Deconstructing The Butler: Subservience To The Master Narrative

Deconstructing The Butler: Subservience to the Master Narrative Lee Daniels’ 2013 film, The Butler, tells the fictionalized story of an African American butler whose domestic skills ultimately lead him to a job at the White House. The film follows Cecil Gaines throughout his career as a White House butler, serving 8 U.S. Presidents throughout the mid to late 20th century and during arguably the most turbulent time for the civil rights and Black power movements. Many aspects of The Butler attempt to correct what many historical recounts of this time period have diluted through the Master Narrative. At the same time, this film takes on the nearly impossible challenge of effectively depicting the entirety of the civil rights and Black power eras in a

Since the Master Narrative embraces binary ideas regarding racism and segregation, it deems de jure segregation as the only type deserving of recognition and requiring resistance. Hence why Louis’ activism in the South through Freedom Rides and sit-ins is seen as heroic. The film ensures that the violence African American activists in the South faced are heavily depicted to further justify their resistance. Upholding the idea that Black resistance is only justified in the face of overt racial violence, or that it requires white approval at all. The overarching focus on the validity of nonviolent resistance is further perpetuated by the inclusion of Dr. King, the most well known proponent of nonviolent protest. Furthermore, sustaining the Master Narrative’s King-centric ideals and ignorance of Black oppression and resistance outside of the Jim Crow South, as it is not as overt and violent nor de jure. Lastly, the film embraces the notion of “good” and “bad” activism in a sense with its portrayal of the Black Panthers and activism common in the North. The Black Panthers resisted less tangible forms of