The Secret Life of Bees (2008)

The Secret Life of Bee's is set in the 1950's in the Southern States of America. It is set in the middle of the civil rights movment. This movie involves Dakota Fanning, Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys and Jennifer Hudson and other faces you will recognise. Dakota plays a young girl who is emotionally and physically abused by her evil Father, from a very young age she was told that she killed her own mother. She has grown up with this guilt, unsure where she stands in her life so she turns to her servant Rosaline as they both escape and go in search for evidence of the memory and life of her mother and they find themselves in a honey farm, surrounded by strong, black women. I personally thought that this film was a good insight into the lives of Americans during this time of prejudice, facing the issues of segregation and inter-racial relationships and lost childhood. The imagery that stood out most to me was when her father cruelly tortured his daughter at the beginning of the movie, which engagages the audience and enables them to empathise with Lily.(Dakota) Lily learns that to move forward with her life, she must first look back and heal the wounds of her past and leave behind her demons. This films really opens your eyes to the serious issues within rather than being just another shallow chick flick.