DVD: 'The Help' sheds light on racism

Few book adaptations have been more highly or anxiously anticipated than "The Help," based on the 2009 bestseller. Readers who felt they came to intimately know characters such as Celia, Minny and Skeeter are likely to greet their alter egos onscreen like cherished friends, especially the nobly suffering Aibileen, brought to quietly watchful life by Viola Davis. Emma Stone plays Skeeter, the recent Ole Miss graduate who is searching for work as a writer as "The Help" opens. She gets a job as a newspaper cleaning-advice columnist, but when she asks Aibileen for tips, she realizes that the real story lies in the emotional lives of black women who raise their white employers' children but are treated as unfit to share a bathroom, much less political or economic power. One truth, which "The Help" deserves praise for bringing to light, is that racism should be understood less as a matter of black grievance than of unexamined white privilege and pathology. The DVD (Disney, $30) includes deleted scenes and a Mary J. Blige music video, while the Blu-ray ($40) adds a tribute to the maids of Mississippi.

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Out on DVD Tuesday 12/6

  • "Big Love" (Season 5)
  • "Cowboys & Aliens"
  • "The Debt"
  • "The Hangover, Part II"
  • "Mr. Popper's Penguins"
  • "The Simpsons" (Season 14)

Out on Blu-ray

  • "The Lady Vanishes"
  • "Tora! Tora! Tora!"

VIDEO GAMES: Mario enters a new dimension "Super Mario 3D Land" ($40 for 3DS; rated Everyone) brings Mario fully into the third dimension, finally taking advantage of the depth capabilities of Nintendo's latest handheld system. Areas of the game are almost impossible to complete without switching on the 3-D, which has certainly not been the case in the past. With good replay value and engaging levels, this is a must-have for 3DS owners.

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