An Analysis of “The Help”
The
Help, directed by Taylor, takes place in the 1960s in Jackson,
Mississippi during the Jim Crow era. Skeeter is a young lady who returns home
from college and aspires to publish a book detailing the plight of the African
American women who work as house helps in Jackson. However, she soon realizes
the extent of segregation in the town and begins to appreciate the struggles of
the maids when she interacts with Aibileen. At the time, Aibileen is working
for Skeeter’s best friend, Elizabeth, whose behavior reflects that of all the
housewives in Jackson. The arrest of one of the other maids prompts all the
other house helps to join Skeeter and Aibileen, and their book, which contained
a record of their experiences, is published and becomes a success. Although
Aibileen has to face the wrath of Hilly, the leader of the socialite
housewives, the realization that she is more than a “help” assists in
propelling her forward (Taylor, 2011). The sociological approach, conflict
theory, is predominant in the film. The conflict theory argues that society is
in a continual state of conflict resulting from the competition for limited
resources including status and power. The concepts of the conflict theory are
present in The Help as the white housewives continually assert their
dominance over their house helps by discriminating against them.
According
to the conflict theory, a community typically has two primary classes
consisting of the bourgeoisie, who have more power and privilege, and the
proletariat, who possess fewer resources. Since the bourgeoisie is a minority
within the population, they use their influence to assert their authority over
those in the working class. Besides, since the same property or shared
interests unite each group of people, they are more likely to interact with
each other. Skeeter is part of the white population who have African American
house helps working for them. However, when she comes back and disapproves how
they treat their maids, she still socializes with them. On the other hand,
Aibileen is a house help for Elizabeth whose courage draws her to help Skeeter.
Albeit, they cannot meet openly and therefore they are forced to hold their
meetings in private for fear of retribution. Aibileen is, nonetheless,
resistant at first because she realizes it is dangerous for her to describe her
perspective on the relationship she has with her employer (Taylor, 2011). Since
the housewives have more means than their house helps, they seek to establish
their authority by tyrannizing over the women who work in their homes.
Moreover,
a society in a state of conflict, the social order is only maintained by power
and domination rather than consensus. Each group of people seeks to maximize
the benefits they can accrue by exploitation of the other members. The whites
do not consider the opinions of their black help and often retaliate by firing
them if they go against their rules. As a result, the maids are stoic and
polite to their white bosses although they disagree with most of their
instructions. Hilly sends a letter to the “Home Sanitation Initiative”
instructing that the house helps should have separate bathrooms constructed
outside of their homes (Taylor, 2011). One evening during a storm, her mother’s
house help, Minny, refuses to use the outside bathroom and instead relieves
herself in the guest bathroom. As a result, Hilly gets her fired by accusing
her of theft. Another instance is when Skeeter’s mother, Charlotte, fires their
housekeeper, Constantine without cause. In Jackson, African Americans have to
use the back entrances to public places and enter through the kitchen in their
employers’ homes (Taylor, 2011). During a meeting with her friends,
Constantine's daughter, Rachel uses the front entrance and refuses to leave
once instructed by Charlotte. Consequently, Charlotte fires Constantine to
assert her dominance.
Within
such a system, unequal social order can only be maintained through ideological
coercion. As a result, acceptance of biased values, unfair expectations, and
various conditions result in a consensus in society. However, all these
conditions are determined by the bourgeoisie. The white housewives use their
position to enforce segregation thus creating a culture of fear and submission
among their house helps. Their threats and blackmail ensure that they hold
power in Jackson and their maids become afraid of taking action against them.
As a result, when Skeeter decides to write about the plight of the maids, she
has a difficult time finding women to share their stories with. Only Aibileen
and Minny are willing to help at first, and they do so since Aibileen’s
employer, Elizabeth, ignores her presence, and Minny is friends with her new
boss, Celia. Skeeter’s editor advises her that potential retribution is
hindering any other house helps from joining her project (Taylor, 2011).
Furthermore, although her son died because of the neglect of her employer,
Aibileen cannot take any action against her and mourns him in secret. She
struggles to find some closure only by taking care of Elizabeth’s daughter.
But,
as these conditions worsen for the proletariat, they develop social
consciousness and begin to recognize their exploitation. As a result, they take
action and revolt against the bourgeoisie which results in a change in the
power dynamics. Nevertheless, their revolution may result in even more conflict
as the bourgeoisie retaliate to keep their power meaning the cycle of conflict
repeats. After firing Minny, Hilly hires Yule May as her replacement house
help. Nonetheless, when Yule May needs a loan from Hilly to pay for her children’s
tuition, Hilly refuses to lend her money. Therefore, Yule May pawns off a ring
that has been thrown away and Hilly has her arrested (Taylor, 2011). On
discovering this, the other maids join Aibileen, Minny, and Skeeter and narrate
their experiences in the hopes of stopping the discrimination against them.
Their courage is rewarded when their anonymous book becomes a success.
Nevertheless, Hilly is not pleased by this development and threatens to sue
Skeeter unless she withdraws her support (Taylor, 2011). When that does not
work, she has Elizabeth fire Aibileen after framing her for theft. Aibileen,
however, stands up to Hilly, and although she loses her job, she gains the
closure she desires and decides to become a writer.
Conclusively,
there are several concepts of the conflict theory depicted in the film The
Help. The white housewives are the bourgeoisie who assert their power by
segregating their African American maids – who are the proletariat. The whites
dominate over their house helps and fire them when they disobey their orders to
prove their authority. Moreover, the whites have established a culture of fear
among their employees meaning the other black maids are reluctant to help with
the book project as they fear the consequences. But, after the arrest of Yule
May, they all join in, and their shared experiences make the book a success.
Reference
Taylor, T. (Director). (2011). The Help [Motion picture]. United States: Walt
Disney Studios.
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