Octavia Spencer as Minny Jackson in The Help

Best Supporting Actress at the 84th Annual Oscars (2011)

Notable Quote:

“Eat my shit.”

Synopsis:

It’s the 1960s in Mississippi, and Skeeter Phelan (Emma Stone) is a white lady – but not one of the racist ones. That’s why she uses her journalist platform to tell the story of Black maids, like Aibileen (Viola Davis) and Minny (Octavia Spencer). Thank you, empowering white ladies!!

The character:

Minny’s storyline has two main parts, and unfortunately, both are wish fulfillment for white people. First, she’s THE ultimate fantasy of quitting your job and sticking it to your shitty boss, with the added bonus that her boss is an out-and-out racist. Minny takes a stand in the face of unfair treatment (by using the indoor bathroom, rather than the one designated for the Black servant class), and suffers no financial consequences, instead ending up with a job where she’s treated really well. If you remember anything about this film, it’s that she also gets revenge by serving the ex-boss a shit pie, an incident so mortifying that it haunts the boss til the day she dies. It’s a major plot point that holds the whole film together because this movie is weirdly OBSESSED with bathroom antics.

In Minnie’s new job as a maid to Celia Foote, the town outcast, she’s an even worse trope: essentially a Black best friend, except that her bestie also has complete power over her employment, yippee! Minny is Celia’s life coach, mentor, and confidante, teaching her to cook and get along with people, and counseling her through a miscarriage. What does she get in return? Well, Celia tells Minny to hit her abusive husband back the next time he hits her. Great advice, Celia. Celia also does things like join Minny for lunch: it’s supposed to be a nice gesture, that indicates that she sees Minny as equal, but I say, give your employee some space! It’s pure white lady wish fulfillment: I can have a maid, and also a great best friend, and still be a really good person.

The performance:

Octavia Spencer, I’m so sorry. Early on in this movie, Emma Stone’s character points out that Gone with the Wind didn’t allow the Mammy character to tell her own story – and then the movie proceeds to trot out endless stereotypes and clichés for its own Black characters. To be fair, I’d say that every character has the depth of a wading pool, but the ridiculous tropes that the Black actors have to work with are especially egregious for a movie about racism. Octavia Spencer literally has to deliver a monologue about how much she loves fried chicken!! And Minny doesn’t get a lot of complexity for Spencer to dig into.

With all that being said, Spencer does the best that she can with the material. She’s an expert on conveying her entire mood with just a look or a twitch of the head. And she very easily pivots from friendly to feisty to wilding out (all skills that make her perfect in Ma, genuinely a superior film to this one). She also brings as much dignity as she can to an insulting role, opting to play it with restraint as much as possible.

The movie:

The Help is probably one of the most notable backlash movies of the past few decades: a film that became reviled as quickly as it became popular, although many still see it as heartwarming. If, like me, you haven’t seen it in a while, I’m here to tell you that it’s worse than you remember! I was expecting The Blindside: obviously racist, but overall well-crafted to tug at the heartstrings, but it’s not successful on any level. It specifically claims to undermine a white savior story, but then that’s exactly the story it presents us with. Emma Stone’s character literally puts these maids’ lives at stake so that she can be a successful journalist. And racism is treated as purely interpersonal rudeness, not a systemic issue: on par with ostracizing someone for pre-marital sex, and easily conquered by self-esteem mantras. I’m sure many folks have written more eloquently than I about the racism embedded in this movie, but I’d also like to point out that even beyond that, it’s so stupid and farfetched. The interactions and plot points are Disney Channel sitcom level. Someone eats a poop pie and just … doesn’t realize? What??? Pure hot garbage.

Was the Oscar deserved?

Despite all my issues, I still think it’s deserved and I’m glad it launched Spencer onto bigger, way better things.