had fight but most those was because race it was most because of a girl.In fact after one year they were there you begin to see black and white run around together in thier cars. Some of our most popular student were black and everyone like them and they were Nazarene and no they didn't go to white Nazarene church. You sound like my sister in the 60's who also got in trouble being the only girl with much of black guy but if I remember it anther black boy who gother out that mess.
Thanks
Larry


It's funny, because we had a black teacher before we had black students. Our music teacher, Mrs. Smoot, was black and the best teacher ever!! But she started way before the desegregation of the schools. I never really thought about that before, but now that I look back on it, it is rather odd. After the desegregation, we had a MALE black teacher. It was more strange that he was a MALE than it was that he was black!! He is my all-time favorite schoolteacher. He made learning fun. I've never forgot what a great time we had in 5th grade because of him.

The riots that I was talking about were not in the schools, but in the streets of cities in WV. In Huntington, especially, I remember being at my grandparents' house when the news broke that there was a riot in the city streets. Times were a-changin' back then, that's for sure.

[Larry Parsons]

It's funny, because we had a black teacher before we had black students. Our music teacher, Mrs. Smoot, was black and the best teacher ever!! But she started way before the desegregation of the schools. I never really thought about that before, but now that I look back on it, it is rather odd. After the desegregation, we had a MALE black teacher. It was more strange that he was a MALE than it was that he was black!! He is my all-time favorite schoolteacher. He made learning fun. I've never forgot what a great time we had in 5th grade because of him.

The riots that I was talking about were not in the schools, but in the streets of cities in WV. In Huntington, especially, I remember being at my grandparents' house when the news broke that there was a riot in the city streets. Times were a-changin' back then, that's for sure.


Dana, would you believe it we were almost neighbors. I was raised in Dunbar a suburb of Charleston .And Dunbar was next to Institute which was all black town There they had two colleges W.Va State college and a Nazarene Bible college for the Black. Couple of years before I finish high school few our student enter W.Va State I went there in 61-62 but by the time I got there the white student made up 5% .When I was there I was never treat bad I was on the swimming and track team and I remember when the team travel in the south they would always put us white Guys between two blacks. Dana There reason we may not have seen any problem among the student we may had different attitude than our parents. I remember when the first black family move on our block. I remember my Dad cuss and said those kind of people will be taking over and everything will go to pot and that was the only thing he said about it. My Dad always had bad attitude toward the black and only reason that was he never want to any. As a student we got to know them and we became friends and that made difference.
Thanks
Larry

[Craig Laughlin]

Just watched it on DVD with my 85 year old mother who grew up in South Missouri. I thought the movie was both very good and in line with the stories I had heard from so many older black folks. My mother commented that it was hard to believe it was really like that. Seeing it through modern eyes was a little hard for her.

We forget so quickly, well at least those of us on the top of the power structure tend to forget the abuses. The victims seem to have longer memories.

This is a good movie and can help folks understand the experiences that inform the thinking of many black folks.

[Dana Grant]

Dana, would you believe it we were almost neighbors. I was raised in Dunbar a suburb of Charleston .And Dunbar was next to Institute which was all black town There they had two colleges W.Va State college and a Nazarene Bible college for the Black. Couple of years before I finish high school few our student enter W.Va State I went there in 61-62 but by the time I got there the white student made up 5% .When I was there I was never treat bad I was on the swimming and track team and I remember when the team travel in the south they would always put us white Guys between two blacks. Dana There reason we may not have seen any problem among the student we may had different attitude than our parents. I remember when the first black family move on our block. I remember my Dad cuss and said those kind of people will be taking over and everything will go to pot and that was the only thing he said about it. My Dad always had bad attitude toward the black and only reason that was he never want to any. As a student we got to know them and we became friends and that made difference.
Thanks
Larry

Larry, just saw this response to my post!! sorry!! But you are right......my parents were quietly racist, if you know what I mean. they would claim that they had no prejudice, as long as no black person entered their own "space" so to speak. I think a lot of people were that way. I was really shocked when I experienced pretty open racism in Tennessee when we lived there in the late 80s. I wonder how I would be today if i had stayed in WV instead of moving to Tucson.

speaking of being neighbors -- I had friends from Dunbar during the time that I attended the WV District Campgrounds.....we sang at the Dunbar church when I was on Impact. Small world......

[Dave McClung]

has received bad review from the MSNBC reviewer..In response to this mans statements all I can say is he may have been born north of the Mason Dixon Line, for sure he was born after me and did not live in the segregated South where I was raised


This a story of the culture and atrocities and absurdities that belong only to the South.. if one does not follow the story line as near truth, it is because he or she were born too late and were not immersed in the culture of southern homes..civil rights were boiling during the time frame depicted in this movie, the Jim Crow Laws were challenged..remember Rosa Parks?? As a black (my grandmother called them Niggers) I am sure she encountered daily insults rivaling the insult of riding in the back of the bus

I read the book..and tried to place myself at a couple of the white ladies luncheons..Were I there back then, I like to believe in the best of me, and not tolerate them. I would feign headaches or leprosy or whatever to break out of the grasp women held on each other. The story of Abilene s son Treelore cut close to the truth as did the painful shunning of Celia..who only wanted acceptance and to be friends


Read the book..if you can then go see the movie

Judy

Linda made me watch the movie on DVD. Having grown up in the deep south, Louisiana, I found the movie to be unrealistic in two respects. First, it showed both parts of society being more affluent than they really were. There were a few white people who had the big houses shown, but it wasn't typical. Most of us lived in houses more like what was shown for the blacks.

The standard of living for the blacks shown in the movie was much higher than reality.

I was an adult before I recognized one of the biggest issues -- eye contact. When I was growing up in Louisiana, blacks and whites never had direct eye contact. Whenever a black person met a white person, the black person always lowered his or her eyes to avoid eye contact. A black person who failed to lower eyes would be considered aggessive and would be put in their place.


.

[Scott Moseley]

Linda made me watch the movie on DVD. Having grown up in the deep south, Louisiana, I found the movie to be unrealistic in two respects. First, it showed both parts of society being more affluent than they really were. There were a few white people who had the big houses shown, but it wasn't typical. Most of us lived in houses more like what was shown for the blacks.

The standard of living for the blacks shown in the movie was much higher than reality.

I was an adult before I recognized one of the biggest issues -- eye contact. When I was growing up in Louisiana, blacks and whites never had direct eye contact. Whenever a black person met a white person, the black person always lowered his or her eyes to avoid eye contact. A black person who failed to lower eyes would be considered aggessive and would be put in their place.


.

My kids really liked the movie and asked me if it was really like that back in the day. I told them to ask their Grandma! BUT it did resonate with me growing up in East Texas where we moved when I was in the 5th grade. I was shocked at the number of black kids in the class. The school system had only been integrated for about 5 years when we joined. Anyway. The town's affluent establishment did have very fine homes and uniformed maid service which is what I think the movie was trying to portray. Yes I think you are right the service black community lived well below what was represented. I remember driving "across the tracks" with my dad to pick up some Sunday school students and being troubled by looking at how the black community lived (in the 70s). This was a side of our charming lil southern town that no one knew about.
I also remember mom and dad talking about how many of the church leaders (and civic leaders ) were opposed to the Sunday school busing program under the guise that busing was taking kids out of the black churches.

Loved the movie.. loved the 57ish Corvette, will read the book. Thought the lead actress didn't quite look the part though.. something about here modern hairstyle.

[Rich Schmidt]

We just watched the movie tonight after I picked up the DVD at the library. What a great movie!

[Diane Likens]

After being on the waiting list at the library for over seven weeks, I finally got to check out one of their four copies of the book. I'm about 2/3 of the way done. Good book. And I MUST see the movie.

[Dennis M. Scott]

Linda's reading it now, then I will. Following that, perhaps the movie.

[Susan Unger]

I watched this last night with a friend. Some parts were hard to watch, some where hysterical [esp. there is root tea for that] and some left me bawling. I really liked how it showed the strength of the Black church. It also left me with the strong sense that the things we get so bothered and fussy over really aren't that important in light of the real struggles that people go/have gone through.