I watched The Help last weekend. It’s a beautifully told, well rounded story on the racial revolt and the times of change during the early 1960’s in America.
Within the film is interwoven a fine love story between a black maid, Aibileen and her very cute and chubby young charge, the daughter of the housewife for whom she works. The housewife herself is rathe inept in the art of raising children and all the loving, tenderness and caring fall on Aibileen.
Every morning Aibileen wakes the little doll of a child and starts the day with:
“You is kiiiind, you is smaaaart and you is important.”
The little girl is taught to repeat this mantra, which is such a beautiful and endearing way to start the day. Aibileen, the maid often recalls this sentence of positive affirmations whenever the little girl is reprimanded by her mother who is quite self centred and cold to the child believing that this sweet little thing is too fat and not pretty enough.
(*Spoiler alert!) Nearing the end of the film there is a final scene of this love story between the black maid and the little girl where Aibileen is fired and thereby is forced to leave the little girl to whom she clearly has a deep attachment and love for. In this scene she repeats the affirmation when she says goodbye saying “Always remember what I taught you. You is kind, you is smart, you is important. Repeat it!” With teary eyes the small toddler finally repeats the wisdom back to her maid in the sweetest small voice full of emotion.
This was a breaking point for me and I kind of lost it and wept as if my own heart had been broken.
What struck me the most however was that even a relatively uneducated black maid who wasn’t give the opportunities that all men and women in our western society, disregarding of race, have in our day and age, she understood the power of self love and affirming oneself. She was teaching the little girl that no matter what happened, as long as she believed in herself and repeated her positive affirmations, everything would work out.
I highly recommend watching this gorgeous film, even just to gat a small taste of comprehending what happened in the early 1960’s when racial issues were overcome in the face of customs and laws that stated otherwise through the enchanting love for each other and sense of self dignity and standing up for what is right. Here is the trailer to whet your senses:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVTMkINRChk[/youtube]