An aspiring author during the civil rights movement of the 1960s decides to write a book detailing the African American maids' point of view on the white families for which they work, and th... Read allAn aspiring author during the civil rights movement of the 1960s decides to write a book detailing the African American maids' point of view on the white families for which they work, and the hardships they go through on a daily basis.An aspiring author during the civil rights movement of the 1960s decides to write a book detailing the African American maids' point of view on the white families for which they work, and the hardships they go through on a daily basis.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 79 wins & 121 nominations total
- Stuart Whitworth
- (as Chris Lowell)
- Yule Mae Davis
- (as Aunjanue Ellis)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaKathryn Stockett's book, on which this film is based, was rejected 60 times before it was eventually published.
- GoofsSkeeter uses liquid paper. In 1963, people used hard, round "typewriter erasers" and brushes to correct typing errors. Liquid paper was still being sold out of its inventor's house.
- Quotes
Minny Jackson: Eat my shit.
Hilly Holbrook: What'd you say?
Minny Jackson: I said eat... my... shit.
Hilly Holbrook: Have you lost your mind?
Minny Jackson: No, ma'am but you is about to. 'Cause you just did.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #19.196 (2011)
- SoundtracksJackson
Written by Jerry Leiber and Billy Edd Wheeler
Performed by Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash
Courtesy of Columbia Nashville
By arrangement with Sony Music Licensing
But it wasn't fiction--at least, the depiction of Southern society wasn't. As I watched I kept drifting back to small-town South Carolina in the 1950s, where I grew up. It was moving and disturbing to be reminded how black people were treated then--loved and yet "kept down in their place." Our neighborhood was all middle-class and every family had a maid. There were plenty of boys my age, we visited in each other's homes, and called every maid by her first name. One even started a baseball team for the little white boys, for which her reward was a visit by the Klan.
Our maid helped my mother cook and clean. One of my parents picked her up and took her home every day--and she rode in the back seat. She ate her lunch in our kitchen--without being allowed to use our utensils. I remember her eating with her fingers. I do not remember ever seeing her use our bathrooms. I thought about that during the movie and truly cannot recall what she did, an embarrassing gap in memory.
I do remember when my father was out of work and our maid had to be cut back to three days a week. I actually cried; she was a member of our family. When talk about civil rights began in the late 1950s, my mother became annoyed at our maid for getting "uppity." And so it went. We moved to central Florida in 1961, where there were no maids.
Travel back in time with this film. It's quite real, and I highly recommend it.
- jwfuller
- Sep 12, 2011
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Người Giúp Việc
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $25,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $169,708,112
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $26,044,590
- Aug 14, 2011
- Gross worldwide
- $216,639,112
- Runtime2 hours 26 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1