Five Star Help!
September 3, 2011
“The Help,” that is. My wife and I took Alana, our eleven year old daughter, to this excellent movie today. A commentary on the inequities of life for domestic servants in Jackson, Mississippi in the early 1960s, the movie was wonderfully written and exquisitely presented. Not overdone, but done well enough to draw out the Kleenex tissues to the left of me. Already a Mark Twain fan, Alana very much enjoyed this modern-era depiction of a yet-to-be resolved dilemma. No Harry Potter, no vampires, no fantasy world. Just the reality of a group of people born in the wrong place, at the wrong time, to the wrong parents – the diametric opposite of Warren Buffett’s self-description.
With humour and drama, and much emotion, and presented from the perspective of the maids, this movie stands shoulder to shoulder with “To Kill a Mockingbird” in the education we have chosen for our daughter.
An inspiring and sad movie at the same time, perhaps the saddest part was that Alana was one of only two children in the theatre today. If you have already shared this essential movie experience with your child(ren), you have advanced one of the most important conversations you will ever undertake. If not, please be encouraged to do so.
So young… so much to learn.
Sincerely,
Kevin Graham