Is white always pure?

 

    Helping someone as long as you are safe is not that hard. However, helping someone knowing you are putting your whole life in danger is another story. The Help, a film directed by Tate Taylor in 2011, tells such a noble form of help. It is not just about offering help but also takes you back to a time when racism was immense in Mississippi, a state in the southern United States, in 1963. According to The Timesofindia (2023), the title implies that the characters, especially the African American maids who work for white families in Jackson, are providing help or service to their employers. Since these employers were white women, most of whom were racist, the maids’ lives were far from easy. While the movie discusses various topics like racism, class attitudes, and the struggles of white women with motherhood, we are going to focus on the mindset of white American women toward African American women. To get a general idea of the different mindsets that were there back then, let’s look at some featured white woman character presented in the movie.


 By considering these characters we can identify 3 different groups of white women

  1.  Who accepts and admits to the system
  2.  Who does not accept but admits to the system
  3.  Who works against the system

Since the beginning of the time there have been people who blindly followed the so-called norms of society. Hilly Holbrook and Elizabeth Leefolt are also people like this who fall under the first type. They were way more active within the system as for the benefits they can take through that, without thinking about the justice.

 

Meanwhile, there are also people who recognize the system is broken. However, due to their lethargy or fear they do not bother to take any action against it. This aligns with the second type mentioned above. Celia Foote is the character comes under this type. Although she does nothing to work against the system, she also does not follow the policies set by the system. The movie shows clearly that she is not in to the current high-class life and not much bothered to maintain her reputation like most of the other high class white women. Also, her childish behaviors and her longlines may kept her out from being rude to the maids as well.  Her character shows that may be there were people treats their maids like their real friends at least secretly.

 

It was so risky to raise your voice against racism back then. Therefore, the third type was very rare to be seen. Skeeter is the only one that can be put into this category. The reason behind her   outstanding affection for colored women is that the person who helped her to overcome her   childhood and teenage challenges. Constantine, the maid who worked for the past 29 years. The people who were really sensitive and could not bare the system, worked against the system like Skeeter.

Considering the featuring white women characters in the movie ‘The help’, it is shown that there were lots of injustice happened to these black American women during the focused period. Also, the powerful white women mislead the society by spreading rumors about diseases that this black people can carry which led to unfair situations frequently to the black American community who are already suffering enough with the poverty. Meanwhile the movie unfolds the side where there were also people who did not stand with those cold-hearted white women. However, due to the social barriers, they were afraid to take actions. Even in this situation some great characters were there who stood against this injustice and wanted to see everyone having equal rights and peaceful lives for themselves. As a real historical series of incidents this teaches some valuable lessons to the people who look down on other cultures even today. 


References

 

The Times of India. (2023, September 5). The Help: Uncovering the layers of race, relationships, and

resistance in 1960s Mississippi. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/books/features/the-help-uncovering-the-layers-of-race-relationships-and-resistance-in-1960s-mississippi/articleshow/103382351.cms

 

[Article by - IM/2022/097 ]


                           

Comments

  1. Dinithi Lorensuhewa HS/TE18/0025 July 23, 2025 at 1:32 PM

    This article presents a thoughtful classification of the white women characters in The Help and effectively links them to broader societal mindsets. The grouping into three categories is insightful and provides a clear structure for your analysis. You’ve also shown an understanding of the complex social dynamics of the time, especially the risks involved in standing up against systemic racism. However, there are a few areas to improve: grammar and sentence clarity need more attention, and some points could be better supported with specific examples or quotations from the film. That said, the perspective you've taken is unique and meaningful, great effort overall!

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