Semiotics Final Paper

The Help Movie Semiotics Analysis

Asta Salfa Dita (155120207121001); Destialova Rully Cajuizi (155120207121011); Syarifah Saarah
Dhia Arifin (155120207121028)

I.Kom.6

Preface

A movie is a blend of art, audiovisual techniques, and communication that becomes a medium
between the creators and their target audience. The creators arrange, set, design the movie with
researched details according to what they want. They have their own habits, beliefs, and values which
they pertain, or sometimes no, but keep learning anyway, to pour it into the screen. Sometime the
three transmitted either symbolically or denotatively. Each has its own meaning which received by the
audience to help them suggest ideas about the content of a scene or a movie in a broad outline.

This paper was written as a requirement to complete semiotics courses in the authors’ 6th
semester of undergraduate study in communication major, Brawijaya University. The Help movie was
chosen because it contained similarity with a recent issue in Indonesia, civil right to another group,
tolerance, humanism values decrease. The Help is based on Kathryn Stockett’s novel, which portrays
true event, where discrimination and stereotyping become “normal” and how much it affected the way
people live at that time. It presents the analysis of racism and human right issue in United State, which
quite often poured into the screen. The Help (2011) showed us how discrimination against black
people took place in Jackson, Mississippi back then in the 1960s, when the United States was not
considered to be a very liberal country just yet. “There was no state with the record got approach
Mississipi in term of inhumanity, murder, brutality and racial hates. Mississipi was absolutely on the
bottom of the list.” The NAACP’s Roy Wilkins stated after the shooting incident of the civil right
activist in 1963.

The Help movie was directed by Tate Taylor and written by herself along with the novel
author, Kathryn Stockett. This drama genre movie starred by Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Octavia
Spencer, Bryce Dallas Howard and many more. The Help successfully won few categories in 80
awards and included in 116 nominations, a few of them are Academy Awards (2012), Golden Globes
(2012), BAFTA Awards (2012), and Screen Actors Guild Awards (2012).

Theoretical Framework

Semiotic and Movie Analysis

Semiotics or semiology is concerned with meaning. In other words; how meaning is

represented in its broadest sense, it generates meanings or processes meaning by which readers or
viewers comprehend or attribute meaning (Kilic & Sarlkartal, 2016). For visual images, or visual and
material culture more generally, semiotics is an inquiry that is wider than the study of symbolism, and
the use of semiotic analysis challenges concepts such as naturalism and realism (the notion that
images or objects can objectively depict something) and intentionality (the notion that the meaning of
images or objects is produced by the person who created it) (Curtin, n.d). Semiotics is often employed
in the analysis of the text (kilic&sarlkartal, 2016). Which means text is not only written in language
but everything that has mean and can deliver through text. In semiotic sign is thing that it learned.
Because, a sign can be defined basically as an entity such as words, images, and objects (Kilic &
Sarlkartal, 2016). Or it can be has a different meaning from what is seen and have different meaning.
 Semiotic is usually used to analyze a movie. Because in a movie there are many meanings of
a sign that can be seen / clearly defined. But some movies have a lot of hidden meanings that only
show off things that few people realize. Such as color, how the actor dress, text, the actor speech, etc.
In semiotic analysis, there are four types sign and codes exist, indexical signs, symbolic codes, iconic
sign and codes, and enigma code (Repper, 2013). Indexical signs are indicative signs indirectly
show a certain meaning, they act as a signal to existing knowledge. Symbolic codes are often pointed
at a glance, but because the code exists and the whole society uses it. For example, the pink color
symbolizes the woman, the white dove symbolizes peace, the black color symbolizes the darkness.
Signs and codes, these are signs and codes that have a real meaning like, a policeman means a cop.
They are meant to look like the thing itself. However, they always represent more than just the thing
itself. When we see a policeman, we also associate this with our cultural notions of "justice" or "law",
or even masculinity or toughness. Enigma code, is the important code type used in the movie this
creates a question that will be answered with text in the movie. These are often used in movie trailers
and posters. For example, "who killed the protagonist", or "how will they endure from the
apocalypse". They feel curious and attract the attention of viewers, with the aim of making the
audience into question and curious.

Racism and Discrimination

Racism and discrimination have been socio cultural constructs present throughout the United
States for multiple generations (Lockett, 2013). The dominant social majority maintains the hierarchal
power to shape and define what they deem an “inferior population” as seen with any other opposing
cultural group; this can be observed with the emergence of slavery and the African American minority
(Painter, 2007). The earliest and most visible form of historical racism was an easily distinguishable
difference based on darker skin tones or any biological likeness to African Americans (Lockett,
2013). Throughout history in the United States, the African American community has consistently
been the victim of social policies put in place to disenfranchise this population (Mauer& Chesney-
Lind, 2002; Painter, 2007; Parham, White &Ajamu, 1999). Racism has been experienced by the
Blacks since slavery was introduced in the USA as a system after 1619 landing of the first group of 20
Africans in Jamestown. This fact makes us realize that the USA has a long history of gradually
changing relationships between black and white Americans. African Americans were treated as if they
were inferior.

In today's technologically advanced society, media and technology greatly contribute to the
knowledge that shapes the views of the public. Because dominant socio-cultural influences have the
opportunity to adjust the exposure of the general population in the United States to maintain a sense of
cultural homeostasis, that is, where the dominant White culture is seen as superior in nature compared
to the inferior message displayed about racial and other ethnic minorities. The influence of media
combined with old cultural norms in the United States depicts African-Americans, especially African-
American men, as aggressive criminals (Akbar, 1981; Dixon, 2008; Painter, 2007; Parham et al.,
1999). For centuries, the dominant United States culture has disenfranchised racial and ethnic
minority populations (Mauer& Chesney-Lind, 2002; Painter, 2007; Parham, et al., 1999). Specifically,
the African American population has consistently been pathologized throughout U.S. history due to
cultural, physical, psychological, and social differences and this has been generated from a legacy of
systematic and institutional racism and discrimination (Lockett, 2013).

Case Study and Analysis

The movie The Help (2011) is set in the 1960s Jackson, Mississippi. It tells the story of a
young woman and striving journalist Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan and her relationship with black
housemaids Aibileen Clark and Minny Jackson. Having a profound relationship with Constantine, her
ex-housemaid who raised her since she was little, Skeeter decided to work on a book she wants to
write from the perspective of black housemaids, later exposing the racism and misconducts they have
been facing as they work for white families.
 In this paper we are going to try to analyze the signs and symbolism per point:

 This movie hints that on 1960s, to have a job is not on the priority list in a (white) woman’s
life. It is proven when Skeeter excitedly told her friends Hilly, Elizabeth, and Jolene that she
got a job at The Jackson Journal, they did not return their excitement regarding the topic as
they think there are many other things for them (wives) to do and having a job is not one of
them. They ended up sugar-coating their excitement for Skeeter and indirectly told her to find
a man already and get married. Also, earlier in the movie Aibileen talked about how Skeeter
is different with other women in this era, with no man and no baby on her side. Surely
different priorities are shown here between Skeeter’s and her friends’.
 Throughout the movie, it is quite obvious that appearance-wise Skeeter is styled differently
than the rest of the white women in the movie, especially her hair. While other women’s hairs
are often straight and styled with similar fashion, Skeeter’s hair is curly and she seemed to
style her hair with just a fair amount of effort to look sufficient. We believe this symbolism is
a conscious decision by the filmmakers to imply that Skeeter is a free-willed young woman
who is unbothered by the standards that are heavily imposed to women at that time, unlike the
rest of the women.

 In the movie, there is a brief church scene where it shows a church filled with black people
fanning themselves with a piece of paper and hand-held fan (in the first and second picture
below), sweats visibly forming on their foreheads (third picture). In the church there is not a
single fan or air conditioner installed. With the segregation of public places between white
and colored people, and with colored people being on the lower stratum in American society
at that time, the implication, or hint we got is that the white people’s church must be most
definitely better than the colored people’s (although not shown throughout the movie). That
colored people only deserve less good treatments and facilitation than that of white people.
 Minny used to work for Hilly Holbrook, but after she purposely made a mistake to Hilly she
was immediately fired. Not long after, she took a job at Celia Foote’s house as a housemaid.
To her surprise, Celia treated her so much better and even acted friendly to her. For example,
when Minny was about to eat her lunch in her house. Maids were not supposed to ate in
dining room, and they usually had to eat in a different table (in the kitchen, far away from the
dining room). Minny was taken aback with her employer’s friendly behavior. It is uncommon
in the 1960s America that white people treat colored people equally as there were the
‘superior-inferior’ relationship between the two races.

If we talk about symbolism in this particular frame, the body language between Minny (the
housemaid) and Celia is quite interesting. As we can see, Minny is standing with her hands on
the table, like when a boss is demanding something from her staff. It is pretty contrast in
reality where Celia is in fact her boss.

 Discrimination and racism are the sole theme of this movie. They are very apparent in the
scene when Aibileen and Henry (a black guy) were the only colored people on the bus that
was taking them home. Suddenly the bus came to a halt, and the bus conductor announced,
“Colored people off, the rest of you (white people) let me know where you’re going.” The
reason he announced this was because at the moment the police found a black guy shot,
probably related to the civil rights movement in the 1960s. The sign, the words he is saying,
really discriminates the treatment between white people and colored people. The movie
implied it was dangerous for people to be outside of their homes after the shooting occurred.
Instead, the bus conductor told Aibileen and Henry to get off the bus, not caring about their
safety despite the shooting. The bus conductor only cared about the safety of white people,
hence the emphasis of discrimination and racism.
 The scene below shows Minny and Aibileen shopping in their maid clothes when suddenly an
old white lady was standing in front of them. None of them were saying anything verbally,
but body language really speaks volume here. As we can see, the way the old white lady was
standing unmoving really tells that she was demanding the maids to make way for her, since
she is white, the superior race. The way Aibileen informed her lips in a straight line and
bowed her head to the white lady indicates that she admitted defeat in the situation, since she
is a colored person, the inferior race.

 Aibileen just came back from shopping to Elizabeth’s house (her employer) and finding
Elizabeth and Hilly Holbrook standing side to side in the house. Long story short, Hilly
randomly accused Aibileen of stealing a few pieces of Elizabeth’s silverware after she found
out that Aibileen helped Skeeter write the ‘scandalous’ book containing Hilly’s secret
ignominy. Aibileen was fired and as she got out of her employer’s house, she intends this was
going to be her last job as a housemaid.

This frame below shows the ending of the movie, where Aibileen is seen walking to the long
road ahead of her. The interesting part of the ending is the movie was not immediately cut
 when Aibileen was walking, instead the movie shows three minutes of Aibileen walking the
long road until the frame turns into blank screen. Do notice what is inside this frame below; a
long road with many turns ahead of her. This might be a symbolism to tell the audience that
Aibileen is free now, she can choose what she wants to do and that her path still lays far
ahead of her. Her monologue in the end implicitly tell the audience she decided to be a writer.
And do notice one more thing; after three minutes of walking straight ahead, she finally turn
left. The left turn could be interpreted as her decision to be a writer.

References

Akbar, N. (1981). Mental disorders among African Americans. Black Books Bulletin, 7,18-25.
Curtin, B. (n.d). Semiotics and Visual Representation. 51-62.
Dixon, T. L., & Azocar, C. L. (2007). Priming crime and activating blackness: Understanding the
psychological impact of the overrepresentation of blacks as law breakers on television news.
Journal of Communication, 57, 229-253. DOI:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2007.00341.x
Lockett, T. N. (2013). Effects of racism and discrimination on personality development among
African American Male repeats offenders. 6-24.
Mauer, M., & Chesney-Lind, M. (Eds.). (2002). Invisible Punishment: The collateral consequences of
mass imprisonment. New York: New Press.
Painter, N. I. (2007). Creating black Americans. New York: Oxford University Press.
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Repper, M.D. (2013). How to Analyse Movies #2: Signs, Codes & Conventions. Retrieved on May
14, 2018, from https://www.filminquiry.com/analyse-movies-signs/

Szulkowska, A. (2017). The problem of racism in Kathryn Stockett’s novel The Help. 41-53. DOI
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