The Help (2011)
Genres: Drama, Comedy, Historical
Cast: Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Jessica Chastain, Bryce Dallas Howard, Allison Janney, Ahna O'Reilly, Sissy Spacek, Chris Lowell, Mike Vogel, Wes Chatham, Cicely Tyson, Anna Camp, Ashley Johnson, Brian Kerwin, Aunjanue Ellis, Mary Steenburgen, Leslie Jordan, David Oyelowo, Dana Ivey
The Help is a 2011 period dramedy film written and directed by Tate Taylor and based on Kathryn Stockett's 2009 novel of the same name. The film features an ensemble cast, including Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, Octavia Spencer, Jessica Chastain, Allison Janney and Sissy Spacek. The film and novel recount the story of a young white woman and aspiring journalist Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan. The story focuses on her relationship with two black maids, Aibileen Clark and Minny Jackson, during the Civil Rights Movement in 1963 Jackson, Mississippi. In an attempt to become a legitimate journalist and writer, Skeeter decides to write a book from the point of view of the maids, exposing the racism they face as they work for white families. Black domestic workers in 1960s America were referred to as "the help", hence the title of the journalistic exposé, the novel and the film. "The Help" brings to light the challenges and discrimination that African American people faced.