Went yesterday with my wife and daughter to see the movie The Help.  While in one sense this film might fall into the category of Chick Flick, it is more than that.  For us it was somewhat nostalgic.  The area of Jackson, Mississippi where this was filmed and set is the same neighborhood where we lived in for three years while I was in seminary – Belhaven.  (Though the story is set 30 years before we got there.)

This film is poignant – both  funny and sad.   Laced with humor throughout, it is a discomforting reminder about oppressive attitudes that prevailed only a generation ago.  Though the tide had turned by the time we had arrived in Jackson, it was not unusual to stumble upon lingering remnants of the past prevailing prejudices.   I suspect they still linger, and not only in Mississippi.  So in that sense this movie is a good reminder of the ugliness and foolishness of bigotry.  Such reminders insulate against a resurgence of bigoted attitudes.

More than just a moral reminder from days of old, this story is a wonderful demonstration of the power of even just a few to bring about social justice and renewal.  In this way, though God is not central to the plot, it is a reflection of the gospel promise to make all things new.

In short, the movie was well worth the extended lunch that took up a portion of my afternoon.  So guys, no need to be turned away because this movie may initially appear to be gender in-apropros.