Let me start off by saying that I liked this movie the first time I watched it in 2011. The idea that a white writer, white director and predominantly white production team created this story/film and chose to center a White actress to tell Black women’s stories didn’t really bother me that much. I honestly hadn’t thought about it that deeply at the time. However, watching this film again with my current knowledge and viewpoints, I felt very differently. This film, while likely well-intentioned, is a perfect example of the White savior complex (not to mention, the blatant portrayal of the “mammy” stereotype). Skeeter, played by Emma Stone, is portrayed as a misunderstood, quirky, rich girl who, unlike the other White women in the film, actually treated her maid (the woman who raised her) with decency. She sees the way the Black domestic workers are treated while she also needs needs a story to publish. She disregards the women’s genuine concern for the well-being of themselves, their families and their livelihoods and decides to capitalize off of these Black women’s lives and trauma. While this movie attempts to address racial issues, it falls flat because of the focus on Whiteness and the perpetuation of the idea that Black people cannot achieve or speak up on their own.