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Continued From: Am I Losing It? On The Help – pt. 2

Guess what? I have read other books too?

4)      I find it difficult to accept that there is no validity in the possibility of Black maids to have developed loving relationships with the White children they have raised even under the cloud of harsh racial inequalities and gender bias.  While I understand that the great majority of the relationships were most likely similar to those experienced by Singley’s mother, we must accept the nuances of Black/White relations in the segregated South and the ironies created when Black maids nursed, nurtured, and raised White children who often held those women in a higher regard than their very own mothers as a result of time and necessity.  According to the ABWH:

“During the 1960s, the era covered in The Help, legal segregation and economic inequalities limited black women’s employment opportunities. Up to 90 per cent of working black women in the South labored as domestic servants in white homes. The Help’s representation of these women is a disappointing resurrection of Mammy—a mythical stereotype of black women who were compelled, either by slavery or segregation, to serve white families. Portrayed as asexual, loyal, and contented caretakers of whites, the caricature of Mammy allowed mainstream America to ignore the systemic racism that bound black women to back-breaking, low paying jobs where employers routinely exploited them. The popularity of this most recent iteration is troubling because it reveals a contemporary nostalgia for the days when a black woman could only hope to clean the White House rather than reside in it.”

But, what about people who I know on a very personal basis?  Elderly women who raised White children, who are now loved and cared for by those very children?  What about present-day Latina nannies, who are in many ways disenfranchised by their employment conditions – are we to believe that it is impossible for them to love the children they raise while loathing the parents that employ them?  What about films such as Clara’s Heart, The Long Walk Home, and Corrina Corrina, (note, this is not a purposeful focus on Whoppi Goldberg films) or TV shows like Gimme a Break?  I do not know the answer to these questions, nor can I speak of the validity of the relationship dynamics.  But I have been privileged to witness some of these relationships up front and up close, and am convinced of the validity of the love shared between many of these maids/nannies and the White children they care(d) for on a daily basis.

It is not my opinion that this book, or the film, gives White women and children an out when it comes to their participation in the horrors of the segregated South.  I see it simply as a fictional depiction of the very real possibility of love and sympathy within the context of these roles.  Besides, doesn’t the use of a White woman as a vehicle to share the stories of the maids further highlight racial inequalities in that it would be unrealistic to think that their stories could have been shared through any other means (on such a wide level in the fictional publishing world) but by way of a White sympathizer?  Would it be conceivable that Aibileen or any of the other maids would have been able to tell their stories with the masses without the help of a White hero/heroine character?

5)       Finally, it is a Book – now a film – and has done what we would expect it to do: generate a discussion regarding a sensitive and often ignored topic.  To that end, I am happy that there is controversy, that there appears to be dialogue and discourse on the topic of race relations in this country and its lingering effects.  That people are taking the time to be inquisitive, introspective, reflective, and vocal about their perspectives and opinions.  That we have seen a resurgence of the dichotomies among and between Black and White perspectives surrounding the impact and significance of the “mammy” figure and how those dynamics continue to effect Black family life in present times.  I hope that this discussion will encourage more Black people, and other people of Color to write their stories, provide their perspectives within historical contexts, and to tackle the very issues that incise them head-on, challenging the status quo and generating the same level of interest and income that will surely be generated by those of us who are so inclined to both read books and view films that move us in some way.  And as the discussion continues regarding this most sensitive issue, I implore everyone to do so from an informed perspective, rather than an instructed one.

Now, I completely understand the hoopla.  I still haven’t been able to watch Hustle and Flow basically because I can’t sympathize with the plight pimps suffering from hardship while exploiting women.   And it took me years to watch Amistad, because I was pissed off enough after reading the book.  But this book was meant to be a novel, and not the ilk of Roots or Eyes on the Prize.   Stockett even questions her own use of voice at the end of the novel and acknowledges that she couldn’t possible get it exactly right.

So, the problem isn’t that Black people don’t read, rather, the reality is that Black people don’t always agree!

Read: Am I Losing It? On The Help – pt. 1

Continued From: Am I Losing It? On The Help – pt. 1

But wait, I actually read the book!

So, I embarked upon a mad dash to re-orientate my perspective and get my attitude in check.  Let me re-examine my initial reading of the book, carefully consider the negative and positive reviews, and maybe I ought to think twice about my lingering excitement about seeing the film.  So here I am, after hours and hours of reading, even more hours of thinking, and several conversations with people I respect and I feel kind of stuck.  I cannot get myself to hate the book, the author, or the film (which I went to see on opening day, by the way – I know I broke cardinal rule #1 for The Help haters out there).  Please allow me to explain why:

1)      I have always maintained a clear understanding that this book was written by a White woman as a representation her perception of the dichotomous relationship between Black maids and the White families they served – Thus, I was not disappointed with the perspective presented in the product I received, because of whose perception it was.  Singley challenges the perception of a woman cared for by her mother by questioning her nostalgic recollection of their relationship:

“Have you ever thought about the fact that the woman you call ‘Odessa’ was the same woman my friends called ‘Mrs. Singley’? That she supported a family on the six dollars and bus fare (fifty cents round trip) your Grandmommy was paying her? That the woman you call your ‘best friend’ was forty years your senior and had another whole life of dignity, hopes, and dreams that had nothing to do with being in service to you and Grandmommy? That maybe “Odessa” didn’t like you as much as felt sorry for you because you were the baby of the family, the one your brother and sister slapped around, the one they were always leaving behind? You ever thought of that?”

I simply argue that because of the nature of the relationship, Singley’s mother perhaps presented herself in a way that was palatable to the White family she worked for and perhaps in a caring way toward the White child, now woman, she cared for.  Thus, would it be inconceivable that the experience that this White woman had was in fact one of love and friendship because that was precisely what was presented to her as a matter of Mrs. Singley’s preservation of her job?  Should the woman be aware of the inherent injustices of the time?  Yes.  Are Singley’s words deserving?  Perhaps.

2)      I accepted the book as a Novel, a fictional account of a set of relationships as a sub-text of the many indignities and ironies of the Jim Crow South – The Association of Black Women Historians (ABWH) makes the following point:

“We are specifically concerned about the representations of black life and the lack of attention given to sexual harassment and civil rights activism.”

While I wholeheartedly agree that there were many opportunities to strengthen the depictions of Black life in the book and the film, including the references to the Civil Rights Movement.  However, this was not the main impetus behind the novel.  And while some would argue that the two are inextricably tied to the role of Black maids in the South, I move that this is exactly why the author attempted to address these issues.  While I will not cut Stockett any slack for the inaccuracies surrounding the brutal murder of Medgar Evers and other faux pas surrounding historical fact, the reality is that it is not inconceivable that some maids were not sexually harassed (now, don’t bite my head off, I KNOW this was a MAJOR issue and a harsh reality bred out of slavery), and that not every Black maid was engulfed in the Civil Rights movement on a daily basis (not sure about the time span of the book, but frankly, the issue of Civil Rights was not ignored by the author).

3)      I think that Black people will always be sensitive to White (fictional and non-fictional) representations of racial injustice, particularly in reference to slavery, the South, and the Civil Rights era.  When you add gender, politics, and labor into the mix, the chasm only widens.  I keep contemplating what a book of similar nature would look like if it were written by a Black woman and whether the same criticisms would apply?  I am sure many would respond with a resounding YES on both accounts.  Yet, there appears to be an overarching assumption that a Black woman would most surely have written a more accurate depiction of Black life, written the dialect with admirable precision, been overwhelmingly inclusive of the impact of the Civil Rights Movement, and would have taken both White men and women to task on all accounts.  But, what about The Color Purple?  While historical accuracy was not a major criticism, Alice Walker has been harshly criticized for the negative portrayal of Black men, the subservience of the women in the novel, and for the graphic and often violent descriptions woven throughout each chapter.  The film, having been directed by none other than Steven Spielberg (sound familiar?), drew a great deal of precipitous criticism as well.

Read: Am I Losing It? On The Help – pt. 3