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The Help
Octavia Spencer
Octavia Spencer: Headliner
An aspiring author during the civil rights movement of the 1960s decides to write a book detailing the African American maids' point of view on the white families for which they work, and the hardships they go through on a daily basis. -IMDb
Octavia Spencer: Quote
Octavia Spencer: Pro Gallery
Octavia Spencer plays the part of a domestic worker in the 1960s, trying to secure employment as a maid. Her character, Minny, is immensely relatable as a Black woman, and this especially shines through during the scene in the bathroom. Struggling against a boss who you know does not want you to succeed is something I feel like we all know; but when you, as a Black woman, have an entitled white woman out for your skin-- checking to see how much toilet paper you use?! --as your boss, well... you might relate.
I believe Minny is a character for the people. She is not an empty vessel, not a body which goes through inauthentic motions just to fulfill the role. Her role is not sexual, not created for the phallocentric gaze. The interesting thing, though, is that this movie was written by and produced by only white folks. With this news in mind, is Jonathan Higgins right? Is this representation of Black women problematic and dangerous?
Octavia Spencer: Text
It's stormy and turbulent in the Holbrook household and outside as a storm passes by. Minny, has gone to use Hilly's bathroom, which she isn't supposed to do. When Hilly stalks her to the bathroom and demands to know what she is doing, Minny flushes the toilet (without even using it) and slams the lid.
Octavia Spencer: Image
Following her win in 2012, Octavia Spencer has starred in huge roles such as Dorothy Vaughan in Hidden Figures, and Sue An in Ma, for which she also was an executive producer. Other notable films are Zootopia, The Shape pf Water, as well as the Divergent trilogy. Her speech is truthfully no indication of how well she would continue to do-- seeing as she has worked in the film industry for decades before The Help --because I thought it was kind of a mess. Understandably tho.
Octavia Spencer: HTML Embed
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