Assignment #2

The Help by Tate Taylor

Taking place in the 1960’s in Mississippi where segregation is going on during this time. Viewers get to see the lives of a black maids named Aibileen, Minny and other maids. The struggles that they go through on a daily basis such as racism, poverty, domestic violence, etc. It shows how women of color had a harder time because not only do they face discrimation due to their color of skin but also for being a woman. We see how society treats the people of color and how unfair it was for them. How whites tell themselves “separate but equal” in order to justify their actions and feel better. Blacks running to their homes scared because the news reported a “nigger got shot” after Martin Luther King’s speech. Fearing for their safety and for their children, knowing there is no one protecting them. Parents who are black unable to afford tuition for their children, preventing them from being able to get a good career and escape their economic situation. Children leaving school to work and support the family because the bills are too much for the parents to afford. Whites hiring maids who are not allowed to use the bathroom inside the house but instead use the one that is in the backyard. Being called a negro or nigger instead of using their names. Their hard work not being recognized and being taken for granted. Maids knowing that they can be fired at anytime and are treated as less. Black people are unable to retaliate because the government favors white people instead of blacks. Knowing that white people are able to send them to jail if they wanted to. Afraid to tell their story to the world because of the consequences it would have and believing that their situation will never get better. As a result they stay quiet and mind their business allowing their situation to continue instead of stopping it.