Following protests against police brutality and racial injustice worldwide that have broken out worldwide, The Help has soared to the top of Netflix's charts. The 2011 film is based on the best selling novel of the same name and tackles race relations during the civil-rights movement in Jackson, Mississippi. Though the film was mostly well received when it premiered in 2011 and even saw Octavia Spencer take home an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her work in The Help, many people—including cast members such as Viola Davis—have since criticized the movie for focusing on white women's stories.
As news of The Help's recent surge in popularity hit social media, there's been a call for Netflix to promote content by and about Black people. One of the people speaking up about this issue is The Help star Bryce Dallas Howard. The actress, who starred as the film's central villain Hilly Holbrook, took to Facebook to encourage her followers to watch something other than The Help to learn about racial injustice.
"I’ve heard that The Help is the most viewed film on Netflix right now! I'm so grateful for the exquisite friendships that came from that film—our bond is something I treasure deeply and will last a lifetime," Howard wrote. "That being said, The Help is a fictional story told through the perspective of a white character and was created by predominantly white storytellers. We can all go further."
"Stories are a gateway to radical empathy and the greatest ones are catalysts for action," she continued. Howard encourage anybody "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," to watch "films and shows that center Black lives, stories, creators, and / or performers."
Here's Howard's full list of recommendations:
- 13th
- Eyes on the Prize
- I am Not Your Negro
- Just Mercy
- Malcolm X
- Say Her Name: The Life And Death of Sandra Bland
- Selma
- Watchmen
- When They See Us
- The Hate U Give
- Do the Right Thing
- True Justice: Bryan Stevenson's Fight For Equality
- Roots
The Jurassic World actress also asked her followers to recommend their own suggestions for essential viewing. You can find those suggestions in the comments on her original post here.
Photo: Netflix