The Secret Life of Bees: The Symbolism of Women

By Laura Major

The official trailer for The Secret Life of Bees, starring Queen Latifah, Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys, Sophie Okonedo and Paul Bettany. In theatres everywhere October 17th.

 

THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES
Release: October 17, 2008

Written for the Screen and Directed by: Gina Prince-Bythewood
Based upon the novel by: Sue Monk Kidd
Cast: Queen Latifah, Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys,
Sophie Okonedo, Nate Parker, Tristan Wilds, Hilarie Burton and Paul Bettany

THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES, based on the New York Times best selling novel and set in South Carolina in 1964, is the moving tale of Lily Owens (Fanning) a 14 year-old girl who is haunted by the memory of her late mother (Burton). To escape her lonely life and troubled relationship with her father (Bettany), Lily flees with Rosaleen (Hudson), her caregiver and only friend, to a South Carolina town that holds the secret to her mother's past. Taken in by the intelligent and independent Boatwright sisters (Latifah, Okonedo and Keys), Lily finds solace in their mesmerizing world of beekeeping.

             Offering the unique perspective and timeless thematic illustrations of womanhood that transcends race and age is Sue Monk Kidd's 2002 literary work, New York Times best seller The Secret Life of Bees. In it, we witness the journey toward love and acceptance for teenager Lily Owens, played by Sam I Am star, Dakota Fanning. Lily, the product of an abusive home in 1960's South Carolina, leaves home with her African American nanny played by Dream Girls Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson to find her place in the world after her mother dies.

             The adaptation set for a mid-October 2008 release is unlike the usual Civil Rights period-piece despite a preponderance of African American characters. While the injustice of racism is definitely a strong facet of the film, so is the growing bond among women and the realization of their own power for Lily, her nanny Rosaleen and the educated self-sufficient African American Boatwright sisters who board them. When asked what compelled her to take the role, Fanning replied, "I'm from the south so I could relate to a lot of the themes in the story and I'm really close to my mother and all the women in my life..."

             Adolescence is a time when a girl looks to the women in her life as an example of womanhood, when Fanning was asked about Lily's transformation after her mother's death, she said, "Definitely [it was challenging] for my character, Jennifer Hudson's character is the only mother she's ever known pretty much in her whole life. So their relationship is pretty special..."

             The relationship between Hudson's Rosaleen and Fanning's Lily is not the only instance where female bonding transcends race despite the Civil Rights setting. When Ella Curry, Literary Publicist and CEO of EDC Creations asked Queen Latifah, the Oscar-nominated actor of Chicago, what made August Boatwright her matriarchal character special, she had this to say, "She's a person who gives love. She's compassionate to a white girl and a black girl... [In the early 1960's]...many people would say 'Not here. Keep steppin' and made them continue to walk...August is like, 'Well come on in, you can work it off here...'"

             For many, love and self-acceptance are classic life lessons. When Curry asked Director Gina Prince-Bythewood about the impact she hoped to bestow on viewers, she said, "...this idea of the Black Madonna that these Boatwright sisters grew up with and the belief that what is black can be beautiful and divine and I just thought like 'Wow, young girls could grow up with that how different we would be...'"

             When asked about the significance of the Black Madonna, Sue Monk Kidd elaborated,"...I wanted her to function that way in the story as a symbol of empowerment but also compassion as she had a heart painted on her chest...they would draw solace, courage... and feel like they had a place of belonging" The Black Madonna had a fist as well and Monk-Kidd said about that, "...that was purposeful. It was the sense of these women having that attitude they needed to survive at a very cruel time..."

The Secret Life of Bees represents the need for women to accept their differences and revel in their similarities in order to possess the courage and support each other in living a life of their own choosing.

About Laura Major:  Laura Major is a multicultural fiction author and freelance writer residing in the greater Phoenix area of Arizona. Her first novel, Mismatched was published by Amira Press in February of 2008. Laura also manages a multicultural website, Sable Lit Reviews.com, one of the few of its kind providing commentary on the multicultural impact of current events as well as multicultural book reviews.

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