library of sadness: bloodfleshbones: shero1848: bloodfleshbones: ...

Jan 27, 2012
507 notes

bloodfleshbones:

shero1848:

bloodfleshbones:

YES
Pretty much why I won’t see this movie.

So, if someone belonging to an oppressive social group attempts to genuinely correct wrong doings of that social group that makes it somehow offensive? If white people were the source of racism should they not be the ones to counteract it? I mean, correct me if I’m wrong. I felt that the premise of this book/movie was absolutely remarkable although it being a work of fiction based on true events. I don’t get the ‘joke’.

I have beef with it because it white washes history. It makes it seem as though, “Oh hey, black people are fucked right now. Let us white people fly in and save the day!” insinuating that black people are incapable of ever doing such a thing on their own.
It might have been an inspiring movie for a lot of different reasons for a lot of different people. But there are [white] people that will go in that theater and come out with the mindset, “Wow. Look how much we did for them.”
But in all fairness, I’ve yet to see it and am going off of what I’ve heard/read about the movie.
Here’s a good critical review written by people who did see the movie, if you’re interested.
“In the end, The Help is not a story about the millions of hardworking and dignified black women who labored in white homes to support their families and communities. Rather, it is the coming-of-age story of a white protagonist, who uses myths about the lives of black women to make sense of her own. The Association of Black Women Historians finds it unacceptable for either this book or this film to strip black women’s lives of historical accuracy for the sake of entertainment.”

I thought very similarly about the movie from seeing previews, but then many of my friends (some black) told me it was a great movie. One said she was basically crying throughout the whole thing. So, I saw it, and it was a lot less “white girl saves an entire race single-handedly” than I expected.
That said, the show does play off of lots of contemporary comedic cinematic clichés of African-Americans in order to, I think, try to reach the audience better - things such as the way the characters speak, for example. So that critical review does make very valid points, but you have to bear in mind that this is a product of Hollywood entertainment, and historical accuracy was never Hollywood’s intention. But if a white person really goes to this movie and thinks, “Oh, look what we did for them!” they must be missing the fact that 70% of the white characters in this movie are entirely unsympathetic and horrible - though I guess one thing that irks me is that some of these negative actions are somewhat justified within the movie for a couple of characters by chalking it up to social pressures.
Although the film doesn’t touch on lots of issues and makes many generalisations, I don’t think you should boycott it so quickly. You should at least see it before you criticise it, while keeping in mind that it is (often comedic) fiction with the primary purpose of entertainment but that does also expose some of the injustices of racism. I can’t speak at all to the book, though.

shero1848:

bloodfleshbones:

YES

Pretty much why I won’t see this movie.

So, if someone belonging to an oppressive social group attempts to genuinely correct wrong doings of that social group that makes it somehow offensive? If white people were the source of racism should they not be the ones to counteract it? I mean, correct me if I’m wrong. I felt that the premise of this book/movie was absolutely remarkable although it being a work of fiction based on true events. I don’t get the ‘joke’.

I have beef with it because it white washes history. It makes it seem as though, “Oh hey, black people are fucked right now. Let us white people fly in and save the day!” insinuating that black people are incapable of ever doing such a thing on their own.

It might have been an inspiring movie for a lot of different reasons for a lot of different people. But there are [white] people that will go in that theater and come out with the mindset, “Wow. Look how much we did for them.”

But in all fairness, I’ve yet to see it and am going off of what I’ve heard/read about the movie.

Here’s a good critical review written by people who did see the movie, if you’re interested.

“In the end, The Help is not a story about the millions of hardworking and dignified black women who labored in white homes to support their families and communities. Rather, it is the coming-of-age story of a white protagonist, who uses myths about the lives of black women to make sense of her own. The Association of Black Women Historians finds it unacceptable for either this book or this film to strip black women’s lives of historical accuracy for the sake of entertainment.”

I thought very similarly about the movie from seeing previews, but then many of my friends (some black) told me it was a great movie. One said she was basically crying throughout the whole thing. So, I saw it, and it was a lot less “white girl saves an entire race single-handedly” than I expected.

That said, the show does play off of lots of contemporary comedic cinematic clichés of African-Americans in order to, I think, try to reach the audience better - things such as the way the characters speak, for example. So that critical review does make very valid points, but you have to bear in mind that this is a product of Hollywood entertainment, and historical accuracy was never Hollywood’s intention. But if a white person really goes to this movie and thinks, “Oh, look what we did for them!” they must be missing the fact that 70% of the white characters in this movie are entirely unsympathetic and horrible - though I guess one thing that irks me is that some of these negative actions are somewhat justified within the movie for a couple of characters by chalking it up to social pressures.

Although the film doesn’t touch on lots of issues and makes many generalisations, I don’t think you should boycott it so quickly. You should at least see it before you criticise it, while keeping in mind that it is (often comedic) fiction with the primary purpose of entertainment but that does also expose some of the injustices of racism. I can’t speak at all to the book, though.

(Source: bluejjc)