The idea of a period drama about a repressed ethnic group is usually the first sign of Oscar bait. I find that most period dramas distinguish themselves with others through the strength of the cast. Mainly because with period dramas, one can usually determine the outcome of the stories with relative ease and there’s only so many ways a director can make a period drama stylish. There are only so many endings to stories about an African American woman in the 1950s. The same can be said about most period dramas, given because they’re based on historical fact. In The Help, the incredibly strong cast and a touching script drove it home and may be one of the more emotional movies I’ve seen this year.
Aibileene Clark (Viola Davis) and Minny Jackson (Octavia Spencer) are one of the dozens of African American maids working in Jackson, Alabama for white families in 1950s America during the peak of the Civil Rights movement. Being in the south, new ideas and racial equality haven’t necessarily reached them, so much to the point ‘The Help’ are even punished if they use the same toilets as their employers. When Skeeter Phelan (Emma Stone), an ambitious young journalist, wants to write their story, Aibileene and Minny are reluctant at first, but the increasing tensions of the Civil Rights movements slowly change their minds.
![How to Maximize Viewership on Your Blog [The Gritty Way]](https://bananascoop.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/jenniferlawrencehot2012_.jpeg?w=40&h=40&crop=1){kind=small}
Banana Scoop 