The Help – A reflection of our society 

Change begins with a whisper. 

‘The Help’ is a movie that will make an impact on your life, it changed my angle on seeing things in life, and I hope it will do the same for you !

‘The Help’ is a very well-known movie directed by Tate Taylor based on a historical fiction novel written by Kathryn Stockett. It has won several awards for example, Emma Stone, an Oscar-winning actress who has taken part on films like ‘La La Land’ or ‘Poor Things’, plays one of the most important roles in the film. 

This is a quote from The Guardian that I really agree with: “Airbrushed fairytale it may be, but The Help’s account of the push for racial equality in 1960s Mississippi is rousingly effective.” ‘The Help’ is a movie that makes you reflect on the unjust ways our society functions, the rules and roles that we put upon ourselves. In this article, we are going to explore the most important topics from the movie that not many people are comfortable talking about, like racism, gender and social class, the importance of speaking up for yourself and making a change, a revolution in this corrupt world that we are living in. 

This movie really illustrates the poor work conditions in the 1960s in Mississippi a city in America, where black housemaids spend most of their lives taking care of the children of white people who only take advantage of them.  

The most important part of the story happens when a white woman in her twenties who isn’t married – this was also seen as ‘weird’ in society, wants to publish the experiences and stories that the housemaids went through, giving them a chance to have a voice and to express themselves, due to this she breaks the rules imposed by society and makes people realize the injustice of this. 

In my opinion, I think that everyone should watch this movie because it is crucial to understand, to reflect, and to remember our mistakes from the past and the suffering that we, as a society, as humans, have caused to other people, because they weren’t the same as us, they weren’t ‘normal’ like us. But what is ‘normal’? What are the social norms that decide our roles in society? And are they fair to everyone?  

In our society, everyone has the right to free speech, everyone has the right to be free and do whatever they like, to be whoever they want, but they still must follow the law. The law is there to ensure our rights, but is it always fair? Who creates these laws?  

This movie is a very good example of our society. It shows the problems that some people face because of the colour of their skin, the effort that we must do to change our manner of seeing things and makes us reflect on our discriminatory thoughts and actions.  

In conclusion, I recommend this movie to everyone. I think this movie changed my perspective on the way that I had understood society until that moment and it made me think about the social pressure, and also about how today we say that everyone has the right to fight for justice, but is this really true? Or do we still have to keep fighting for equality and freedom, against gender, nationality, racial discriminations?

Clara GÓMEZ CURIEL / S5ESA