Lee Daniel’s “The Butler” tells an important story that is crucial to Black and American history. It contains multiple messages throughout the movie, based on different issues during the time periods. There are a variety of factors that contribute to delivering the message like the characters, relationships, confrontational scenes, and more. Some viewers thought the message was clear, some thought it was difficult to see, and others thought some issues were too simplified.
In the opening scene of the movie, the owner of the sharecropping farm in Alabama rapes Cecil Gaines’s mother. Cecil asks his father what he is going to do about it. His father says one thing to the overseer and he gets shot to death. This is the first message; black lives did not matter and could be taken away without a second thought about it or…show more content… Shortly after arriving he begins participating in the freedom rides and lunch counter sit-ins. “Hundreds of students, freedom riders, were arrested in Jackson Mississippi and other southern cities. Many students were expelled from schools and colleges because of their participation in the movement.” (Philips). Cecil did not support his son doing that, which is initially surprising. Cecil has worked for and around white people for his whole life, so he sees things differently from Louis and his activist generation. After some time Louis joins the Black Panther Party “One of the most visible groups at that time was the Black Panther Party, an anti-government and overtly militant political organization mat fought for social equality and empowerment among minority communities.” (Miller). Cecil kicks Louis out and their relationship was completely broken from there. The message here is that everyone did not accept the revolution, including Black people. But if you think something is necessary and just, you should continue to do it even if the closest people to you disagree with