Introduction
The movie The Help focuses on racial tensions between white families and their black maids in the 1960s. Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan is a young woman returning from college and an aspiring writer. As she notices the abusive way maids are treated, she decides to write a book depicting the local maids’ real life stories. Two of the maids who offered their stories were Aibileen Clark and Minny Jackson. Once the book is published, although anonymously, the maids’ employers recognize the stories and fire them for attempting to ruin their social statuses. Stigma is incredibly apparent throughout the movie, as the maids are seen as less than for being black, and having little to no educational backgrounds. Various forms of stigma management
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are employed in an effort to better the daily lives of the maids. Stigma Concepts Stigma is a societal concept that is used to cast individuals into negative groups based on certain characteristics.
Erving Goffman, an interactionist sociologist defined stigma as “the labels society uses to devalue members of certain societal groups (107).” These characteristics could either be physical, such as skin color or physical abnormalities. They could also character and value based, such as personality traits, religion, and sexual orientation. Stigmas caused by physical abnormalities are referred to as “abominations of the body.” A stigma caused by personal characteristics such as religion and values are referred to as “tribal stigmas” and stigma caused by character traits are “blemishes of individual character. There are three main ways to manage stigma and how it affects an individual, but the one most seen in The Help is embracing the stigma and presenting the trait as one that is defining. Instead of distancing from the stigma, where an individual may begin to change who they and try to conform to societal norms, embracing the stigmatized trait entails that a person would no longer rebel against it, and completely accept the trait. This method is most commonly used for tribal stigmas and abominations of the body, as people can never completely distance themselves from their skin color, or completely cover physical traits, such as visible scars or
tattoos. Analysis Throughout the film, there is an obvious stigma against the black maids. Their white employers, specifically the women, constantly speak down to them and degrade them simply for the color of their skin. This sort of tribal stigma is one the maids could never escape in the movie. When skeeter returns home from college, she finds that her mother has fired the maid their family had employed throughout her childhood, Constantine. When Skeeter confronts her mother about why the maid was fired when she had always been loyal and kind to the family, it was revealed that Constantine’s daughter, Rachel, disobeyed and entered the house through a door other than the kitchen door. Rachel’s act was an excellent example of her embracing her stigma. Even though she was ordered to enter through the kitchen door, for no other reason than her race, she embraced her skin tone and decided there was no reason for her to be treated as she was. Aibileen, whose main role as a maid was caretaker of her employer's children, is stigmatized by one of her employers friends, Hilly, who once employed Minny. Hilly gets her fired for her role in the book published by Skeeter. Aibileen finally embraces the her traits as a black woman that have been stigmatized and stands up to Hilly calling her “a godless, vindictive woman.” Minny, a maid who is fired by Hilly for being too outspoken, is hired by a woman who befriends her, and trusts her with her secrets. This is an example of embracing the stigma, as Minny finds it within herself to leave her abusive husband, and move in with a family who respects her. Accepting their help and doing what is best for her family is an example of her embracing the stigma she receives for being a woman, regardless of her race. Conclusion The Help is a film that does an exemplary job at showcasing the stigma black maids faced in the 1960s. Aibileen and Minny were just two examples of the many shown throughout the film, although theirs were enough to show exactly what it meant to live that life. Although they were good people and had families and struggles, they were looked down upon and spoken to in a condescending way, simply because they were black. Their method of embracing their stigmas and stigmatized traits provided excellent examples of techniques used to manage stigma. Skeeter defending them and even publishing their stories gave them the confidence they needed to do what was right for themselves and their families. The women of The Help all personified the exact meaning of embracing stigma.
The Help is a novel written in 2009 about African-American maids working in Southern homes in the 1960’s and a young white woman pursuing to write a book about the maid’s lives. Stockett was born in 1969 in Jackson, Mississippi. She worked in magazine publishing in New York before attempting to publish The Help, which was rejected by 60 different literary agents. Stockett’s personal background played a major part in her ability to tell this story so well. She grew up with African-American maids working in her household and grew up shortly after the decade in which this novel takes place. The society that she grew up in and her experience working in a magazine helped her to write from the personal viewpoint of African-American help and a woman striving to become a journalist in America during the 1960’s. In The Help, Stockett uses specific setting, point of view, and allusions to tell the incredible story of three young women of different ages, backgrounds, and race that join together in a work that readers will never forget.
“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” This quote tells that judging a book by its cover is unfair. In the movie “The Help,” it gives people a whole other perspective with racism. This movie explains that being in somebody else’s position may not always be the easiest and people should treat others how they want to be treated. Out of all of the characters in this movie, Skeeter, Minny, and Aibileen all stand out the most. These characters all have alike attitudes towards racism. In this critical review, Skeeter, Minny, and Aibileen will be mentioned.
Kathryn Stockett's book The Help has sold over five million copies and has spent more than 100 weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list. Stockett's book has also been made in to a major motion picture. The Help is a story about African American house maids based in 1960's Jackson, Mississippi. The story is told by three main women, Minny, Aibileen and Skeeter. Aibileen and Minny are both African-American maids, while Skeeter is the daughter of a privileged family. Aibileen is raising another white child by the name of Mae Mobley whose mother does not participate in her care. Minny is working for an outcast, newlywed, white woman who is keeping her employment a secret from her husband. Skeeter is working on becoming a journalist and takes the risk of interviewing Minny and Aibileen for her book that she publishes. All meetings are done in secret. All of the maids Skeeter interviews talk of a woman named Hilly, who holds the ideal that whites are superior to African-Americans and intends to get everyone in her “ladies group” ( in which Skeeter is a member) to join in the ideal and embrace it. Hilly is one of the specific antagonists in this story, which ends in her demise. This story describes everyone in Hilly’s circle to a T, but it is published with an anonymous author and the names get changed so that no one can figure out who wrote it. Most people will “rant and rave” that Stockett's book is an amazing story of the struggle for African American's in
The novel The Help by Kathryn Stockett is a New York Time’s bestseller, and with good reason. This work explores and uncovers numerous amounts of topics other books and writers would shy away from. Such as, but not limited to, racism, discrimination, prejudice, and segregation in the South during the nineteen-sixties. It also examines the lives of multiple characters including Skeeter Phelan, a writer determined to expose the hidden lives of the black maids in her community, Minny Jackson and Aibileen Clark, two colored maids living in Jackson, Mississippi during this time period. In addition to that, this novel helps create a sense of clarity and understanding of the lives of the colored in the early stages of the Civil Rights movement. Also, this work contains numerous important plot points that help reel readers in, creating a whirlwind of events that anyone would be interested in. However, none of this would be important without the location this novel takes place. Being the south, Mississippi provides the perfect setting to help add more roadblocks to the quest of three women against the world.
As a matter of fact, it is known that Hilly, a character from The Help, has gruesome character traits when she said, “It’s just plain dangerous. Everybody knows they carry different kinds of diseases than we do” (10). Many white people assumed that all African Americans were dirty and diseased. This is one of the reasons why the help had separate bathrooms than their white and wealthy bosses. This also led to a dead African American who used a whites’ bathroom. Also, it is hinted that Aibileen’s boss is very hard to please when Aibileen said, “Trying to cover up something else she doesn’t like the look of in the house” (33). Some white bosses treated their maids very horribly and were never pleased with their work. In this case, Aibileen’s boss seemed to never be happy with the things that Aibileen does, despite the small pay. When reading The Help, one must remember to search for rhetorical devices, such as colloquialism and characterization to gain a full understanding of an African American’s daily life in the
Curtis GreenTiffany ConleyENGL213027 April 2016 The Help is a book written by an American novelist, Kathryn Stockett. The story takes place in a time in Jackson, Mississippi where racism was still highly existent just as it is today. During this time, we learn of the black maids who are taking care of any needs that should be met by the white families whom they look after. Throughout the novel, we see many deals of racism as well as the way that it impacts both sides. While racism is still an issue in today 's general public, it could be incredibly decreased if we had more individuals like Miss Skeeter who showed the powerful usage of differing qualities while displaying understanding.“These women collaborate on a book detailing the “real”
Not only did “Help” influence the thoughts of society in regards to racial segregation but it also created an opportunity for Skeeter and Aibileen to challenge sex segregation or the norm that said women are homemakers and men work. “My eye’s drift down to HELP WANTED: MALE” (Stockett, 69). During the 1960s women such as Skeeter, who were not yet married with children by the age of 23 were seen as social outcasts. Few women worked because their job in society was to be home, caring for the family. Being a social outcast didn’t bother Skeeter and writing “Help” allowed her to get a job at Harper & Row Publishing in New York which during that time, most ...
...te the book, or if the story allowed for Aibileen to be in charge of her own freedom and tell her story, The Help would be relabeled as African-American fiction marginalized by its topic and not half as accepted as it has. Having the author express her interpretation of Black southern dialect to channel these women is accepted more by society which shows that oppression of black women still exist. Allowing for Miss Skeeter to try and befriend the black maids in favor of the truth is much more shocking to our culture systems. Unfortunately though, this construction is self-serving for those who accept the authors account of the story because while Skeeter gets to leave Jackson, move to New York, and presumably begin a fabulous life, Minny, Aibileen, and all the other maids are stuck to face the wrath of her doing which is the continued oppression of black women.
In the story “The Help” written by Kathryn Stockett, we are taken back in time to Jackson, Mississippi in August of 1962, where we meet three women by the name of Aibileen, Minny and Skeeter. Aibileen and Minny are black women who work for white families as the help. Skeeter is a young white woman in her early twenties who befriends the other two and gets them to tell their stories of what it is like to be the help. They reluctantly hesitate, but eventually give in knowing that the stories they are telling are more important than the negative impact it could have on their lives. While reading “ The Help” you cannot help but notice the symbolism that drips from almost every page.
Stigma is a term conveying a deep, shameful mark or flaw related to being a member of a group that is devalued by the societal mainstream (Hinshaw 2007). According to Goffman (1963) The term stigma was originated by the Greeks and referred
The purpose of this essay is to connect the feminist theory to the film “The Help,” and underlie certain ideas that are demonstrated throughout the film. I specifically chose this film, because it takes place in Jackson, Mississippi during the early 19060s during the time Jim Crow laws were still very much alive, and practiced. Skeeter, a young white Caucasian woman has just graduated and returned home from attending Ole Miss to take care of her fairly sick mother. Aside from her associates and colleagues, who are more into finding a husband on their time off from Ole Miss, Skeeter focuses all of her time into becoming a journalist. Throughout the film family servants are well within each white family social circle, they are referred to as “The Help,” and are exclusively black women. As tradition the servants are passed down throughout family generations, which means the child they raised would become their boss in the future. Each servant had their own story to tell and conflicts of their own to deal with, including Skeeter. As time progresses Skeeter decides to write a column on the black servants in relation to their white bosses, with the help of her fifty-year-old servant Aibileen Clark. Hesitant to help, Aibleen along with other black servants gather to tell their different stories while accepting the consequences it will bring. As a feminist, it is one who supports feminism, which is the advocacy of women’s right on the grounds of politics, social, and equality to men, but in this case white women as well. Throughout the essay are explorations of the different issues relevant to feminism.
For this assignment, the movie “The Help” was chosen to review and analyze because it presents a story of fighting injustice through diverse ways. The three main characters of the movie are Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan, a young white woman, Aibileen Clark, and Minny Jackson, two colored maids. Throughout the story, we follow these three women as they are brought together to record colored maids’ stories about their experiences working for the white families of Jackson. The movie explores the social inequalities such as racism and segregation between African Americans and whites during the 1960s in Jackson, Mississippi.
Self-stigma refers to the extent of self-concurrence with negative stereotypes of mental illness and to the extent to which these self-stigmatizing thoughts emerge habitually in everyday life. Self-stigma can occur at an unconscious, uncontrollable, unintentional, or efficient way. An unconscious way, is when an individual is having self-stigmatizing thoughts without being aware. An efficient way, is when an individual uses minimal attention to have self-stigmatizing thoughts. An unintentional way, is when the individual has no need for having self-stigmatizing thoughts but still has them. Lastly, an uncontrollable way is when the individual has a difficult time trying to get rid of the self-stigmatizing thoughts. If an individual cannot cope well with their self-stigma then it leads to even more frequent self-stigmatizing thoughts. This can lead to the self-stigmatizing thoughts to become a mental habit. This means that the self-stigmatizing thoughts become more repetitive and automatic. Not only can self-stigmatizing thoughts become a mental habit, but it can also result with label avoidance. Label avoidance has to do with the unwillingness to experience these stigmatizing thoughts and purposely trying to avoid them. However, label avoidance can actually make the self-stigma even worse. Label avoidance can actually increase the frequency of the thoughts. This can eventually lead to habitual
There is many sources of the stigma but one of the main source is people’s ignorance
Stigma is a powerful tool of social control. Stigma can be used to marginalize, exclude and exercise power over individuals who show certain characteristics. While the societal rejection of certain social groups (e.g. 'homosexuals, injecting drug users, sex workers') may predate HIV/AIDS, the disease has, in many cases, reinforced this stigma. By blaming certain individuals or groups, society can excuse itself from the responsibility of caring for and looking after such populations. This is seen not only in the manner in which 'outsider' groups are often blamed for bringing HIV into a country, but also in how such groups are denied access to the services and treatment they need.