The Butler

The Butler is based loosely off of a true story. Eugene Allen was an African American who worked for the White House for 34 years. He started at the bottom and worked his way up the ranks until he became Maître d'hôtel, which is the highest position of butlers. He retired as head butler in 1986 after serving eight different presidents. This film follows Cecil Gaines through his life on the plantation to the serving in the White House.
The film starts in 1926 Macon, Georgia. Cecil Gaines was a young boy working on a cotton plantation with his parents. The son of the household took his mother and raped her and when his father confronted him, he was shot and killed. It was at this time that Ms. Annabeth, the mother of the household, took Cecil in and raised him to be a house servant. Cecil grew up and left the plantation once he was older. He got a job at a hotel and was taught by a fellow butler, Maynard. Maynard turned down a job at the White House and recommended Cecil for it, and Cecil ultimately received the job. He started during Dwight Eisenhower’s term, just as the Civil Rights Movement was getting started. From there the film follows Cecil witnessing notable events of the twentieth century during his time at the White House. The Butler ends with Cecil waiting to meet the first African American president, Barack Obama.
The Butler’s depiction of history is mostly accurate. It follows the historical timeline and touches on every civil rights action that took place during this time period such as the KKK, the Little Rock situation, Martin Luther King, etc. There are a few things that are not accurate such as the differences between Eugene Allen and Cecil Gaines personal lives. They grew up in different places and their family life was very different. Some of these differences can be attributed to the writers and how they added things for dramatic effect.
From the beginning of the movie at the plantation it showed slavery and how African Americans were treated. The women were abused and raped by white men of the household and no one could do anything about it. Children even worked in the fields alongside their parents all day. They did not go to school or ever learn how to read or write. If the plantation owner liked them enough, they could become house servants instead of working in the field.
Once Kennedy was elected in 1961, the film shows a bus full of African Americans traveling on a bus in Alabama. A car comes up behind them with a white cross on it, symbolizing the KKK. The Ku Klux Klan attacks the bus along with other white citizens by smashing windows, throwing things, and trying to tip the bus over. Kennedy then proposes the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed discrimination against minorities. Several months after the speech his was assassinated and Lyndon Johnson, the next president, makes it a law.
In the movie, Cecil’s son returns home and tells his family that he has helped found the Black Panthers, a radical organization. The Black Panthers were an actual party who wanted protection of black neighborhoods from police brutality. They were founded in 1966 but then saw a decline in 1969. They were known for their criminal activity and their violent tactics against the police. His son eventually leaves the party once they start violent acts in response to racial confrontations.
Another example of historical differences is the film’s depiction of Ronald Reagan. The film depicts him as indifferent to civil rights. They also depicted him as reluctant to associate with the black employees that worked in the White House. In reality, Reagan treated all his employees fairly and when interviewed, the all praised him and showed their love for him. He was portrayed this was because he was opposed to the economic sanctions against apartheid South Africa. He was initially opposed because he was horrified by apartheid but wanted to make sure that if the regime did collapse, it would not be replaced by Communism.
The Butler is a great movie about the Civil Rights movement and other monumental moments in history. It shows the changes the United States has gone through and also how it has affected Cecil Gaines and his family. Its interpretation of history does not mislead the audience, but gives them a better understanding of what went on during that time period and showed how it affected real life people and their families.

Michael Ezra. Civil Rights Movement: People and Perspectives.
James Hadley. African-American Life on the Southern Hunting Plantation. http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/historians-butler-racist-reagan/2013/08/30/id/523181 http://www.newsmax.com/Reagan/Butler-Reagan-Oprah-Allen/2013/08/22/id/521814
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African-American_Civil_Rights_Movement_(1955%E2%80%9368)