"The Help" was written by a white woman. Did this change your opinion of the boo

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   hpedneauposted 12 years ago

   "The Help" was written by a white woman. Did this change your opinion of the book?

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   janikonposted 12 years ago

   Not at all. The book was well-written, concise and told through several different characters whom were all relatable, flawed and fully-formed in their creation. Focusing on the authors skin colour goes against the underlining message of the novel, it would be truly unfortunate if Kathryn Stockett being white changed anyones opinion of the fantastic story she was able to weave.

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   nightwork4posted 12 years ago

   i loved that book. i don't care that a woman wrote it, it was entertaining and it gives one a good idea of how strange some people think.

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   writerwoman222posted 12 years ago

   I must confess I have not read this book, tho I have up rated the answers that were given that suggested it mattered not given the fact that the author was a white woman.

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   thebiologyofleahposted 12 years ago

   I think as long as a book is well written and accurately researched, if necessary, then it doesn't matter who the author is in terms of gender and race.  It is fiction and isn't the point of fiction to be able to walk in someone else's shoes? Especially in the case of 'The Help' where there are three narrators of different races and ages, it would be hard to please everyone with the 'right' author.

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      Hidalgo Cposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      that the book is fiction is irrelevant. it is the fact that it accurately depicts the reality of american blacks lives, how they were viewed, thought of and treated, from the point of view of different characters during segregation in the USA.

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   thoughtwomanposted 12 years ago

   Kind of. I am a Women & Gender Studies professor who specializes in race, class, gender, and their representation in popular culture, so I always approach material with a more critical eye.
   
   I especially look at this genre of literature with suspicion, and by genre I am referring to what non-white people call "the white savior to colored people" syndrome. Think of The Principal, Freedom Writers, Dangerous Minds, Invictus, The Blind Side, Different Strokes, Avatar, Gran Torino, Dances with Wolves, Amistad......need I go on?
   
   While I loved the book, did we really need another story of a well-meaning white person who supposed changed the lives of non-white people for the better? Why can't we get a story of a well-meaning non-white person who changes the lives of white people for the better? I think that would make a good story line too.

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   marwan asmarposted 6 years ago

   No. I thought it was a nice film.........

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