And Yet More on The Help

Watch the full episode. See more American Experience.

Discussing The Help in my August movies post, one of the things I said is that I felt like I wanted more historical specificity in the framing of the story. Which is all well and good, but even better if you've got an example on hand to compare it to. So here's one that kept coming to mind - Freedom Riders, a documentary which aired earlier this year as part of PBS's American Experience series, and was recognized yesterday at the Creative Arts Emmys for "Exceptional Merit in Nonfiction Filmmaking." One of the things I really like about this documentary is how well it uses its scope - it zeroes in on the Freedom Rides in a way that feels more incisive than, say, something like Eyes on the Prize, and gives a real sense of the range of people involved. I also appreciate the complexity of its depiction of the Kennedy administration and the way they balanced their interactions with the activists involved in the Rides with their desire to keep their Southern base with the Democratic party. More of the directed, purposeful actions of the era deserve this kind of rescue from the over-broad umbrella of "the Civil Rights movement."

Also, an interesting Entertainment Weekly piece from Mark Harris regarding The Help, and specifically Viola Davis' performance, which touches on a question I've been thinking about for a while - that of evaluating an individual actor's ability to transcend or bring depth to a stereotypical role.