MORE THAN THE HELPING BUTLER
HEre lies the comparative analysis of the novelThe help by kathryn stockett and the movie "the butler" directed by lee daniels.
colors, angles, and lines.
"America has always turned a blind eye to what we done to our own. We look out to the world and judge. We hear about the concentration camps but these camps went on for two hundred years right here in America."(Cecil Gaines, The Butler)
We exist in a world of illusion; a world of comparison in which equality is a myth. The ability to see and perceive is destroying our society. We focus on the differences-- one difference in particular: race. We perceive race in different ways and have preconceived ideas branded into our minds. These prejudiced concepts are placed there by an invisible hand of inherited dominance which feeds microaggression. The first step towards converting our ways away from our microaggressive tendencies is having society become aware and accept the fact that they exist and must be changed. A series of changes have already taken place and have brought society to our current state. We are a living dichotomy of love and disdain. The novel The Help, by Kathryn Stockett, and the film, The Butler, directed by Lee Daniels, explore the concepts of change and battling stigma through hatred and through tolerance throughout our nation’s history.
This dichotomy of love and disdain is discussed on pages 257 and 258 in The Help. Skeeter speaks about the stories that she records from the maids. "There is undisguised hate for white women, there is inexplicable love," (Stockett 257). I believe that a balance between the two exists in our lives. Humans are like coins; we all have two sides. One day heads may be facing upwards, but that doesn't mean that tails isn't still there. Another day tails may be facing up, but heads is still present, although concealed. Unfortunately, in 1960’s Jackson, Mississippi, hatred was the side that was most prevalent. Scorn was expressed in a degree of manners; some more extreme than others. In the novel, the black maids were essentially powerless. They were able to gain their strength not through direct revenge and demonstration of hatred, but by helping to author a book of stories telling the truth about what it was like to work as a maid in the south. The book became a symbol of hope for them and a method of relief. When published, it spread like wildfire as the town surged in flames of outrage and gossip. On the contrary, when it came to white’s asserting their agendas and demonstrating their scornful convictions, extreme measures were taken in many cases. In chapter 14, Aibileen works late and on the way home her bus stops at a roadblock. Her along with all the other black people had to get off the bus and she later learned that civil rights leader Medgar Evers had been shot and killed by the Klu Klux Klan.His assassination transformed Jackson into a city steaming with racial tension. "For the second time in two months, Jackson Mississippi's in Life magazine. This time though, we make the cover" (Stocket, 177).
Similar cases of racial prejudice and expressions of hatred are portrayed in The Butler. For example, Louis was a Freedom Rider and his bus was attacked and burned by the Klu Klux Klan and a mob of angry whites. While the angry whites of Tennessee fought race with violence, many African Americans sought defiance through Civil Disobedience in acts such as sit ins. However, as those measures were met with more white violence, many blacks became motivated to join groups such as the Black Panthers. “Originally aimed at armed self-defense against the local police, the party grew to espouse violent revolution as the only means of achieving black liberation. The Black Panthers called on African Americans to arm themselves for the liberation struggle. In the late 1960s party members became involved in a series of violent confrontations with the police (resulting in deaths on both sides) and in a series of court cases, some resulting from direct shoot-outs with the police and some from independent charges,” (The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia). Racial stigma and hatred is not confined to exchange between races, but is also expressed among like people. For example, The Butler provides a scene about the JFK assassination and did a marvelous job in portraying how it was his progressive Civil Rights legislation proposal that led to his murder by his own people.
While the disdainful side of the coin faced up the majority of the time, a side of love and tolerance still existed. In The Help, Aibileen and Mae Mobely shared a special bond where love was given and reciprocated. Aibileen loved her more than her own mother, Miss Leefolt. When Miss Leefolt hit Mae Mobely for getting out of her high chair, Aibileen told her, "You a smart girl. You a kind girl, Mae Mobley. You hear me?' And I keep saying it till she repeat it back to me," (Stockett 92). This served as the care and reinforcement that Mae Mobely lacked in her life. She grew to appreciate Aibileen for who she was and saw no color. Similarly, the maid Louvenia had a positive impact in Miss Templeton’s life. "She's the only reason I get out of bed sometimes...Skeeter, Louvenia is the bravest person I know. Even with all her own troubles, she sits down and talks to me. She helps me through my days. When I read what she wrote about me, about helping her with her grandson, I've never been so grateful in my life. It was the best I'd felt in months," (Stockett 418). As a sufferer of depression and self-harm, Lou Ann Templeton found refuge in Louvenia’s care. She saw past her skin tone and appreciated her for who she was and all that she did for her. On another level, Cecil Gaines in The Butler, was very much accepted and appreciated for his role in serving numerous presidents at the White House. Many of the presidents in the film, such as Kennedy, Eisenhower, and Reagan sought his insight as an advisor. Jackie Kennedy gave Cecil one of JFK’s ties. Nancy Reagan invited Cecil and his wife to the State Dinner as guests. There are countless examples in the movie where Cecil faced the acceptance and love that was simply nonexistent in the lives of the majority of African Americans at the time.
The Help, by Kathryn Stockett, and The Butler, directed by Lee Daniels, exemplify the dichotomy of love and disdain that exists in our world of racial prejudice. Many times, self love and a need for appreciation and acceptance can fuel intense hatred and disdain towards those opposed. It is imperative for society to recognize that we are all living for the same purpose. We all want to change the world;, we all want to succeed; we all want to love and be loved. So why restrain someone from fulfilling their purpose? Why fuel the world with hatred? Help one another, accept one another, love one another. Tolerance is the first step towards coexistence and cooperation, and will lead us into a progressive, productive future in harmony.
Works Cited
“Black Panthers”. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Columbia
University Press, 2012. All rights reserved. 09 June 2015. Web.
Stockett, Kathryn. The Help. New York: Amy Einhorn, 2009. Print
The Butler. Dir. Lee Daniels. 2013. DVD.
This dichotomy of love and disdain is discussed on pages 257 and 258 in The Help. Skeeter speaks about the stories that she records from the maids. "There is undisguised hate for white women, there is inexplicable love," (Stockett 257). I believe that a balance between the two exists in our lives. Humans are like coins; we all have two sides. One day heads may be facing upwards, but that doesn't mean that tails isn't still there. Another day tails may be facing up, but heads is still present, although concealed. Unfortunately, in 1960’s Jackson, Mississippi, hatred was the side that was most prevalent. Scorn was expressed in a degree of manners; some more extreme than others. In the novel, the black maids were essentially powerless. They were able to gain their strength not through direct revenge and demonstration of hatred, but by helping to author a book of stories telling the truth about what it was like to work as a maid in the south. The book became a symbol of hope for them and a method of relief. When published, it spread like wildfire as the town surged in flames of outrage and gossip. On the contrary, when it came to white’s asserting their agendas and demonstrating their scornful convictions, extreme measures were taken in many cases. In chapter 14, Aibileen works late and on the way home her bus stops at a roadblock. Her along with all the other black people had to get off the bus and she later learned that civil rights leader Medgar Evers had been shot and killed by the Klu Klux Klan.His assassination transformed Jackson into a city steaming with racial tension. "For the second time in two months, Jackson Mississippi's in Life magazine. This time though, we make the cover" (Stocket, 177).
Similar cases of racial prejudice and expressions of hatred are portrayed in The Butler. For example, Louis was a Freedom Rider and his bus was attacked and burned by the Klu Klux Klan and a mob of angry whites. While the angry whites of Tennessee fought race with violence, many African Americans sought defiance through Civil Disobedience in acts such as sit ins. However, as those measures were met with more white violence, many blacks became motivated to join groups such as the Black Panthers. “Originally aimed at armed self-defense against the local police, the party grew to espouse violent revolution as the only means of achieving black liberation. The Black Panthers called on African Americans to arm themselves for the liberation struggle. In the late 1960s party members became involved in a series of violent confrontations with the police (resulting in deaths on both sides) and in a series of court cases, some resulting from direct shoot-outs with the police and some from independent charges,” (The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia). Racial stigma and hatred is not confined to exchange between races, but is also expressed among like people. For example, The Butler provides a scene about the JFK assassination and did a marvelous job in portraying how it was his progressive Civil Rights legislation proposal that led to his murder by his own people.
While the disdainful side of the coin faced up the majority of the time, a side of love and tolerance still existed. In The Help, Aibileen and Mae Mobely shared a special bond where love was given and reciprocated. Aibileen loved her more than her own mother, Miss Leefolt. When Miss Leefolt hit Mae Mobely for getting out of her high chair, Aibileen told her, "You a smart girl. You a kind girl, Mae Mobley. You hear me?' And I keep saying it till she repeat it back to me," (Stockett 92). This served as the care and reinforcement that Mae Mobely lacked in her life. She grew to appreciate Aibileen for who she was and saw no color. Similarly, the maid Louvenia had a positive impact in Miss Templeton’s life. "She's the only reason I get out of bed sometimes...Skeeter, Louvenia is the bravest person I know. Even with all her own troubles, she sits down and talks to me. She helps me through my days. When I read what she wrote about me, about helping her with her grandson, I've never been so grateful in my life. It was the best I'd felt in months," (Stockett 418). As a sufferer of depression and self-harm, Lou Ann Templeton found refuge in Louvenia’s care. She saw past her skin tone and appreciated her for who she was and all that she did for her. On another level, Cecil Gaines in The Butler, was very much accepted and appreciated for his role in serving numerous presidents at the White House. Many of the presidents in the film, such as Kennedy, Eisenhower, and Reagan sought his insight as an advisor. Jackie Kennedy gave Cecil one of JFK’s ties. Nancy Reagan invited Cecil and his wife to the State Dinner as guests. There are countless examples in the movie where Cecil faced the acceptance and love that was simply nonexistent in the lives of the majority of African Americans at the time.
The Help, by Kathryn Stockett, and The Butler, directed by Lee Daniels, exemplify the dichotomy of love and disdain that exists in our world of racial prejudice. Many times, self love and a need for appreciation and acceptance can fuel intense hatred and disdain towards those opposed. It is imperative for society to recognize that we are all living for the same purpose. We all want to change the world;, we all want to succeed; we all want to love and be loved. So why restrain someone from fulfilling their purpose? Why fuel the world with hatred? Help one another, accept one another, love one another. Tolerance is the first step towards coexistence and cooperation, and will lead us into a progressive, productive future in harmony.
Works Cited
“Black Panthers”. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Columbia
University Press, 2012. All rights reserved. 09 June 2015. Web.
Stockett, Kathryn. The Help. New York: Amy Einhorn, 2009. Print
The Butler. Dir. Lee Daniels. 2013. DVD.