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film. There is no care taken to fully exploring the feelings of Constantine--her entire involvement
in this film is in relation to Skeeter, and Skeeter’s thoughts and feelings in regard to Constantine.

That brings us to a place where we can clearly see that Skeeter has used the stories of
these women to prop herself up and complete her journey of self discovery. Valerie Smith makes
note of this in her essay, "...their focus on the sacrifice and transformation of the white
protagonist reproduces the racial hierarchy they seek to dismantle and de-emphasizes the history
of the disenfranchised" (31). Despite Skeeter's intentions, the struggles of Aibileen, Minny, and
the other maids are minimized by the end of the film. She becomes the voice, and they are left
mute in their own stories because they are all painted as the help, modern-day mammies whose
personal lives remain mysteries to uphold the nostalgia that white people wish to view them
with. Skeeter, on the other hand, is given a glamorous ending as she receives the job offer she
wanted and will now move to New York City, far away from the social environment that
functions on the harmful notions of Black domestic help as a foundation of its livelihood.

This unreliable ending doesn't do anything to debunk the mammy narrative and the
southern mythologies involved. We are left to think that Aibileen and Minny will be alright,
despite the rampant and racially charged violence that occurs in a place like Jackson. This type
of ending is meant to pacify viewers into thinking that Skeeter, the white savior, has done a good
job in shining a light on these women's struggles--when in turn she has exposed them to dangers
she will never know about or likely have to worry about. Which, again, circles back to the
anonymity that comes along with the mammy narrative because their private lives are of little
importance--their suffering, their trauma, and the erasure of their voices are all irrelevant. That
narrative of irrelevance is more harmful than anything to the image and lives of these Black