BY CLARENCE BARR, II
The other day someone asked me what I thought about the newly released film “The Butler.” I told them I couldn’t fairly pass judgment on a movie I hadn’t seen. But as far as the premise of the picture was concerned, a Black man working as a domestic in the White House for several decades, I seriously doubted that it would be something that appealed to my taste.
I can’t say that I’m surprised by the attention it has received. These kinds of period pieces involving quiet, subservient, un-confrontational Black characters who suffer their miserable circumstances with faith and song always do well at the box office.
If “The Butler” goes on to win critical acclaim, awards and becomes an instant classic, it wouldn’t be the first time that the country has fallen in love with this type of depiction of African Americans. It started with Butterfly McQueen in “Gone With the Wind.” It continued with Morgan Freeman in “Driving Miss Daisy.” It most recently earned an Oscar for Octavia Spencer in “The Help.” And now Forrest Whitaker and, ironically, billionaire Oprah Winfrey, will keep the tradition going in this latest variation of the “good-and-helpful-house-n—-r-who-just-wants-to-get-along” theme.
Hollywood has always been comfortable financing movies of this caliber. Mainly because they remind a certain segment of the population of what could have been if it weren’t for radical “negro” thinking.
The only difference this time around is that another Black face is responsible for bringing these images to life. A fact that I hope will make a difference, but ultimately makes me wonder what was going through dude’s mind?
Do not get me wrong, I get that the brother was trying to make some money. And I’m sure he knew that this type of project would easily get bankrolled by a studio because of the subject matter. But at the same time, with all of the stories from that era that he could have brought to the big screen (the cover up of Medger Evers’ murder comes to mind), why this one?
Personally, I’ve been waiting been waiting for someone to make a motion picture about the treachery behind the F.B.I.’s Counter Intelligence Program (cointelpro) for years. But now that Spike Lee has finally been tamed and with most of today’s other popular Black directors focusing on romantic comedies and feel good flicks for church folks, I guess people like myself, who look for more out of Black films, will have to wait until the person brave enough to tackle those kinds of issues is born.
As far as “The Butler” goes, hopefully it’s much deeper and more poignant than the previews suggest. If not, then I guess we’ll just have to chalk it up to another one of those “boot licking, Uncle Tom” films that Black people should never see more than once and begin to prepare ourselves for the next installment, which will probably be called, “The Mammy,” “The Boy” or even possibly, “The Lawn Jockey.”
I mean, if history is any indicator, you have to believe that at least one those is on its way to a cineplex near you.
Anyone wanting to contact Clarence Barr can reach him at: Clarence Barr, II, 43110-018; P. O. Box 7007; Marianna, FL 32447-7007. Reality On Ice is © by the Florida Sentinel Bulletin Publishing Company.
