"The Help"

My partner and I recently saw "The Help," a hit movie that takes place in Civil Rights-era Jackson, Mississippi.  I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by the movie.  I didn't think it would be any good, but it was able to tell a good story about the lives of upper middle class white women and their African American maids.  There are a lot of movies that have tried and I think failed to tell the story of the civil rights movement (I'm looking at you, Mississippi Burning), but this one got the story right.

Presbyterian pastor Paul Moore did a good job of a giving a review of the movie.  Here's what he said after watching the movie with his young daughter:

I’m glad Hannah watched “The Help” with me. It gave us a chance to leave a world that values Facebook and brand clothes to talk about issues that really matter. There was something at stake in what happened in the movie. Skeeter, Aibileen, and Minny didn’t change the world, but they shared stories that illustrated the ugliness of their age. Their courage transcends time. 

I don't really want to use the word "feel good movie," because well, the times were not feel-good.  But you do leave feeling that there are some courageous people in the world and some of them might be sitting right next to you.  Go see the movie, you'll be glad you did.