group of students later sat down at the restaurant bar, calmly asking for service under the astonished gazes of whites and blacks in the segregated area. After that, the white people's surprise turned to anger, and the black students went from being pushed, to being beaten, and finally to prison.
This is the scene in the movie "The Butler," the butler's son, Louis, when he first participates in a civil rights protest, reflecting the peaceful struggle for equal rights of blacks in segregated southern states in the early 1950s. struggle. Later, the bus that Louis was on was intercepted and burned by the Ku Klux Klan, which is also true in history.
The White House Butler, directed by Lee Daniel and starring Forest Whitaker, is an ambitious film. The story is about the life of a black White House butler, but it reflects the changes in the situation of black Americans in the more than 60 years from the 1940s to the Obama era. Although it cannot be called an epic, the film reflects the history of the struggle of black Americans for civil rights.
The film can have such a macro perspective, thanks to the arrangement of two plot lines. The main line is the housekeeper's most of his life in the White House, after Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter and Reagan, can be described as "a running water president, an iron butler"; the other line is his son, the politically conscious Louis, Away from home, I have experienced various black civil rights movements: anti-apartheid, the Black Panther Party, Malcom X, Martin Luther King, Jr., until finally entering politics and becoming a congressman. The film director does pay attention to the intersection and parallelism of the two lines. There are several scenes in the film that are cross-cuts between the two scenes of the White House and the demonstrations. (Of course, this method is a bit used, and the cut is too broken. In fact, it means enough.)
Those familiar with American history will find that the film's plain plot is alluded to and related to historical moments: the protests and conflicts in Memphis, Kennedy was assassinated, Malcom X was assassinated, Martin Luther King was assassinated. Yes, that era was when there were so many assassinations, so much violence.
So the emergence of the Black Panther Party, which "control violence with violence", has become the most natural product of the times. Even Malcom X, one of the leaders of the Islamic black movement, has advocated violence. This also explains that Louis, who was cornered in the peaceful demonstration, later also put on black leather jackets with his girlfriend and became a member of the Black Panther Party.
Here comes the finishing touch: the Black Panther party Louis and his girlfriend go home to visit their parents, and the silent old housekeeper finally turned against his son and kicked them out of the house. Father and son broke up.
I believe that the old butler portrayed in the movie is not just a bystander of the years and great changes. He represents the kindness of ordinary people, the warm, peaceful and tolerant side of human nature. He, and the goodness in people's hearts, will not accept violence, even if it is necessary to bear the pain of the heart.
Many years have passed since then, and many things have happened. The Black Panther Party did not become an atmosphere, but the lives sacrificed by Kennedy and Martin Luther King, truly aroused people's conscience, and black Americans really began to gain equal rights. At this time, Louis, who once hated his father for serving the white president, was middle-aged, and the old father finally forgave his son's painful words when he was young. Father and son hugged tightly on the street, and all grievances were resolved in love.
At this time, you will think of the scene of black singing in the movie. I distinctly remember that, above the head of the choir, a small light bulb typed out the words: JESUS IS LOVE.
Human history is full of power struggles, racial antagonisms, and class disputes, all of which are due to human nature. Violence is often the only way out. Although violence is often labeled as a morality in the name of revolution, it can't help but erode people's hearts. Even if the violence is successful, the established regime will not be free from the autocratic genes. The power that can restrain the evil of human nature is only the good of human nature.
In the scenario described at the beginning of this article, what the leaders of the black movement said "works well in India" is the nonviolent non-cooperative movement led by Gandhi. This film, perhaps, is a tribute to Gandhi. And the old housekeeper who has read the vicissitudes of life may tell us: only love and tolerance can save the world.
PS: Extended viewing recommendation. This year's hit movie "12 Years a Slave" tells the tragic situation of black people before the Civil War; last year's "Lincoln" portrayed President Lincoln who was exhausted and unabated during the Civil War. These two films can be seen as prequels to The White House Butler. Spike Lee has made a biographical film of Malcom X (Malcom X, translated as "Black Tide"), which is very good and can understand how a playboy grows into a black leader of Islam. And films about fighting for freedom through the power of love and peace include "Gandhi" and Luc Besson's Aung-San-Su-Ki biographical film "The Lady", which seems to have even the film material banned in China.
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