Personal picture made by Als Filmster Op De Foto

Ah…remember the ‘60s? The times of rock and roll, glamorous Old Hollywood movies and a lot of classic songs which survived the radio and CD eras. In fact you are now still playing those songs on your iPhone, Youtube or that playlist on your laptop. Let’s not forget the lovely, colorful retro fashion and let’s also take a moment to remember that the world back then was black and white. And I am not just talking about the televisions right now.

Yesterday I watched an interesting movie: The Help (2011). The setting of this movie is in the 1960s. Back to 1963. We’re in Mississippi, America, in the middle of the Civil Rights Era. We’re following a young, independent (aspired) journalist who is ahead of her time. She decides to write a book with the stories of black maids, that expose the racism they face in everyday life. After the book is written, there is of course no significant change. Still, those untold stories are finally out there and intrigue the society.

The movie received four Oscar nominations, won one Oscar and was a Box Office hit. Apparently a lot of people were intrigued by the story. I also liked the story. Not only for the realistic situations, beautiful retro settings and a pinch of humor, but even more for the read-between-the-lines message about stories. Not following me anymore? Wait for it. We all like good stories don’t we? Guess what, we also have good stories to tell. Positive or negative. With an open ending or not. It doesn’t matter. That’s exactly what this movie pointed out. If the maids did not tell their stories, who would know? And although there was no significant improvement in their situation, there was a story being told that had never been told before.
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