Issue 29
Kingdom Knowledge & Practice

You and I are all family

【Heart Follows Shadow】5 Recalling the American Dream from the Movie "Sisters"

On an uninterrupted holiday, the two of us got together and watched the movie "The Help", which unexpectedly brought back memories of our American dream coming true more than 20 years ago.


The plot of the movie takes place in Jackson, Mississippi in 1962; due to the special cultural background at that time, a series of bizarre and unequal stories happened between the black and white races. White people talk about justice and love, but they humiliate black servants in public without mercy; black people who dare to be angry but dare not speak out use the pastor's sermon "The invitation of the Lord Jesus to send Moses out of Egypt" during Sunday worship, and Groups come together to expose the suppressed reality.

Innocence crosses color lines


From 1988 to 1990, we went to Jackson every week and heard many jokes from local white friends about black people, saying that black people’s red lips and purple tongues are poisonous. We were also familiar with the history of local cultural discrimination, such as: In the same company, black people and white people have different entrances and exits; if a white person calls the police, a black person can go to jail without any reason or trial; when queuing up to buy something, white people can jump in line in front of black people at will; after hearing this, not only Indignation, but tears and disbelief.


I really hope this is an exaggerated story, but my husband definitely said that due to the unfair justice, the black people in Jackson City do have "white phobia"; watching this movie brought me many memories, and our husband and wife started from scratch. The company was established in this city. Once, we unknowingly walked into an all-black restaurant. In the 1990s, thirty years after the incident, those colored eyes staring at us were like seeing aliens. The strange look from the intruder, and the reluctant and incomprehensible reception from the restaurant waiter, still make me laugh. But the five of us went in to dine calmly, turning a blind eye to the city's unreasonable culture, and were not frightened by cultural discrimination, because we were innocent and had no deep-rooted skin color boundaries.


We were a group of four Chinese men, all 180cm tall and handsome, aged 44, 35, 34 and 17 years old respectively. I, a Shandong girl, was not bad either, with a height of 165cm. Later, I met a local white man A friend told me that the restaurant owner said he had never received such well-dressed Chinese people. We bought the business established by this white friend and brought a group of black people to Houston. We originally wanted to bring a white person over, but the white friend didn't "dare", but a black friend volunteered to follow us.


Thinking about it now, the courage of these gangsters is worthy of awards; they are willing to follow foreigners they have known for less than two years to seek life in a strange city, leaving their unfair hometown where "warm is suddenly cold". Maybe it’s an honor for us, the third party! It wasn't until I watched the movie "Sisters" that I realized how poignant it was.

Everyone in the world is in the same boat


When we started the American business, we had both white and black supporters. The endless twists and turns in the history of entrepreneurship are all thanks to the power God brought together through all kinds of noble people.


We entered the track from traditional business, and occasionally derailed in small standards, and now we are far hidden in the free cultural market. Looking back at the two black people from Jackson City who are still following us, they are my family members. We eat mooncakes together during the Mid-Autumn Festival, and we say goodbye to each other during the Chinese New Year. I personally verified with them that "there is no love in love." Fear" is true. The black heroine of the Sisters movie who willingly went off the rails is the hope of today’s culture.


But since 1962 to the present, the same drama is still being played out, regardless of Chinese or foreign, race, occupation, gender or age; discrimination in people's hearts is always being pursued and treated. I hope my inner world will take root every day. In a renewed life, don’t let the pride in your bones capsize due to unconscious behavior.


On that day, in heaven I will say: Yes, they are my brothers and sisters.

"Movie" plot synopsis


★Reigning at the top of the U.S. box office for 4 consecutive weeks, this touching film grossed more than 164 million US dollars.
★ A popular film that won the Oscar in 2012 and participated in the 2011 Golden Horse International Film Festival

The movie "Sisters" is adapted from Katharine Stockett's 5 million-selling novel of the same name, starring "Mature Boy" actress Emma Stone and "Seduction" Oscar-nominated actor Viola Davis, supporting actress Octavia Spencer in the TV series "Ugly Betty", starring four-time Emmy Award winner Allison Janney and Oscar-winning actress Sissy Spacek in the TV series "The West Wing".


The story describes a 23-year-old white girl named Skeet who had just graduated from college and returned to her hometown in Mississippi in 1962. She dreamed of becoming a writer, but her mother in her conservative hometown believed that a good marriage was a woman's destiny. Skeet was raised by a maid, who was a good friend to whom she confided her concerns. However, when she returned home this time, she found that the maid had left without saying goodbye.


Skeet, who has a kind personality, has always treated black maids like family members, but she found that black maids who raised children for white people often received unequal treatment in terms of life and attitude. One day, Skeet's friend Hilly drafted a sanitation plan. She was afraid that black people might carry viruses, so she suggested building a new toilet for the helpers. Feeling aggrieved by this, Skeet decided to embark on a bold writing project: to interview black maids about the joys and hardships of working in white families, and write a book... Through the black maids telling their lives, the white girls record the stories, like a mobilization The Quiet Revolution was also like an era where skin color was clear and black, and morals were black and white but ambiguous. Their encounter was the first bridge between black and white before the civil rights movement took place...


Author's Profile Kang Jieli, in her golden years, although she forgot about her grandchildren, her noisy emotions rippled in her forgetful thoughts; she heard the call to sell everything and buy pearls at a high price. The new shoots suddenly sprouted; the quiet body of the writing moved me again! He has lived in Houston for 28 years and is currently a member of the Chinese Church in West Houston.