“The Help,” an adaptation of a Kate Stockett film, has received eight image award nominations. The film, about black maids in the south, received the most nominations from the 43rd annual NAACP Image Awards. It is also competing for outstanding motion picture against “Jumping the Broom,” “Pariah,” “The First Grader,” and “Tower Heist.”
The awards show is set to air on February 17th. The film has been in the middle of controversy, after it was alleged that Kate Stockett stole the story from the black maid who worked for her brother. The suit was filed by Ablene Cooper, whose name is strikingly close to the main character of “The Help,” Abilene. The suit was thrown out because it was filed after the statute of limitations had passed.
Others, including scholar Miriam Harris, took offense to the contents of the film. In an article titled “Kathryn Stockett is not my sister and I am not her help,” professor Harris explains why the film is offensive to African American women:
“I did not attend Wednesday’s movie release of ‘The Help’ from DreamWorks Pictures, based on the New York Times best-selling novel by Kathryn Stockett, she said. ”Why, you ask? Because I read the book.”
