Thinking of watching âThe Helpâ to assuage your white guilt? Hold please, because Bryce Dallas Howard, who starred in the film set in civil rights-era Mississippi, has some other suggestions.
As the global protests against police brutality and racial injustice continue, viewers have flocked to the feel-good film based on Kathryn Stockettâs 2009 novel of the same name, propelling it to the top spot on Netflixâs internal charts last week.
While âThe Helpâ was widely praised at the time of its release, itâs since been criticized for sidelining its primary Black characters, played by Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer, who won an Academy Award for her performance, in favor of centering a white savior narrative.
On Instagram Sunday, Howard, who portrayed the filmâs central villain, pushed her followers to âgo furtherâ than just watching âThe Helpâ during these times, given the lens through which the story explores the lives of Black maids raising white children.
âIâve heard that #TheHelp is the most viewed film on @netflix right now! Iâm so grateful for the exquisite friendships that came from that film â our bond is something I treasure deeply and will last a lifetime,â Howard wrote. âThis being said, âThe Helpâ is a fictional story told through the perspective of a white character and was created by predominantly white storytellers. We can all go further.â
âStories are a gateway to radical empathy and the greatest ones are catalysts for action,â she continued. âIf you are seeking ways to learn about the Civil Rights Movement, lynchings, segregation, Jim Crow, and all the ways in which those have an impact on us today, here are a handful of powerful, essential, masterful films and shows that center Black lives, stories, creators, and / or performers.
Howardâs suggestions include a trio of Ava DuVernay projects: Netflixâs âThe 13thâ and âWhen They See Us,â as well as DuVernayâs Oscar-winning film âSelma.â Howard also recommended âJust Mercy,â which stars Michael B. Jordan and is now streaming for free until the end of June, and the 2016 documentary âI am Not Your Negro.â
She also put âEyes on the Prize,â âMalcom Xâ and âSay Her Name: The Life And Death Of Sandra Blandâ on her watch list.
Since âThe Helpâ was released, Davis has spoken out about her regrets around acting in the film, which she said didnât capture the âvoice of the maids.â
âI just felt that at the end of the day that it wasnât the voices of the maids that were heard,â Davis told The New York Times in 2018. âI know Aibileen. I know Minny. Theyâre my grandma. Theyâre my mom. And I know that if you do a movie where the whole premise is, I want to know what it feels like to work for white people and to bring up children in 1963, I want to hear how you really feel about it. I never heard that in the course of the movie.â