"The Help" - Some Traditions are Meant to be Broken

There are some wonderful films that give you a taste of the Southern traditions - “Steel Magnolias” and “Fried Green Tomatoes” being among my favorites. But some traditions are meant to be broken. “The Help,” set in 1960s Jackson, Mississippi, is the first film to deal with the shared delusion that blacks and whites are separate in the South. Despite the Jim Crow laws designed to keep them apart, their lives have been intertwined since the days of slavery. Generations of white children have been raised by their black “maids.”

When the president of her bridge club drafts up a petition for a law forcing people to have separate bathrooms for their black servants, housekeeping columnist Skitter decides to draft something that will make a difference – a book on “the help's” perspective. The problem is that it's the dawn of the civil rights movement when blacks are still being lynched outside their homes. The maids could lose more than their jobs. It is inspiring to watch these women stand up for what's right despite their fears. Change starts with one act of courage.

Movie blessings!
Jana Segal

Check out my complete review at:  www.reelinspiration.blogspot.com