Analysis of the Movie The Help - Essay Example

The Help The following paper is an analysis of the movie “The Help” and the study of the different interactions between individuals with different backgrounds in the movie. The paper explores the various intercultural communication concepts or the behaviors in relation to the film. There is a further analysis of how the intercultural concepts are used in the film and relevance in the communication. Finally, relating the various intercultural communication theories to the film with relevant examples. The Help is a film about a young white woman by the name of Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan and her relationship with two black house helps. She uses their experiences in writing a book that highlights the struggles of the civil rights era. The book is from the view of the two house helps. It exposes the racism that they encounter in their daily working life. The book covers the existing relationships between the white employers, and their black house helps. This is especially considering that the black maids raise the children of their white employers. These children tend to have prejudiced attitudes towards their parents when they become adults. The daily interactions between the maids and their white employers reveal the various intercultural communication concepts and behavior between two different races with different cultural backgrounds. Institutional Collectivism is the first concept that is evident in the film. It is an intercultural concept in which the practices or the norms of a particular culture encourage and reward collective action (Jandt 201). Cultures with institutional collectivism have certain characteristics. Such a culture, for example, has its members assuming and believing that they are highly interdependent within the social organization. Group loyalty is highly encouraged even if it is against the pursuit of individual goals. The concept of Institutional Collectivism tends to maximize the interests of the social grouping and the collective as a whole. The concept allows for organizational collaboration and cooperation in achieving collective goals. The concept is seen in the film because they are certain groups advocating for the cooperation and collaboration of social groupings. They advocate for the achievement of social and economic gains of the group. For example, the white women led by Hilly hold regular meetings in which their collective interests are discussed. Moreover, they plan how to accomplish and achieve their interest. This group is known as the Bridge Club. During one of their regular meetings, Skeeter was asked about the status of the news article she was supposed to have delivered to the newspaper to which she says she is working on them (The Help). Hilly tells her to ensure that whatever she is doing does not interfere with her objective. Showing how the collective interests of the group are valued above individual interest. A second example of institutional collectivism is also seen in the African American community. During the Sunday service, the church pastor encourages the congregation to do whatever is necessary and also be prepared to put themselves in the harm for their fellow man. Furthermore, after a poor treatment of one of the maids, we can witness institutional collectivism of the African American social group. The other maids came together to ensure that Skeeter had enough materials to air their experiences in their daily work. Human orientation is the second intercultural communication concept evident in the film. The concept explains the level and the degree to which individuals in the cultural or social grouping encourage and reward individuals for being fair, friendly, generous and caring (Jandt 201). The concept of human orientation also rewards group members for improvement in performance and excellence. Individuals who value the interest of others and see them as important within the social grouping and culture, characterize the concept. These individuals are motivated mainly by the social need for belonging and affiliation. This concept is responsible for the members of the cultural group being responsible for the promotion and the wellbeing of others. In the Human orientation concept, the critical decisions are made by the group. Collective action is highly encouraged. For example, the coming together of a group in order to achieve a particular action that is beneficial to it. In the film, human orientation is shown through a variety of ways. For example, Aibileen Clark, the house help who acts as the narrator of the film’s story, is congratulated and highly regarded towards the end of the film (The Help). She is highly regarded and personally recognized by everyone because through her narration of their plight and experiences, the story of the maids suffering and the racially abused is finally told. Everyone recognizes her in that they sign a copy of the book for her in solidarity. It indicated that what she had done was highly appreciated. Secondly, Aibileen and Minny also recognize Skeeter because through her writing of the book she was able to highlight their struggle (The Help), in a time when it was prohibited for the African Americans to write or print books. Furthermore, the writing of the book made the two maids extra money. Through her experiences with the African American social grouping and the fact that one of them raised her, she empathizes with how badly they are treated. Minny and Aibileen, the two main characters in her book, congratulate her for giving her the book that was signed by others at the church. Minny is also recognized and praised by Celia Foote’s husband because of what she has brought and done to her (The Help). The husband notes that she had brought happiness into their home and helped his wife deal with the miscarriages. Intercultural adaptation is the third intercultural communication concept in the film. Intercultural adaptation explains how different communicators from different cultural backgrounds adjust to each in an interaction encounter. In each of these encounters, their different cultural factors need to be incorporated. The intercultural communication process involves the continuous interplay between deculturation and acculturation. These processes bring out a change in the communicators and lead to assimilation. Assimilation is the highest degree of adaptation that can be attained (Jandt 308). Intercultural adaptation is mostly evidenced with migrants or diplomats going to a foreign country. The migrants or diplomats show great ability in adapting to the culture in their host country. The intercultural adaptation occurs in the event that the new person is shocked by the dominant or new culture. It is an ongoing process where the person gradually adapts to the new culture. An intercultural adaptation in the film is present in two examples. The first one involves Aibileen and the child that she cares for called Mae. The two have adapted well to each other, and they have created a relationship that is reminiscent of a mother to child (The Help). In certain scenarios, the child calls and refers to Aibileen as her mother. After taking care of the children, they develop strong relationships with the children. These relationships are better than the relationship that exists between the children and their biological mothers. It also highlights how they have adapted to the dominant culture in America. A second example of the intercultural adaptation that is evident in the movie is shown through the relationship that existed between Skeeter and the maid that took care of her while growing up (The Help). Their relationship was strong and incomparable to the one she had with her biological mother. It highlights how the house helps had inter-culturally adapted to the daily living and in interacting with the different culture. The concept and practice of Co-Cultural Communication refers to the interactions between an underrepresented cultural group (muted) and the dominant cultural group. The underrepresented cultural group in the film refers to the African America culture. The concept of co-cultural communication explores the inequality that exists in the communication process between the dominant groups (Whites) and the marginalized groups (other groups). Co-cultural communication looks at the strategic ways through which individuals from different cultural members communicate with other members of other cultural backgrounds (Jandt 233). The concept explores the ways through which individuals adapt different communication behaviors in different cultural environments. The concept of co-cultural communication focuses on the communication strategy and how these underrepresented (muted) groups avoid self-censoring, bargaining and communicating through their preferred communication. The co-cultural communication concept is important in understanding the communication process between those that are marginalized (muted) in a dominant society. The dominant culture in the film shapes the language and the communication process of the society. The co-cultures ought to create their language in making sense of their reality. Coo-cultural communication The Co-cultural concept is heavily evident in the film. For example, there are differences in the way the house helps communicate to their white employers. This is evident when Yule Mae Davis goes to her employees seeking a loan to finance her sons’ education. She feels comfortable while the husband is around. As soon as the husband excuses himself, she feels uncomfortable (The Help). Such is a representation of the communication process between the muted cultures in relation to the dominant culture. A second example of this form of communication can be seen while the same house help Yule Mae Davis is arrested. In the process of her arrest she was told by other house helps Aibileen and Minny to maintain silence and cooperate. She starts yelling and is heavily struck with a police baton. She was arrested in response to selling a piece of jewelry. Such a communication process is shaped and directed by the dominant culture in the society, and the muted culture is supposed to adhere without any question. Finally, the muted culture is supposed to use special titles in reference to the dominant culture. For example, they must refer to their employers with an appropriate title. This is characteristic of every interaction. It only changes in the special case where the African American individual is given the special person to not use the title. The fifth intercultural communication concept present is the Self-Identity Concept. The concept of self-identity is the part of an individual’s self-concept. Self-identity is achieved through belonging to a particular social group or a culture (Jandt 210). The concept tries to understand the ways in which people formulate the identity of their self, especially as they do in relation to other cultural groups. The self-identity and the cultural identity provides a sense of historical connection to others. The concept of self-identity is one of the keys to intercultural communication competence because individuals relate to places they come from and the historical background of a group. Self-identity makes individuals identify and associate with certain groups of people, which serves to bolster and improve their self-esteem. Self-identity is also a main concept behind the categorization of individuals, for example, a Muslim, or a Hispanic among others. Through self-identity, we compare ourselves to other culturally different individuals. The concept of self-identity is also important in how individuals relate to others socially. It also forms a factors to how the individuals in the social or culture groups is treated. For example, in the film, Hilly refuses to use the guest bathroom in Elizabeth’s house because she is afraid that it is used by one of the maids (The Help). Hilly refuses to use any of the Elizabeth’s bathrooms because she has the assumption that her maids use them. She says that they carry different diseases, and that is why she had drafted a home health sanitation initiative to have each home have a separate bathroom for the help to use. The same treatment befalls Aibileen as she was told to use the outside bathroom as opposed to the one in the house when there was a storm. This is indicative of self-identity, the basis for racism. The sixth intercultural communication concept is the Homogenizing Effect of Television. The use of television has shifted the dynamics of interaction and communication between different cultures. It has led to the homogenization of cultures. Cultural homogenization refers to the reduction in cultural diversity through means of popularization and diffusion of cultural symbols. It enables different individuals from different cultural backgrounds to interact and communicate through the exchange of messages and information. The television process is called cultural cultivation, and it provides a shared means of viewing the world. With the use of television, the different cultures may retain their separate values, but the overall effects of the television affect all the cultural groups (Jandt 349). As a result, culture becomes homogenized, or it also becomes mainstreamed through television. The cultural homogenization reduces the cultural barriers and leads to a reduction in its diversity. For example, the television has provided a means through which the cultural barriers can be broken in the film. Television is an overarching force that transcends all the cultural differences, and it is evident in the film. For example, Skeeter is gathered around the television when there is an announcement concerning the African Americans and the place they can buy supplies (The Help). Secondly, during the burial broadcast of President Kennedy, the television was able to transcend the cultural divide between the dominant and the muted groups. The Feminist Theory shapes the seventh intercultural communication process in the film. Many aspects of the daily life are shaped by what is considered feminine and masculine roles (Jandt 402). These aspects of masculine and feminine roles are shaped by our cultural constructs. Through our culture and the social constructs, the roles of women and men are molded. Even though, biologically men and women differ, the same should not apply to the gender roles because they are socially constructed and biologically, the sex makes no differences in the roles that women can play. Sex, though, is the basis for the establishment of various gender roles, and it is further due to the cultural learnings. The socially constructed gender roles are detrimental and oppressive to women in terms of economic development, family roles, education and health care among others. The feminist theory explains the disparities of how girls and women are treated in the film. The feminist theory has led to the definition of roles that men and women can perform. These roles have led to the delineation that women are best suited for certain roles. It also highlights the communication process that are evident in the film between the maids and their women employers. The most being the fact that Skeeter is allowed to finish school. She acquires a double major in her undergraduate studies. The education allows her to be in a position of greater economic privilege, despite the fact that her mother continually encourages her into getting a boyfriend because “her eggs are dying” as she states. The feminist theory is also seen when one of the house helps Yule Mae Davis goes to her employer seeking a loan for her high school boys (The Help). She asked for the loan in the presence of both the husband and the wife. The husband quickly excuses himself because the topic and dealing with the house help fell under the jurisdiction of the woman’s role. Finally, The Standpoint Theory focusses on how individuals with a particular culture view, understand and construct their social world. The concept of standpoint holds the view that each of us can construct our particular identities. The standpoint theory explores and understand the perspective of the marginalized groups. The concept varies from individual to individual but the collectiveness view can be seen in certain cultural groups where they share the same factors in the environment. It also incorporates the concept of power (Jandt 249). Individuals with this particular concept include those in less dominant (muted) groups and how they see their surrounding from the standpoint of those in power. However, those in the dominant culture never get to see the perspective of those in the muted group. This concept explains why Hilly was able to ensure that Minny never got a job as a house help because of what she had said about her (The Help). It was easy to understand the standpoint of those in the dominant culture and difficult to empathize with the maid. This theory is also seen in the end when Aibileen is threatened with being taken to jail by her employer. She would have been sent to jail because the employer would have been believed. She would have been believed because she comes from the dominant culture. The lack of uniformity in culture makes it necessary to have various intercultural communications approaches. Intercultural communications have the aim of sharing information across different cultures and social group. Intercultural communication makes it possible to understand how individuals from different cultures act, communicate and perceive the surroundings around them. It also looks at the interactions that are present and occur when people from two or more different cultural backgrounds come into contact. The purpose of the above essay is performing an analysis of the movie “The Help” because of the various interactions and intercultural communication concepts evident. The concepts identified include Institutional Collectivism that explains the societal practices that encourage collective action. The concept of human orientation that explains the level and the degree in which individuals in a social grouping encourage and reward individuals for being fair, friendly, generous and caring. Intercultural adaptation explaining how the different communicators adapt to each in encounters in which the different cultures need to be incorporated. Co-cultural communication concept referring to the interactions occurring between an underrepresented social group and the dominant cultural group while self-identity explaining the part of an individual’s self-concept that is derived from belonging to a particular culture. Cultural homogenization effect that leads to a reduction in cultural diversity where as the concept of standpoint is also relevant in the film because it is easier to see the view and perspective of those in the dominant culture as opposed to the muted one. Finally, the feminist concept sees the delineation of masculine and feminine roles as being a cultural construct. Read More