'THE HELP' COMPARED TO 'LIFE'

The Help Compared to Life:

A study of connections and similarities in plot.

The 1999 comedy film Life shares a similar setting to the novel The Help, with both stories being set decades in the past where racism, segregation, and slavery were all considered to be facts of life; with people of colour not knowing lives without the mistreatment. Life details the story of two black men that are sent away to prison on false murder convictions; both of them being framed for involvement in the case for a crime they did not commit. The Help is a story detailing racism and the mistreatment of black people, with segregation and slavery being core focuses of the novel and the story also bringing up the issue of wrongfully jailed black individuals. 

A scene that I connected to the setting of The Help that takes place in Life is where the two main characters walk into a restaurant while they are on their journey prior to becoming inmates. They are shunned and attention is brought a sign that says "WHITES ONLY" that is hung with pride in the restaurant. The two men are forced out of the establishment and threatened with violence, the owner of the restaurant wielding a shotgun and warning the men to leave. The setting of The Help goes into detail about segregation and violence against black people, showing similarities to the racism-filled setting and plot of Life. 

Both pieces of media have plotlines that are focused on racism and the impacts that it has had on black lives during non-modern periods in time, with Life being a comedy mixed in with dramatic elements and The Help being a hopeful drama. Life takes place in a different environment than The Help, with a majority of the film taking place within the jail that the two lead characters are sentenced to. The film takes place in a setting that is about three decades in the past when looking at the 1960's setting of The Help; but both medias take place in a time where racism was even more commonplace than it is in the 21st century. 

Life and The Help showcase segregation and struggles that have been shared by black people in a different environment with a similar setting between the pieces. The two medias take place in different points in time, with the time periods being about thirty years apart, but the messages are the same and the setting created by both works are very similar in nature. 

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