'The Help' added to 'Moving Books' series

COEUR d'ALENE - In conjunction with the Smithsonian exhibit "The Way We Work," the film "The Help" has been added to the schedule for the "Moving Books" series at the Coeur d'Alene Public Library and will be offered Thursday, Jan. 5.

Movies in the series - films based on books - will begin screening a half-hour earlier at 7 p.m. with the exception of an upcoming family film to be shown at 6 p.m.

"The Help," a 2011 comedy-drama based on the book by Kathryn Stockett, is about a young white woman, Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan, and her relationship with two black maids in Civil Rights-era America in the early 1960s.

Skeeter is a journalist who decides to write a controversial book from the point of view of the maids, exposing the racism they are faced with as they work for white families. The movie stars Viola Davis and Emma Stone. "The Help" replaces "Sophie's Choice" that was to be shown on Jan. 5.

"Since the library is hosting a Smithsonian exhibit about work and our attitudes toward workers, it seemed appropriate to share this movie at this time," said Ruth Pratt, executive director for the Library Foundation that sponsors the "Moving Books" series.

A $5 donation is suggested to attend the movie to be shown on the big screen in the library's Community Room. Free popcorn is provided. Proceeds go to enhance the library's DVD collection.

Coming attractions include "All the King's Men," Feb. 2; "The Lincoln Lawyer," March 1; "Tangled," April 5 (at 6 p.m.); and "Charlie Wilson's War," May 3.

"The Way We Worked" - on display at the library through Jan. 28 - is part of Museum on Main Street, a collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution and state humanities councils nationwide.