San Antonio Busy Kids

Last week, I was Disney’s guest at a pre-release showing of The Help. I’d read the book, so I wasn’t really sure exactly what to expect. Typically, with a book as rich and layered as The Help, the movie never holds up.

I was not only pleasantly surprised; I was completely blown away.

The movie is as good as the book. I didn’t even miss the details that had to be glanced over for the sake of time. Not one. Maybe it had to do with the superb casting. I can’t remember when I’ve enjoyed watching expressions quite as much as I did in this movie. The camera lingered just long enough to capture looks that threatened, loved, questioned, accused and everything in between. Brilliant.

Now a couple of thoughts: If you haven’t read the book, don’t worry. You will love the movie. But after you see it, run, don’t walk, to get yourself a copy to read.

Next: This is not a story of racial tension, even though that thread weaves its way through the story which sits smack dab in the middle of the civil rights movement. Rather, it’s the story of courage to stand up for what is right…the right to speak out for injustice. The right to believe and be different. The right to have a voice. The right to make a choice.

One of my very favorite lines in the movie comes from Constantine (Cicely Tyson) who says to Skeeter (Emma Stone) who is upset that a boy called her ugly, “Ever morning, you gone have to make a decision. You gone have to ask yourself, Am I gone believe what them fools say about me today?”

This is, frankly, what I want to teach my children. That no matter what ugliness people say about you or anybody else, you have the choice to believe it or not. Just because it’s said…doesn’t make it so.

Okay. So let’s talk about the kids. The movie is rated a reasonable PG-13. And, frankly I wouldn’t push the age limit too much. While there’s no sex or heavy violence, a younger tween might not fully grasp the racial tension. Also, some parents are likely to get upset about the pie scene from the book.  Yes, it’s in the movie. You can tell who in the theater has read the book because they start groaning and laughing as two-slice Hilly (Bryce Dallas Howard) digs in. We certainly don’t want to give little kids any ideas, now, do we?

Of bigger concern is the scene where Minnie (Octavia Spencer) breaks into Celia’s (Jessica Chastain) bathroom to find her on the floor in a pool of blood. It becomes clear that she’s miscarried, but the scene would be disturbing, I think, for a younger child…and could lead to some inaccurate views of miscarriage. A conversation prior to the movie – even with younger teens – would be appropriate.

Even with these few misgivings, The Help is a movie I wouldn’t hesitate to take teenagers to go see. It is a wonderful rendering of all the civil rights stories they’ve studied in school. But it’s more than that. There are so many life lessons to be taken away. So many conversation starters.

Oh, it’s not perfect. It has its critics, including some who say it trivializes the experiences of black maids. I think that’s also a topic for discussion.

It certainly brought up many memories for me, having been raised in a house with a black maid. Her name was Blanche. I adored her. She made the most wonderful macaroni and cheese. She raised my father. And when my father married and had children, she came to raise us. Just like in the movie. She was always there for me. I remember when a friend said her idea of fun would be to go outside and beat me up. (Some friend, huh?) And Blanche’s response was to take off her slipper (she always wore slippers with her white maid’s uniform) and threaten to beat her up if she so much as laid a finger on me.

I never knew Blanche’s family. I don’t know if she even had a family. I can picture her as clear as day in my head. But I don’t know if I have a photograph of her. And that just shouldn’t be. It just shouldn’t be.

And, that’s why this movie is not to be missed.

In elementary school, I was taught a quote, “Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it.” I suppose for me, the stories of The Help are ones that must not be forgotten. These are the conversations I had with my children after we saw the movie together. And I have to say – it was even richer the second time around.

Photo courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures