‘Downton Abbey’ and ‘The Help’—What Their Nostalgic Portrayals of Domestic Service Get Wrong
Americans can’t get enough of servants these days—or at least in these tough times, American audiences can’t get enough of art that explores the interaction between domestic help and employers. Both The Help—about to be feted at the Oscars—and “Downton Abbey”—about to air a much-anticipated finale—open up that uncomfortable subject with fast-paced storytelling and broad emotional appeal. But both also stop short of really showing the ugliness, the toll these kinds of skewed relationships would likely take on their participants.
(Read more at AlterNet)
