He also reports from the set of the butlerthe film inspired by his articleinterviewing a. If you want to start a analysis blackbutler page, just click the edit button above. The film depicts cecils life story from his childhood, where he grew on a cotton plantation to his adult life, where he works at a prestigious hotel in washington dc. Overall i thought it was an excellent movie packed with emotion and. The idea of generational differences is explored through the eyes of both. Happily he shares the screen with kimmie kelsea bauman, a sort of sarcasmsteeped gamine who hopes to become a standup comic. Character analysis of louis louis is brave, caring, gentle, intelligent, a fighter, and independent character analysis for louis he fights for what he believes in by doing peaceful marches and running for state senator. This film tells the story of cecil gaines forest whitaker, a white house butler who served eight american presidents over three decades. Last night i decided to watch lee daniels the butler on netflix. Lee daniels the butler tells the story of a white house butler who served eight american presidents over three decades. Lee daniels the butler cast talk about the basis for. Utopian land set vaguely in the south pacific regionpossibly in new zealand, but because of erewhons vastness, some scholars have argued that it is more likely. Be careful, though, the only things that go in the main namespace are tropes and should be created through the ykttw system.
Daniels film replaces the real eugene allen with the fictional cecil gaines, using the unique perspective of a white house butler as a jumpingoff point to explore questions of race in the. Characterization cecil eugene allen is the inspiration to the movie butler at the white house 34 years served 8 presidents retired as head butler in 1986 main character beginning. Below is butlers injury history and my analysis of how he may fare in buffalo. In the movie, cecil gaines grows up on a cotton field in macon, ga. Analysis of the movie the butler 774 words bartleby. Though the butlers tidy sentiments can be cloying, its hard to remain unmovedand unimpressed by the stubbornly authentic performances by whitaker and oprah, which will likely be remembered at. Analysis of the film the butler 909 words bartleby. Daniels the butler is always engaging, often entertaining and certainly never dull, the latter a fault for which neither the director nor the writer, thus far in their. Between the two of them they make vanilla a lowkeyed, offbeat pleasure. Qb jake fromm we hit the film on the latest buffalo bills additionsnext. The importance of this novel was evident as it was a very controversial yet interesting analysis of the way we humans look at the topic of gender and sex. The root like many of the films in the its complicated historicalfiction genre, lee daniels the butler uses broad strokes to paint a decidedly unpretty picture the cinematic. What could have been a powerful story of race politics set in the white house is held back by the whiff of downton abbey. It is inspired by wil haygoods washington post article a butler well served by this election.
Society for cinema and media studies the scms is a great tool for finding any sort of scholarly source for film critique or analysis. D anny strong very loosely adapted lee daniels the butler from a 2008 washington post article by wil haygood, detailing the life of eugene allen, a black butler who served at the white house for three decades. Butler inspires a collective will and develops deeper, cohesive understanding that can be directly applied to analysis and action. The life of that man, eugene allen, is the basis for lee daniels the butler, which debuts in theaters this weekend. As cecil gaines serves eight presidents during his tenure as a butler at the white house, the civil rights movement, vietnam, and other major events affect this mans life, family, and american society. Lee daniels the butler when steve martin uttered i was born a poor black child in the movie the jerk, he was sending up a subgenre of american film a friend of mine dubbed the why we be black movie. Cecil gaines manages to make his way from a domestic servant up to a butler. Elliott is such a boring, lameo character that one cannot imagine him holding down a feature film all by his lonesome. Lee daniels the butler is, by any conventional measure, a rarity. Such films explore the sorrows of being a negro in america with a cornball earnestness that. Cecil lucks changed forever, when in 1957, he was hired as the butler for the white house team. Elegant london house this serves as a status symbol for the cleavers. Instead, it will have to settle for being the most. Contains mild spoilers lee daniels the butler is a historical drama film depicting the life of cecil gaines, an africanamerican who served as a white house butler under eight presidents.
The film renames allen as cecil gaines and invents for him a. The film highlights butlers idea that gender is not an inherent set of traits, but rather it is performed ott and mack 209. The butler is a historical fiction drama loosely based on the real life of eugene allen. A warm and compassionate person, butler uses her ability to listen deeply while asking critical questions that support selfdirected learning in others. With more subtle portraits and a greater depth of characterization for the film s minor roles, the butler might have been a masterpiece. The butler full title lee daniels the butler is a 20 american historical drama film directed and produced by lee daniels and written by danny strong. In addition, this site is also useful for finding information about upcoming films and film news. Here lies the thoughts of an ap literature student in regards to the film the butler directed by lee daniels. But the butler, which arrives in theaters friday, is the first major feature film to capture the full sweep and scope of the civil rights movement, including its global reverberations.
It recounts many of the pivotal stories of our history in a way that leaves room for us to insert ourselves and wonder where we would have fit in the story. The butler is a nice idea for a movie, but has a mostly silly script and some of the craziest and most laughable casting imaginable. Lee daniels the butler cast talk about the basis for their characters video. The film was inspired by the reallife story of eugene allen, who served eight presidents as a white house domestic during his 34year tenure. The butler in the story is the antagonist who changes the events through deceiving mr. The film traces the dramatic changes that swept american society during. Brief character sketches and analysis aside, the butler is a worthwhile film for people from all walks of life to see. Set against the tumultuous political backdrop of 20th century america, academy award nominated director lee daniels. In the film, allen is fictionalized as cecil gaines forest whitaker, whose career as a white house butler, beginning with eisenhower, is charted through flashbacks and voiceover and. Analysis of the movie lee daniels the butler essay bartleby. The film was inspired by a 2008 washington post story titled a butler well. You will need to identify the press, year and city of. Using the queer theorys idea of gender performativity, it can be argued that mulan is a film about gender performance.
The 20 film the butler, directed by lee daniels and starring forest whitaker, draws upon significant generational differences among black americans throughout the most violent and tumultuous times in american history. What is the exact citation for what the butler saw by joe orton in mla format. The butler analysis comparative analysis contact thank you for visiting. This is a movie that we had talked about on the freedom tour of the south and i had been waiting for the chance to finally watch it. Butler university admits students of any race to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at butler university. Butlers cinema scene movie criticism taking the long view. Director lee daniels precious, the paperboy, shadowboxer last feature is the butler, a film, inspired by a true story, very promising due to the cast and the theme it deals with. The butler is a 20 american historical drama film directed and produced by lee daniels and written by danny strong. Butlers time on the field was limited in 2019, playing less than 40% of carolinas defensive snaps, yet he still had a productive season. Though the butlers tidy sentiments can be cloying, its hard to remain unmovedand unimpressed by the stubbornly. The butler full title lee daniels the butler is a 20 american historical drama film directed and coproduced by lee daniels and with a screenplay by danny strong.
An analysis of the cinematography of the butler, by lee daniels. Inspiring if not inspired, lee daniels the butler is a sort of readers digest overview of the 20th century american civil rights movement centered on an ordinary individual with an extraordinary. The movie begins with cecil gaines working on a plantation in 1926 with his father and mother. The film traces the dramatic changes that swept american society during this time, from the civil rights movement to vietnam and beyond, and how those changes affected this mans life and family. The new movie lee daniels the butler stars forest whitaker and oprah winfrey in a story that took five years and 37 producers to bring to the screen. The story is told in a chronological order, so that the viewer gets to see the world changing, particularly for african americans through the eyes of this butler. Directed by lee daniels and written by danny strong, the film stars forest whitaker as cecil gaines, an. It will cover the various culture changes of the family. With forest whitaker, oprah winfrey, john cusack, jane fonda.
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