Book Vs Movie
The Help
The 2009 novel by Kathryn Stockett vs the
Tate Taylor 2011 film
The Margos remake one of the first shows they recorded together as a duo–The Help. The 2009 novel was a surprise hit for first-time author Kathryn Stockett who draws inspiration from her life growing up Jackson, Mississippi. Stockett went to the University of Alabama and graduated with a degree in English and Creative Writing. After living in New York City for several years working on magazine marketing, she decided to write her book after the September 11th attacks.
Five years (and dozens of rejections later) her book was eventually published and would go on to sell over ten million copies and been translated into 42 languages. In 2010 her childhood friend Tate Taylor directed the movie which went on to be a huge hit at the box office as well.
The story centers on several African American maids in the early 1960s who worked for white wealthy families. Our protagonist is Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan, a 23-year-old who dreams of being an important writer and living in NYC. Her big idea is to record the true stories of maid life in Mississippi during the height of Jim Crow South. She eventually (with the help of most of the domestic workers in town who are scared to expose themselves to abuse for snitching on their terrible, racist bosses) writes a book that exposes the bigotry of the south.
The movie has an incredible cast including Emma Stone as “Skeeter,” Viola Davis as Aibileen Clark, and Octavia Spencer as Minny Jackson. Spencer, a friend of the author, would eventually win an Academy Award for her performance.
So between book & movie–which did we like better? Have a listen to find out!
In this ep the Margos discuss:
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- The backstory of Kathyrn Stockett and Tate Taylor
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- The popularity of the book and why we think we each missed it the first time around
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- The cast of the movie including Bryce Dallas Howard (Hilly Holbrook,) Jessica Chastain (Celia Foote,) Allison Janney (Charlotte Phelan,) and Cicely Tyson as Constantine Jefferson.
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- Our favorite scenes from the movie
Clips Featured:
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- The Help trailer
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- Hilly & Skeeter talk about the bathroom laws
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- Celia & Minny bond over oppression & violence
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- Hilly eats a sh*t pie
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- Outro music Mary J Blige The Living Proof
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Margo D. @BrooklynFitChik www.brooklynfitchick.com brooklynfitchick@gmail.com
Margo P. @ShesNachoMama https://coloniabook.weebly.com/
