Octavia Spencer – The Help – cleans up at the awards

Octavia Spencer finished her amazing sweep of awards this year with a round off from the Oscars.

Best Supporting Actress, Octavia Spencer, Academy Awards® 2012

Best Supporting Actress, Octavia Spencer, Golden Globes® 2012

Best Supporting Actress, Octavia Spencer, BAFTA® Awards 2012

Spencer, became only the sixth black woman to win an Oscar. Some may argue that it is not the type of role they would have hoped for in representation of Black women in cinema.

The film and the book on which ‘The Help’ is based caused the Association of Black Woman Historians to release a statement saying that “The Help’s representation of these women is a disappointing resurrection of Mammy … the caricature allowed mainstream America to ignore the systemic racism that bound black women to back-breaking, low-paying jobs where employers routinely exploited them.”

Do you think that roles for Black actresses are stagnated or did Spencer just truely stand out from the crowd?

The Help, arrives on Blu-ray™ and DVD from 12 March 2012.

Academy Award® nominee Viola Davis (Doubt, Eat, Pray, Love) stars alongside Octavia Spencer – in the role which has garnered her a Golden Globe, BAFTA Award and Oscar for Best Supporting Actress -, Jessica Chastain (Tree Of Life, The Debt), Emma Stone (Crazy Stupid Love, Easy A) and Bryce Dallas Howard (Twilight Eclipse, 50/50) in this uplifting, poignant drama about three very different, extraordinary women in Jackson, Mississippi during the 1960s.

Their friendship begins when a young writer challenges the system for what she believes is right – a secret writing project which will break society rules and put them all at risk. From their improbable alliance a remarkable sisterhood emerges, giving all of them courage to challenge the lines that define them and to cross those lines – even if it means bringing everyone in town face-to-face with the changing times.

Deeply moving and filled with humour and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the ability to create change and is available to own on Blu-ray™ and DVD from 12 March 2012.