The 2009 book that bore the same title by Kathryn Stockett served as the basis for the 2011 historical drama. Tate Taylor wrote the script and also served as the director. The narrative of a youthful white lady who dreams of being a reporter and writer is depicted throughout both the movie and the novel. She sets off with the intention of narrating the experience of serving as a stewardess for white people from the maid’s point of view.
Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan develops a friendship with Minny Jackson and Aibileen Clark, two black ladies, in the film The Help. Jackson, Mississippi, serves as the setting for the narrative, which occurs during the Movement for Civil Rights of 1963. Despite having severe subject matter, the play has humor and a feeling of optimism.
Films like The Help, which deftly tackle difficult subjects, are uncommon. Let’s admit it, and occasionally the most difficult subjects are difficult to discuss for any of us. Discuss, but a great supporting film can get us thinking, encourage excellent dialogues, and perhaps even cause us to make positive changes. This collection of The Help-inspired films includes Hollywood oldies as well as recent productions, all of which have compelling storylines and compelling theatrical performances.
Lovers of The Help will enjoy the blockbusters Selma and Hidden Figures. These historical epic films will keep you engaged, so be prepared to laugh, weep, and enjoy some impressive acting. We also have options for binge-watching if that’s more your style.
Also Read: 35 Movies Like Starstruck That Are Worth Watching
1. Hidden Figures (2016)
NASA discovered the untapped potential in a team of African ladies who are academics who acted as the minds responsible for one of the biggest undertakings in American history as the country battled with Russia to launch a man into space. We pursue such women as they rapidly soared to the positions of NASA along with so many of humankind’s finest thinkers, particularly given the task of computing the monumentally important unveiling of cosmonaut John Glenn into space and ensuring his safe recovery.
Our tale is based on the unbelievable real stories of 3 such women, renowned as “human computers.” The intelligence and determination to dream large of Mary Jackson, Katherine Gobels Johnson, and Dorothy Vaughan transcended all barriers of gender, color, and occupation and solidly established them as real American heroines in American history.
• Viewers can watch Hidden Figures on the Disney+ streaming site.
2. The Color Purple (1985)
The movie chronicles the struggles young African-American ladies faced in the early twentieth century, involving domestic abuse, child abuse, pedophilia, unemployment, racism, and misogyny. Celie Harris is a young African-American girl. Mister, a widowed bachelor, originally desired to wed Nettie, Celie’s young and more attractive sister. Additionally, Celie is mistreated by him and his kids.
Nettie leaves her house one day and finds refuge with Celie. The two make a pact to compose if they are split up. Nettie battles off Mister as he tries to physically molest her, and he, enraged, tosses her out of the apartment, keeping the commitment she as well as Celie set.
• Viewers can watch The Color Purple on the Prime streaming site.
3. Green Book (2018)
As his establishment was being renovated in 1962, fierce enforcer Frank “Tony Lip” Vallelonga looked for employment. The most intriguing proposition ends out to be serving as Don Shirley’s chauffeur for a performance touring of the Deep South regions. Shirley is an African-American classically trained pianist.
Tony takes the job despite having little enthusiasm for operating for a Black guy, and they set off on their journey armed with a map for navigating safely across America’s racial segregation. With their opposing outlooks on life and aspirations, the sneeringly academic pianist and the bluntly pragmatic bouncer can hardly get along. However, as the unlikely couple experiences and witnesses America’s shocking injustices firsthand while traveling, they grow to appreciate one another and begin to work through them as a team.
• Viewers can watch Green Book on the Prime streaming site.
4. Belle (2013)
The actual tale of Dido Elizabeth Belle, the multiracial, illegitimate child of British Naval Commander Sir John Lindsay, served as the basis for this film. Her royal great-uncle, 1st Earl of Mansfield, William Murray, with his spouse, nurtured Belle, who enjoys some benefits due to her heritage but is unable to fully partake in the customs of her social status due to the color of her complexion.
Belle, who now is left to question if she will ever find a partner, cares for a change-driven, enthusiastic young vicar’s boy. With her assistance, he molds Lord Mansfield’s function as Head Of The judiciary to abolish slavery in England.
• Viewers can watch Belle on the Prime streaming site.
5. The Long Walk Home (1990)
The wealthy Miriam Thompson’s babysitter, Odessa Carter, has to get to duty, but she won’t take the subway. Miriam chooses to give Odessa a lift to the workplace each day because she is rebelling against the disparity between whites and blacks by partaking in the bus boycott in Montgomery.
Even though both the neighborhood and Miriam’s spouse urge her not to become involved, their connection has already improved.
• Viewers can watch The Long Walk Home on the Prime streaming site.
6. Freedom Song (2000)
The story of Freedom Song is narrated in memories from the viewpoint of Owen Walker, a student in high school in the 1960s in the fictitious Mississippian town of Quinlan. Owen, who grew up in a segregated black enclave, is unaware of the persistence of white supremacy in his hometown until he encounters several bigots at a nearby bus stop.
Owen, 5, accidentally walks inside the “Whites Only” cafe while awaiting the bus. Will, the father, promptly follows following and is compelled to beat his kid in front of others by the white waitstaff.
• Viewers can watch Freedom Song on the Prime streaming site.
7. Remember The Titans (2000)
Education in southern Virginia has been separated for decades. Below a federal mandate to merge, one Black education system and another White high school have closed, sending their pupils to T.C. Williams Academy. The year is portrayed from the perspective of the sports team when the extraordinarily successful white trainer is replaced as head coach by the guy recruited to manage the Black school.
The team, which is modeled on the actual stories of 1971, is becoming society’s bonding emblem as the boys, as well as adults, grow to rely on and respect one another.
• Viewers can watch Remember The Titans on the Disney+ streaming site.
8. Django Unchained (2012)
In the middle of the 1800s, a retired doctor gone hitman named Dr. King Schultz buys Django’s freedom from a couple of slave dealers to find and kill those people he wants dead.
Then, with Schultz’s help, Django makes an effort to track down and set free Broomhilda, who had also been sold into slavery by an unknown owner. They fly to the businessman-run estate of Candieland. They also have some reservations about Stephen, the master slave.
• Viewers can watch Django Unchained on Prime and Netflix streaming sites.
9. The Butler (2013)
As a young boy in the 1920s, Cecil Gaines, a sharecropper’s child, worked as a housekeeper serving a white family that had so carelessly ruined his. Throughout the 1950s, Cecil ends up going it alone and develops into a hotel attendant of such skill and discretion that he is hired as a manservant in the White House.
There, Cecil would, throughout the years, serve several US Presidents while becoming a bystander to events as the American Civil Rights Movement gained strength and his own family was experiencing difficulties. Cecil must choose whether to act independently while his wife Gloria battles her dependencies and his headstrong eldest son Louis fights for a just society.
• Viewers can watch The Butler on the Netflix streaming site.
10. The Autobiography Of Miss Jane Pittman (1974)
A New York writer travels to Bayonne in February 1962, even as the movement for civil rights is beginning to spread there, to meet Jane Pittman, who had just turned 110.
She shares with him her life’s journey, beginning with her fondest memories before enslavement was abolished, an arduous journey towards freedom, her wedding to Joe Pittman, the educational career of her adopted son Ned, raising Jimmy, who later comes back as a civil rights activist, and her personal choice to get involved in modern issues. Between each narrative of her past, Jimmy dramatizes the current challenges of Black people in Bayonne.
• Viewers can watch The Autobiography Of Miss Jane Pittman on the Prime streaming site.
11. The Secret Life Of Bees (2008)
Little Lily Owens’ coming-of-age story in the segregated, southern Part of the state in 1964 takes an unexpected turn when both she and her cherished servant Rosaleen are thrust into a dangerous scenario with life-threatening violence as a result of exercising their voting rights.
The two can gain entry into the courteous Boatright sisters’ house and hearts and wind up having more than they bargained for as a result of being employed by the affluent beekeeping household.
• Viewers can watch The Secret Life Of Bees on the Prime streaming site.
12. Precious (2009)
In the 1980s, a junior high school pupil from Harlem, Claireece Jones, 16, is an uneducated, not-so-sweet girl who is alarmingly fat. Despite being called “Precious,” none appears to accept it. She is harassed, taunted, and shoved about on the roads; in private, circumstances are far worse.
Precious, who has already given birth to her second kid, has been abused and is now trying to survive by enclosing herself in the haven of illusion, where everything is perfect, and she is the shining light. Who knows, perhaps the affection and empathy that all the damaged but precious individuals seek are concealed somewhere on our planet.
• Viewers can watch Precious on the Prime streaming site.
13. Harriet (2019)
The film Harriet tells the amazing tale of Harriet Tubman’s freedom from slavery and transformation into one of history’s greatest heroines. It draws inspiration from the inspiring true account of a well-known American revolutionary commander. Her tenacity, ingenuity, and daring effectively freed several slaves, setting a new standard.
• Viewers can watch Harriet on Netflix and Prime streaming sites.
14. Once Upon A Time… When We Were Colored (1995)
This movie tells the tale of a close-knit Afro-American neighborhood known as Colored City, where the residents rely on one another to survive in a society rife with racial persecution. Cliff, a youngster who lived his infancy there, tells the narrative. Notwithstanding this, we witness the society’s existence, complete with its pleasures and tragedies, as some residents choose to remain while others leave in search of a better living in the north.
For the survivors, things become severe when a white rival uses racial harassment to force out a well-known businessman. In reaction, society must choose whether to finally speak out for its liberties or to acquiesce quietly as they always have.
• Viewers can watch Once Upon A Time… When We Were Colored on the YouTube streaming site.
15. Selma (2014)
In the remarkable true message, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spearheaded a risky effort to gain the right to vote amid violent opposition during the turbulent three-month period in 1965. Another of the most important triumphs for the movement for civil rights came at the end of the long journey from Selma in Dallas County to Montgomery when President Johnson signed the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
“Selma,” a film by filmmaker Ava DuVernay, depicts how Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a transformational thinker, and his fellow movement members brought about change that permanently changed history.
• Viewers can watch Selma on the Prime streaming site.
Also Read: 30 Movies Like Conjuring: Of The Children In Haunted Places
16. The Blind Side (2009)
Based on the actual account of Leigh Anne with Sean Tuohy, who adopted Michael Oher, a destitute African-American youngster. Michael’s mom is a heroin addict, and he doesn’t have any knowledge of who his dad is. Michael hasn’t gotten a lot of formal schooling, and he doesn’t have many learning tools.
But as is her way, Leigh Anne quickly assumes control and makes sure the young person has every chance of succeeding. She goes above and above to support him when he exhibits enthusiasm for football, especially by offering the coach some suggestions on how to utilize Michael’s talents. The Baltimore Ravens selected Michael Oher in the initial round of the NFL 2009 Draft Pick.
• Viewers can watch The Blind Side on Netflix and Prime streaming sites.
17. 12 Years A Slave (2013)
based on the real amazing account of one man’s struggle for independence and preservation. A liberated black man living in New York’s upstate named Solomon Northup is kidnapped and turned into a slave who was before Civil War America.
Solomon fights not just for his life but also for his dignity as he encounters surprising acts of kindness and brutality symbolized by a sadistic slave master. Solomon’s accidental encounter with a Canadian activist throughout the twelfth year after his epic journey will permanently change his life.
• Viewers can watch 12 Years A Slave on the Prime streaming site.
18. All The Way (2016)
President Lyndon B. Johnson took office after President JFK was assassinated. One of his first formal responsibilities as president was to reaffirm the US commitment of the government to enacting the Civil Rights Act.
True equality for people of all races, including the opportunity to vote, the chance to an educated, and the ability to use common spaces, are guaranteed by this statute, which was drafted when JFK was in office. But the bill is facing strong opposition, especially from inside his party. He will have to use all of his leadership abilities and tenacity to pass it.
• Viewers can watch All The Way on the Disney+ streaming site.
19. King In The Wilderness (2018)
The movie features some previously unseen videos of conversations with some of King’s closest friends and family members intercut with historic archival material from a time in his life.
Despite hurting President Lyndon Johnson, Director Of the FBI Edgar Hoover, along with countless other rebel factions, King did not back down from the anti-war and civil rights struggles of his day, notwithstanding his consciousness because he was reaching an understanding with his impending death.
• Viewers can watch King In The Wilderness on the HBO streaming site.
20. I Am Not Your Negro (2016)
In a correspondence to his writing partner in 1979, James Baldwin discussed his next book, “Remember This House.” Three of his acquaintances, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., and Medgar Evers, were to be the subjects of a groundbreaking, first-person narrative of their existence and killings in work.
Baldwin had just 30 finished pages of this work when he passed away in 1987. Director Raoul Peck imagines the unfinished manuscript of James Baldwin.
• Viewers can watch I Am Not Your Negro on the Prime streaming site.
21. Lincoln (2012)
President Abraham Lincoln devoted the full scope of his enthusiasm, compassion, and political savvy to what would eventually be his characterizing vestige: to end the conflict and abolitionize enslavement with the 13th Amendment. At the time, the country was still mired in the American Revolution, which had claimed a high death toll.
Lincoln advances with enormous courage, intelligence, and moral fortitude to force the country and those in authority who disagree with him to work for the better good of all people.
• Viewers can watch Lincoln on the Prime streaming site.
22. Fences (2012)
Everyone seems to have personal struggles or mysteries that, as with most households, they strive to either repress or hide to preserve a feeling of normality. The film explores several issues, including family relationships, inner realities, and, most importantly, the strength of forgiveness. In the movie Fences, a guy who has experienced emotional trauma battles his past while still attempting to keep his family afloat.
Yet, as we delve further into Troy Maxon’s narrative, repressed feelings and long-kept intimate details come to light and put the Maxon family’s relationships under strain.
• Viewers can watch Fences on the Prime streaming site.
23. Mudbound (2017)
Two families—one Black and the other white—are compelled to live on a common parcel of land in the swampy Mississippi Delta after World War II while maintaining a tenuous, racialized peace. The long-awaited homecoming of 2 former soldiers, Ronsel, the elder brother of the Jacksons family, and Jamie, the younger brother of Henry McAllan, though, will unintentionally foster a blossoming bond that surpasses bigotry and ethnicity as they both battle with adversity and impoverishment.
But in conclusion, when segregation and discrimination are still the dominant of the land, life may be difficult against even a background of febrile Mississippi afternoons and virulent bigotry. Nobody will then be secure.
• Viewers can watch Mudbound on the Netflix streaming site.
24. Betty & Coretta (2013)
The planned Lifetime TV movie “Betty and Coretta” has accomplished an unmatched double-header for people who have wanted for Industry to emphasize the abilities of more black Hollywood stars and draw out further African American women and their tales.
After the terrible passing of their spouses, Dr. Betty Shabazz, the widow of Malcolm X, and Coretta Scott King, the widow of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., became friends. They maintained their honor while continuing the fight for civil freedoms, and they became well-known as exceptional role models for many females around the world.
• Viewers can watch The Woman King on the Prime streaming site.
25. Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner (1967)
Joey Drayton invites her betrothed, Dr. John Prentice, to visit her wealthy parents in beautiful San Francisco. Their liberal beliefs are currently being tested. The young guy is a perfect candidate since he is well-known and recognized in the healthcare world, has impeccable manners, is attractive, is well-dressed, and comes from a prominent family in California. However, he is Black.
The movie, which follows one hectic day in the hectic Drayton household, is largely a cross-talk humor here between the young doctor as well as the woman in question’s family, as well as between the entire kids and their parents. The surgeon’s family, who travel in through Los Angeles for the occasion, and the crotchety but kind old Irish clergyman, a relative of the family, are offered a straightforward party invitation.
• Viewers can watch Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner on the Prime streaming site.
26. 42 (2013)
Jackie Robinson, a baseball player for the Black League in 1946, seldom accepts prejudice sitting down. Branch Rickey is the owner of a Professional League Baseball team with a radical plan. To do this, Rickey enlists Robinson to become the first contemporary African American Pro Baseball player, breaking the unwritten color barrier.
This is a significant difficulty for Robinson as well as his household as they deal with persistent racial hatred from players and spectators alike as well as on and beyond the pitch, as both parties expect. Jackie finds supporters and hope in unexpected places as he fights against his propensity to put up with such mistreatment without objecting.
• Viewers can watch 42 on the Prime streaming site.
27. John Lewis: Good Trouble (2020)
The movie documents Lewis’s more than 60 years of social activity and congressional change on immigrants, voter rights, gun restrictions, and other issues using testimonials and unique archive videos.
Lewis, who is currently 79 years old, is interviewed in the present to examine his early memories, his amazing household, and his momentous encounter in 1957 with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Porter’s mostly cinéma verité film features conversations with prominent politicians; Lewis’ parliamentary peers, and other significant figures in conjunction to her conversations with him and his family.
• Viewers can watch John Lewis: Good Trouble on the Prime streaming site.
28. The United States Vs. Billie Holiday (2021)
In 1957, Reginald Lord Devine, a broadcast reporter, speaks with Billie Holiday to do an article. He inquires about her experiences as a “colored lady” and the difficulties she continues to face as a result of her catchy tune Strange Fruit. According to Billie, it’s also about humanitarian law, which the government frequently disregards.
In a 1947 flashback, Billie’s spouse Monroe as well as agent Joe Glaser, attempt to persuade her to remove Strange Fruit off her performance schedule by claiming that senior government officials are unwilling to see her perform it. Billie’s saxophonist, Lester Young, encourages her to play it.
- Viewers can watch The United States Vs. Billie Holiday on the Hulu streaming site.
29. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020)
1927 in Chicago. The hand-selected musicians of Ma Rainey’s backup band pass the time joking around on a warm, muggy hot afternoon while they wait for the iconic American jazz singer to arrive so they can tape some of her most well-known songs. As soon as the diva arrives late for the appointment, tensions quickly rise, and terrible truths are revealed.
As a result, it is challenging to capture Ma’s emotional, passionate accent on vinyl and finish it due to conceited desire, self-assured hubris, a significant generational difference, and generations of black enslavement. The resolute Mother of the Blues, however, is aware that she is the highlight of the evening and will not be disregarded.
- Viewers can watch Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom on the Netflix streaming site.
30. Master (2022)
The prestigious New England institution Ancaster has named Gail Bishop its first Black dean. The institution’s students think Margaret Millett’s apparition, who was executed nearby after being convicted of sorcery, has a jinx on the building. As a student, Jasmine Moore checks in and is put in dorm 302 with her white companion Amelia.
In 1965, Louisa Weeks, Ancaster University’s inaugural Black student, resided in their chamber before she hanged herself.
- Viewers can watch Master on the Prime streaming site.
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