To what extent can you tell someone else’s story? Is “The Help” uniquely American?

“Ablene Cooper, a nanny for the Stockett family that allegedly inspired Davis’ character, called her in the portrayal in the novel “embarrassing” and “emotionally upsetting.” Cooper filed a $75,000 lawsuit against the author in 2011, but it was ultimately dismissed by a Mississippi judge.” (USA Today, https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/movies/2020/06/08/the-help-isnt-helpful-resource-racism-heres-why/5322569002/) In “The Help” by Kathryn Stockett, Stockett used her own maid Ablene as the character prototype for Aibileen in “The Help”. I believe that one needs to acknowledge others if he/she is telling others’ story. It’s because the knowledge ultimately belongs to other people, as the writer does not own the knowledge. As long as others acknowledge the fact that their story will be used in books/movies, it is then less problematic for the creator, and more reassuring for those people whose stories are used elsewhere.

Is “The Help” uniquely American? One can argue that it is because it used elements specific to the American society such as the mentioning of Martin Luther King during the American Civil Rights Movement, the television series “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World”, and Jim Crow laws which enforced racial segregation in the Southern United States. Those elements belong specifically to American society and can create a connection to American readers. However, “The Help” is not uniquely American because the issue of racism exists everywhere in the world. By writing this book, Stockett is able to make readers more aware that this issue is serious and is impacting many people’s lives by putting the readers into the perspective of black maid’s lives. Thus, one can argue if  “The Help” is uniquely American, while it is unique when considering literary symbolism and events, it is not when we think of the bigger issue of racism which the book depicts.