Film Analysis: “The Help”

Vickie Intro To communications Dr. Nikki Hodgson March 25, 2013 Film Analysis The help How did communalwealth use non-verbals to communicate their status and identities in The Help? (e. g. artifacts used by wealthy/poor, language t atomic number 53s/volume, aline codes, appearance, rituals, etc. ) The lines amongst black and unclouded argon clearly delineated by much than food colouring in this film.While the fri balancelyite gaberdine women, even on affair days for mundane activities, dress in charming pressed dresses, manicured nails, stiffly styled hair, and nice jewelry (reminds me of June Cleaver), the maids moldiness wear identical uni manikins, deport severe hairstyles, and infinitesimal or no jewelry. Their greatest possession is the round off they carry this depictms to be of great importance, especially to Yule Mae when she is arrested. The maids are disallowed to speak in company un slight it involves serving of near(a) kind and must al shipway address g abardine folks with sir, maam, or young lady.The maids must submit to uncontaminating authority in all things (for fear of job loss or worse) and keep their voices low and calm in coiffe to avoid tension or stress. And sassing (verbal and communicatory) is a punishable offense as moderaten when Minny uses craggeds bathroom during the storm. Hilly could non care less abtaboo Minnys safety in exhalation bring out ramp during the reliable storm, but sort of is more than concerned close to how clean her toilet remains. thither are many facial lookings and body postures that show status/identity as well as artifacts.Hillys consistently raised(a) chin and dictatorial expression mark her as quite big-chested and the self-appointed leader of the socialites. Conversely, the maids (with the exception of Minny) keep their look d give birth, if not their heads, hands to their sides, unless working, and maintain a social standoffishness (more than 4 or 5 feet) from etiolat ed volume. Skeeter and Celia are the two white exceptions since they both undertake the black women as equals and treat them with respect and kindness. weed injustice and discrimination be convey non-verbally? How? permit spokespersons from The Help when prejudice and discrimination was expressed nonverbally. single of the physical ways used in this cinema to express prejudice is the use of hand gestures by Hilly. She flicks her hand in an upward motion when she sanctifys Minny to adulterate a slice of pie for Mrs. Walters. The wicked facial expression indicates her hate of the black woman, especially because of her refusal to obey an order. at that coiffure were several in berths when Skeeter was speaking with peerless of the maids and one of the subaltern League women caught her that they reflected their disapproval and distaste for so personal an interaction between a white and a black person.A painful expression is worn by Aibileen as she is deplumed to overhear Hillys insulting speech slightly the need for let out bathrooms. Not still does the hurt show on Aibileens face but she to a fault hides in the hallway rather than have to be surrender during the colloquy, as if she should be ashamed of her skin. An some other example, this one involving white rejecting white, is when Celia shows up at Elizabeths during the connect nine-spot luncheon. Not whole do they garbage to answer the door but make a half-hearted attempt to hide from her when she comes to the window.They are giggling, covering their mouths with their fingers (as if this is a grand joke or oh, so cute), and you on the loose(p) fire overhear rude remarks about her desperation and translucent lack of social etiquette. One last example was in the grocery store at the end of the movie. Aibileen and Minny are shopping, walking down the aisle side by side with their carts. However, when a white woman approaches Aibileen it is made clear that she is to move aside and let t he white woman pass, which she does with an apolo write downic look and intermission of her head (as if she were ashamed for having been in the way).Give me an example of person in The Help whose nonverbal behavior was insulting, ridiculing, or demeaning to others. Which character was not insulting or demeaning to others? Explain. There are more variations of prejudice in this movie than just between races. One of the painful moments, at least(prenominal) for me, was when Celia Foote shows up, uninvited, to the bridge companionship luncheon at Elizabeths nursing sept. Pie in hand, she is hoping to make friends and ultimately be included in the social rhythm of Jackson.However, at Hillys urging, the entire throng hides and is shu cast remote in a poor attempt to manipulate Celia, who is considered an outcast because of where she came from and how she grew up (poor). Celias face, when she realizes what is happening, is painful to see and as she comes up out of the flower be d, her swindle attempt to be brave dissolves into tears. I intrust where Celia came from and how she grew up gives her a greater com temper and catch of the maids lives.She seems child bid in her accordance of them and is ignorant of appropriate social etiquette. She simply takes them as they are, respects them as human universes and fellow women, and outdoows care and affection generously. She is also open-minded concerning Hillys behavior and tries to shed a kinder light on why there is conflict between them, even after the luncheon debacle. Have you ever made a prejudgment about someone because of their nonverbals? If so, provide an example. Anyone who says they have never pre pronounced another(prenominal) person is lying.It is, unfortunately, in our nature to judge others, especially when we think we are better than they are. closely of the time we are wrong, but, once in awhile, we get it right. I was hired at The Home entrepot in Kansas several years ago as a cashie r. Shortly after I correct my training and was put on the register another woman, about my age, came out of training and joined me up front. She, like me, was an extrovert and seemed happy and friendly, coaxing confidences out of all of us. Particularly me, since we percentaged (or at least I thought we did) a common faith.It wasnt until later that I found out she was not only cheating on a hubby and using a boyfriend for free cheer and food, she was also a liar and a backstabber. She had been relation others things we had shared in confidence, with a piddling fancywork for good measure. My mistake was giving her credit for universe a good person because of her clean appearance, she was well-dressed and accessorized, she had a winning smile and bubbly laughter, and seemed so open with her life and beliefs. She cemented these nonverbals with proclamations of sincerity and Christian values.I suffered some rattling embarrassing moments over my misjudgment. Have you ever had a negative nonverbal see? Tell me about it. It was Wednesday choir practice and I was seance with the film directors wife on the front course of study waiting for rehearsal to begin. Her husband was on tip arranging his music and making small talk with us. I responded to one of his quips with a cute, and I though humorous, quip of my own. I found out immediately that she didnt appreciate my comment and comprehend it as a territorial dispute (him being the territory when she stomped on my foot with extreme force (I limped for a couple days) and growled in my face, Hes mine I was stunned and Im sure it registered on my face. However, she was unapologetic and stomped away. I was chagrined since we were not the only people in the auditorium. Clearly, she communicated her anger, resentment, disgust, and an dumb threat to keep my hands off her shoes (since I didnt like him, my thought was shed be the only one whod have him anyway). Explain the differences in the usage of proximit y between the two grows in the movie.While the white socialites ob shell outd white rules of space (hugging, sitting close, handing, etc, though it is stiff and emotionless) the blacks were not allowed to engage white people this way. There was a social distance maintained, unless children were have-to doe with. The maids would stand a distance of more than 4 or 5 feet away from white people and wait to be commanded. It was rather humorous to me that the white women didnt want the maids to touch their utensils, cups, dishes, skin, toilets, etc. ut were entirely at heartsease with them cooking (handling food), laundering (the clothes touched by blacks hence touched their bodies), and mothering the children. Even when Skeeter goes to Aibileens own house, Aibileen has a difficult time sitting in Skeeters presence (she finally ends up sitting on the arm of a chair, the furthest place away from Skeeter) and, for a time, continues to act as if shes waiting on the white woman. As we se e the intimate times in Aibies house between she, Skeeter, and Minny, it becomes clear that the black people share space much more than whites do.They touch one another, hug firmly (as opposed to a light, vacuous embrace), laugh loudly, and have much more passion in life than their white employers. Define culture shock. The friendships created between Skeeter, Aibileen, and Minny broke societal rules during the 1960s in Mississippi. How did people react when the secret friendships were revealed? Did people experience culture shock? Explain. Culture shock is the effect of disorientation experienced by someone who is short subjected to an unfamiliar culture, way of life, or set of attitudes.There was an uproar, socially, about Skeeters relationship with the two maids. People were indignant that she would debase herself, her family, and her race in this way (by fraternizing with the opponent). However, as people began to read the arrest, I consider they were faced with the choice of what to do with this knowledge. The stories in the book revealed the truth about what happens behind the scenes to the black women that serve white families and raise white children. Many of these stories, Im sure, were ugly, painful, and humiliating.Once everyone knows the truth, each person must take up how to cope with that truth. This creates a type of culture shock. Some, like Skeeters mama, chose to support her and confess fault. Others, like Stuart, openly denied the truth or validity of Skeeters stance and ended their relationship. Hilly is very obviously dissever within herself when Aibileen asks her, Arent you threadbare Miss Hilly? Arent you tired? I think she meant tired of holding on to an outdated way of thinking, fight the tides of change, and being such a sad, lonely, mean person. 8. How did Skeeter deal with cultural tension between both cultures? Provide an example. a. Skeeter started out the same way all the other young women did. The daughter of wealthy, respectable white families, and raised by a black nanny/maid. Upon arriving home from college, she integrates herself back into society by attending the sundry(a) meeting, luncheons, and bridge club dates. However, as she sees and hears the ugly, supremacist treatment of The Help, she begins to second back at her friends, though small at first.The initial example of this is at bridge club when Hilly is discussing her Home Health Sanitation enterprisingness and Skeeter finally busts out with, Maybe we should build YOU a bathroom outside, Hilly As her incense grows, Skeeter begins to form friendships with the maids Aibileen and Minny in a hope to write a book and thereby, maybe, right a wrong. She lies about her conversation in the kitchen with Yule Mae and intentionally plays a joke on Hilly with the toilets on the lawn. These are Skeeters little ways of dealing with the racial situation she finds herself in.I was a bit disappointed in the indirect ways she chose to voice her di sapproval but it was a dangerous time for black sympathizers as well as the blacks themselves. 9. Did the more powerful societal group in The Help establish the rules for communication? How? a. The power group, the white women, certainly set the rules on how, when, where, and to whom the maids could interact. Fear was the crux of the matter of their power. The maids chafed under the supreme rule of the white yet they were powerless to do anything about it or they would lose their jobs and be blacklisted. Or worse, imprisoned or killed.Because of white supremacy sentiments and Jim Crow laws, blacks could be mob-lynched (killed by hanging or dragging) for the smallest of infractions, even if they were imagined. So, the black women only voiced their feelings to one another, in private, and even then they whispered. Otherwise, they kept their heads down, did their work, and tolerated the abuse. Times have changed how we communicate with others. How behind you improve your intercultural communication skills? Provide examples. a. One of the biggest obstacles to accept and positively interacting with an other person is a narrow-minded attitude.We must first be willing to accept the fact that our own way of thinking, believing, and doing things is not the only right way. So, an open-minded approach is always best when communicating with others. Another way to hone good skills is to look for ways to positively interact with others, especially those with whom you do not share a common culture. Volunteer work, random acts of kindness, being openly friendly, making eye contact, smiling, and even attempts at vocal niceties butt joint open many avenues to deeper, more meaningful experiences.Get involved with the community. I had many opportunities to interact with Hispanic people during spring break while volunteering at the put & Recreation Center. One other thing that occurred to me (and has for some time) is to learn their language. This seat be applied to more than just a foreign language, like Spanish. A language can be any nonverbal code (touch, time, distance, body language, artifacts), dialect, or jargon. All of these can give valuable information in order to communicate more effectively and with respect and equality.