White-Washed Perspectives in 'The Help': A Review

“The Help” is a white mock feel good movie, which seems to feature amnesia of racial conflicts in the South as its primary theme (Stockett, 2009). Author Natasha McLaughlin suggests that ‘The Help’ focuses upon the home and the relationship between African-American domestics and the laws of Jim Crow’s neglected ‘other half’: Jane Crow (McLaughlin, 2014). The American Civil Rights Movement mainly accommodates the public with a view concentrated upon a male dominant perspective but appreciations to Stockett and her moving interpretation of the relationship of Caucasian housewives and their African-American maids the public gets a rare white-washed version of events dealing with the civil rights movement going on within the interior of the households

of Caucasian America (Stockett, 2009).
Historians have difficulty capturing the voices of the oppressed, but apparently author Kathryn Stockett believes she can do the oppressed justice in her novel ‘The Help’ (Stockett, 2009). The first chapters are written in the voice of the maid named Aibileen (Stockett, 2009). Aibileen is the typical nostalgic ‘mammy’ type character that is often featured in many of American books and films (Stockett, 2009). According to authors Garcia, Young, and Pimentel, “This yearning for nostalgia requires black girls and the women they eventually become to play the role of the mammy-the content and docile enslaved woman who cared for and protected white interests. This is the type of woman who does not advocate for equality and who knows her “place” in society” (Garcia, Young, and Pimentel, 2010). While reading Aibileen’s lines in the book I feel like I should be getting paid for trying to decipher what it is that Stockett is attempting to communicate through her personal interpretation of ‘black southern (apparently) dim-witted’ dialect (Stockett, 2009).
Next, I examine the most stereotypical pushy bossy gossiping black maid ‘Minny’. Minny’s character is the typical overweight black woman with a bad attitude (Stockett, 2009). Minny is more assertive, but her behavior borders on insanity and as a reader and watcher of the movie I sometimes just feel conflicted about her role (Stockett, 2009). Then I realize that the author is a Caucasian woman writing in black made up dialect, and so therefore Minny’s character is limited (Stockett, 2009). I feel that Stockett is giving me a hand out when Minny mixes bowel movement in the pie Hilly eats because it’s supposed to make-up for all of the racial insults, jabs, and outrageously offensive injustices and humiliating acts inflicted upon the domestics throughout the book (Stockett, 2009). I guess author Kathryn Stockett doesn’t want to discuss all of the dignified sit-ins and protests that African-Americans participated in during that time. So instead she has Minny have a bowel movement in some pie (Stockett, 2009). Again, it’s insulting, however laughable; nevertheless it’s still offensive.
Then there’s Skeeter the Caucasian heroine that bridges the gap between African-Americans and Caucasians, although actually she just ends up launching her career and leaving the African-American maids exactly where the story begins, as maids, but as long as Skeeter goes on to have a productive, meaningful life it’s all worth it to the oppressed maids (Stockett, 2009). Writer Kathryn Fleishman, of the Jumpcut, explains Stockett portrays the domestics when it comes to them wishing Skeeter well on her life’s journey by stating, “They conclude by imploring her: “Go find your life, Miss Skeeter,” chillingly preserving a hierarchizing structure of nomenclature, as well as representing a tacit acceptance on Aibileen’s and Minny’s part that their lives cannot, and need not, progress” (Fleishman, 2012).
Skeeter also represents the empowering theme of “women having voices in a male-dominated world” but that’s going to work out great for the story’s Caucasian protagonist but as for the African-American women speaking in ignorant dialect, not so much (Stockett, 2009). When Caucasian authors speak for Africa-American women shouldn’t they intervene in a manner that promotes their African- American character’s success as much as their main Caucasian character? Skeeter is from Mississippi and everyone knows that the inhabitants speak with a southern drawl, but author Stockett is clear not to add any dumbing down of the Caucasian characters words in the novel ‘The Help’ (Stockett, 2009). Again “The Help” doesn’t help the help (Stockett, 2009).
Then there’s the evil antagonist Hilly, which is the biggest racist in town and ruins everyone’s day with her bigotry (Stockett, 2009). Hilly is a twenty-four-year-old woman with the power of someone much older (Stockett, 2009). I think Hilly’s character serves as an easy go-to target for the audience to hate (Stockett, 2009). She’s young, white, newly wealthy, and so therefore she’s young dumb and naïve. It’s fitting that Stockett created such a young excusable racist villainous character (Stockett, 2009). It leaves the audience with a sense of hope, that because Hilly is young she’ll be able to learn from her mistakes and join the now ‘post-racial’ America and enjoy reading books and watching movies like ‘The Help’ and reminisce about how far America has come (Stockett, 2009).
Pat Arneson is Associate Professor in the Department of Communication & Rhetorical Studies, at Duquesne University. According to Professor Arneson, “Offensive communication has long been a point of contention in the entertainment industry (Arneson, 2013). When controversial artistic works are discussed in the public sphere, the conversation about the work can quickly become heated” (Arneson, 2013). Professor Arneson discusses three US Supreme Court decisions that attempt to limit legally offensive communication (Arneson, 2013). Professor Arneson states, “The US Supreme Court has shifted to effectively rule that hate speech potentially contains social value and is deserving of Constitutional protection (Arneson, 2013). The Professor claims, “One rhetorical strategy for communicating hatred is the hate stratagem” (Arneson, 2013). Professor Arneson states, “…a case study of ‘The Help’ provides insight into how historical fiction can legally express the hate stratagem” (Arneson, 2013). The Professor declares, ‘While First Amendment court cases emphasize legally permissible speech, ethical considerations must also be a part of one’s discourse decisions (Arneson, 2013). Author Stockett has the legal right to write unauthorized black narratives, but she has to accept that the act of doing so may be unethical and chocked full of hate speech (Stockett, 2009).
Authors R.

K. Whillock, in the book “Hate Speech” argued that the hate stratagem possesses four characteristics (Whillock, 1995, p. 39). The hate stratagem endeavors to first (1) inflame the emotions of individuals by encouraging them to view themselves as members of a significant and important group (Whillock, 1995). Secondly (2) denigrate a specified out-group and individuals who belong to that our group, next (3) inflict permanent harm on the out-group by suggesting that they possess highly undesirable characteristics and attributes that isolate them from other social groups, particularly in the group, and finally (4) rhetorically conquer the out-group (Whillock, 1995). It’s a shame that Kathryn Stockett’s novel ‘The Help’ is being considered a part of the hate stratagem in the ‘post-racial’ America, but unfortunately it is (Stockett,

2009).
The new ‘post-racial’ America prides itself on boasting about how far we’ve come as a society. If the topic of race comes up during discussions statements like, “Stop playing the race card” or “Racism is no longer an issue” will more than likely arise. And yet books such as “The Help”, which is compared to the hate stratagem, is on the best sellers list for years and rake in millions at the box office (Stockett, 2009). If racism is no longer an issue why is it such a money earning subject in books and movies?
Authors Michael Waltman and John Haas offer an explanation in their book ‘The Communication of Hate’ (Waltman and Haas, 2011).

The Waltman claim, “Racist novels have become an important vehicle through which the ideology of hate is express and through which new members are recruited, socialized, and educated in the hate community” (Waltman and Haas, 2011, p. 43). Waltman suggests that “we (humans) find pleasure in revisiting this darker side of our human nature in our imaginations” (Waltman, 2011, p.34). This could explain why books filled with negative history, negative stereotypes, violence, and bigotry is so appealing to so many. This could explain why the novel, “The Help” spent years on the best sellers list and why so many first read the book and then flocked to the theatre to reminisce about a violent and oppressive era, while possibly sipping an ice cold drink and eating popcorn as if it was all just an ordinary day and thinking about a reasonable time (Stockett,

2009).