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Political Voice In Lee Daniel's Film

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Lee Daniel’s movie The Butler brings up the political voice of the African-American community during tumultuous times such as during the civil rights movement. BBC’s documentary KKK: The Fight for White Supremacy focuses on the newer generation of a white supremacist group and their political voice in a newer American society. With two movies set several decades apart, has the topic of the political voice changed?
In movies that portray political and ethical topics, the theme of a “political voice” is often brought up. In Daniel Lee’s movie The Butler, the political voice of the African-American community is portrayed in different ways. On one side, the movie shows the political voice of the protagonist. The movie follows the protagonist Cecil Gaines, an African-American butler; working in the White House …show more content…

Cecil Gaines is portrayed in the film as a silent victim of the oppression in the United States during racially important political times, such as the civil rights movement. Gaines did not exercise his “political voice” even though he worked for the Presidents. As portrayed in the movie, when various Presidents over the years brought up the topic of racial issues in discussions, Cecil Gaines stood still and was silent. On the other hand, his son, Louis Gaines, exercised his political voice, being a member of different groups that were prominent during the equal rights movement. He spoke up about racial inequalities and followed notorious leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr, as well as various black groups. Even though they were father and son, the movie portrays their usage of their political voice differently.
The movie The Butler and the BBC documentary KKK: The Fight for White Supremacy display different organizations and groups that exercised their political voice in different ways. The Butler mainly focus on black organizations, groups and

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