Some people say that "Help" is the "Purple" of 2011. Of course, both are about the arduous journey of black women's self-consciousness from numbness to awakening, and there are many similarities in the role setting, but "Purple" is more It is an accusation against the long-term enslavement and bullying of women by black men in family relations in the early 1960s. The brief plot of the dual opposition between blacks and whites is only to promote the development of the plot and enhance the conflict in the drama. The existence of Sofia, an urgently rebellious character, is more convincing. Compared with the worry of "Purple", the advantage of "Help" lies in restraint. It only spreads out a story in the first-person narrative way, calm and gentle, but deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. .
The story is set in Mississippi in the 1960s. A female college student who just graduated from the University of Mississippi, Skeeter, saw the living conditions of black women and wrote a book to help them get out of trouble. A good movie can often get a glimpse of the relationship between the characters in the movie from the poster. In the poster, there are two black women and two white women.
Walking ahead with akimbo, the three behind kept a distance from the former and walked intimately. Abilene looked at Hilli with disdain and resentment, while Skeeter turned to look at Minnie amiably. The four of them , Belong to two different camps, and the relationship between the characters is clear at a glance.
01 Oppression and Awakening
Abby Lin (Viola Davis), an ordinary black maid in Mississippi, has brought 17 children in her career. She is diligent and serious, restrained and tolerant, and treats white children as her own He had his own way of parenting, but in Mississippi, the hardest hit area of racism at the time, unfair treatment, prejudice and discrimination were staged in Abilene’s life every day. The colored people's area on the street is dedicated to white only taxis, and the local area even enacted regulations [No one may require white women to enter the ward or other area where black women are located for nursing; Any racial use should be used continuously, and should not be interchanged between schools of different colors; any black barber shall not provide white women with hairdressing-related services; any printing, publication or dissemination to encourage the public to accept the equality of whites and blacks All books of the purpose shall be sentenced to imprisonment. Although living under long-term power oppression, Abilene’s nature was not completely enslaved. This is mainly due to her only good girlfriend and another black maid, Minnie (Octavia Spencer). )’S companionship. After the death of her son, Minnie took care of Abilene, who was struggling on the verge of death, to bring back Abilene, who was struggling with death. Unlike Abilene’s calm atmosphere, Minnie’s aggressiveness and recklessness formed a sharp contrast with Abilene. In front of Minnie, Abilene can take off his defenses and become who he is. The two private conversations and [Real-Name Tucao] also dispelled the heavy viewing experience brought by the theme of the movie itself.
Starring Viola Davis, the first African-American Emmy Award-winning actress in history, contributed a grand performance in the film. I think the most successful part of this role is her "hidden", of course She represented the living conditions of most black maids at that time, and was a last resort. But it is this "hidden" frustration that makes every subsequent emotional outburst empathize with the audience and hit the depths of the soul.
Hillary, headed by white housewives, believes that black maid Minnie is not allowed to share a toilet with them if they carry germs, and incites white women to build their own toilets for black maids. She also called it "independence and equality" in a vain attempt. Using political correctness to pretend her ugly behavior, for Abilene, who has a meager salary, only obedience and tolerance can not lose her job. Xili will ask her at the party if it is good to have her own separate bathroom, Ai Billing could only hide his resentment and answered yes as usual, and thanked him. Personal dignity is not worth mentioning in Mississippi. And my friend Minnie, because she used the toilet in the master bedroom of her master, Hiri, on a stormy night, she was insulted and immediately kicked out of her house. That night, a total of eight blacks and ten whites died in Mississippi. God was choosing people. The color of the person is not taken into consideration. The most equal thing in the world is life and death. Minnie could not find a job and was beaten by her husband because she offended Hilly and slandered her as a thief. Abilene saw all this. . For all black people, going to church to say prayers over and over is their only way to relieve their depression and distraction, but this is just a self-deceptive spiritual victory, and God wants us to love our enemies, how much Ironically, God has become an excuse for all blacks to suppress and numb themselves, so this time Abilene did not stand up and chant prayers with others. She accepted Skeeter’s invitation and became the first person to awaken and change Start with a whisper.
02 You are kind, you are smart, you are important
What is gratifying is that the feminism in Xiangzhi also expresses just right, there is no fanfare, empty slogans, no radical and extreme individualism, warmth and power. It is more appropriate to say that it is not so much feminism as it is women's care.
The Mississippi in the 1960s was like the chocolate pie Minnie made for Hilly. The surface is a delicate and ornamental cake shape, while the lining is foul-smelling stool, just like Mississippi, under a beautiful shell. However, the inner core is full of exploitation of women, discrimination against race, and xenophobia against class. In this environment, Skeeter’s empathy seems invaluable, and the reason why she was able to grow into an independent woman with a dream of receiving higher education is inseparable from the education and ideological enlightenment she received from her childhood. All thanks to her black maid, Skeeter was brought up by his black maid Constantine since childhood. Constantine was kind, persevering, hardworking, and simple. When Skeeter was ridiculed by male classmates because of his appearance. When squeezing out, Constantine will comfort and encourage Skeeter at the first time and guide Skeeter to become himself, realize his life value, rather than become himself in the eyes of others; it is Constantine who has always been the correct thought guide This makes Skeeter the only woman in Mississippi who truly practices independence and equality. Similarly, Abilene, as a female representative who has been exploited and oppressed by white women for a long time, did not put resentment towards white women on their children. She still treats their children as her own and takes good care of them. This is not Out of fear of white people's oppression, but a choice based on the principle of maintaining inner order; Abilene’s white mistress Elizabeth does not like her daughter May and suffers from postpartum depression after giving birth. She is stingy with her daughter. Not giving a hug, May often slept all night wrapped in diapers. Elizabeth also laughed at her daughter’s fatness in public at a friend party, even beat her daughter. As a mother, she was born without raising, which is infuriating, but even so, in order to please her. Husband, she is pregnant again. Every time after May is hurt, Abilene will tell May that you are very kind, you are smart, and you are important. When explaining Elizabeth's approach to Skeeter, she repeatedly emphasized Elizabeth can no longer have children, and a mother who does not love children is not qualified to have children. Even when faced with Hiri’s slander and Elizabeth’s indifference, after questioning Hiri in anger and despair, she still squatted down gently and powerfully and told May to remember these twelve words forever; living in such an environment Here, she still did not put her kindness on the shelf, but gave love and dedication without hesitation; sometimes they are like some miserable women living around us, without a high degree of education, no decent job, They are also facing such and such oppression and discrimination from the outside world, but they still dare to face the bleak life, which is quenched from the hard and difficult life. The courage you have developed is the secret to forging ahead in the gloomy path. I hope that every woman remembers these twelve-character maxims at all times, "You are kind, you are smart, and you are important."
03 Freedom, equality, tolerance
The film not only shows the exploitation of black women by white women, but also the destruction of all women from the feudal system and the suppression of white women by white men. Celia is simple and kind, with fair complexion and long legs, but she doesn't know anything about doing housework. Because she comes from a small place and is married to all women’s dream lovers, Jonny, she has been excluded from all white women. , And has been mistaken for a third party, and Minnie’s arrival made her chaotic life immediately orderly, and Celia’s goodness to Minnie slowly penetrated into Minnie’s heart, until Celia had another miscarriage. , Crying and said to Minnie that she was worried that Jonny would abandon her because of this. Minnie’s careful care and comfort helped her gradually stabilize her emotions. At that moment, we saw women’s care and empathy for women. This has nothing to do with skin color, that Women in the ages are like completing a certain KPI for fertility. So when the leader Hiri gave birth, every white woman had to follow her to have children. Fortunately, Jonny was a sensible person. After he knew all this, he still chose to love his wife and expressed his gratitude to Minnie. From this point of view alone, he knew that he would definitely not choose a girl like Xili to marry.
At the end of the story, with the gunshots, the black maids finally chose not to be silent. Dozens of black maids went to Abilene’s home and were willing to tell their stories to help Skeeter publish the book. It’s moving. A black maid worked in a white woman’s house when she was young. Until the death of the white woman, the will did not say that she would continue to stay and work for her family. But if she didn’t work, she had to accept the condemnation of other whites. Because in their opinion they already have her. Owning... They are just white people’s property, not to mention freedom, even basic human rights are deprived, what needs to be changed is not the behavior of a certain person or group of people, but the deep-rooted prejudice and discrimination rooted in her/their mind And the superiority that race brings to her/them.
Even in today's society, there are still inevitable contempt and prejudice between countries and individuals, just like the twists and turns of nonsense art in "Let the Bullets Fly", Zhang Mazi can be a bandit, Zhang Muzhi cannot be a bandit. When we are encountering these situations or as a bystander, I hope we can all have the courage to do something so that others can see our courage. Only when we are seen can we reflect on ourselves. It is possible to dissolve the foundation of the country. Of course, we never hope that the society is full of bandits like Zhang Muzhi, but we hope that Zhang Mazi can get rid of the bandits and live in a free, equal, and tolerant environment.
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