This past week I was fortunate enough to attend
a panel discussing The Help and the effect films can have on social change. The
panel included Tate Taylor (the director/screenwriter), Octavia
(Oscar-Nominated Actress for The Help), Michael Taylor (head of Critical
Studies at USC), Reverend James M. Lawson, Jr. (civil rights activist), Rabbi
Allen I. Freehling (social justice advocate), and Ai-jen Poo (founder of
National Domestic Workers Alliance). With such an exceptional blend of highly
respected people, this panel generated stimulating conversation about the
awareness of social issues and how films can inspire social change.
The Help is one of a few films that have touched
on a social issue unique to women: domestic work. Rubin and De Beauvoir both
mentioned how domestic work is still one factor contributing to inequality
amongst the sexes; according to Ai-jen Poo, this still is a prevalent issue and
legislation needs to be changed in order to fully protect these women. She
talked about how The Help opened up the minds of Americans to respect domestic
work that seems to go so unappreciated. Currently, she is fighting to pass a
Domestic Worker’s Bill of Rights in California, and she believes The Help assisted
her foundation’s goal in bringing this work force into protection.
The story of the some 2.5 million women who
worked as nannies and homemakers in the south during that time had never been
told until The Help. For the first time, domestic work is visible and has
entered the public view. People can see the courage and dignity these women
held and realize they were so much more than just “the help”. The Help
heightened an awareness of the issue and made a generous contribution to the
ongoing fight for equality.
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