Film philosophy about the Butler - Assignment Example

ttingly and subtly nudged the course of American history through the tumultuous years of reform, contributing an equal importance to the Black American cause. The main point of the film is the Black Africans’ struggle for equality in America. It is not unlike the classic story of the American Dream as told in countless materials such as Forrest Gump. This particular American Dream was told from the Black American’s perspective and the experiences in Civil Rights Movement. This inevitably included that tragedy and sorrow of being Black man in modern America particularly before the Civil Rights movement with the segregation of the colored and the whites and immediately after as America was confronted by racial and relevant issues both at home and abroad.

This key point is palpable across the entire film. As Gaines’s life progressed, so did the lives of African American. These transpired in a succession of flashbacks in the protagonist’s mind as he was waiting to meet the newly elected Black President. For this reason, the film was heavily structured in order to seamlessly integrate the phases of the Gaines’ life with the chronology of the American Civil Rights movement and the American contemporary political developments. The challenge of achieving this feat without digressing from the protagonist’s narrative was achieved through stylistic interplay of shots.

In some parts of the film, bracketing was also used to carry on the narrative of Cecil Gaines and his familys life as the director integrated civil rights stories such as boycotts. These shots made use of a play of lighting, close-ups (like they were actually before the audience), the use of elements such as mirror and the flicker of television display as reflected on the face of the actors, among others. This approach was important especially in narrating the chronology of the Civil Rights movement without veering away from the logical sequence of Cecil Gaines’ narrative.

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