THE BUTLER - THE SIT-IN SCENE - AT THE RESTAURANT

AT THE RESTAURANT

The second part of the scene takes place in a segregated restaurant. A group of students, both black and white are sitting at the counter.  At that time, restaurants in the south  were segregated .  Blacks were not allowed to sit at the counter. The students are taking part in a sit-in  so they are breaking the law in a peaceful way. They say they would like to be served but they are sitting in a section reserved to white people.  The white customers are shocked; they can’t believe what’s happening.  The waitress refuses to serve them. They stay for hours without moving. Then a small group of angry white men come in and attack the protesters violently.   They insult them, they punch and kick them, they throw food in their faces... But the black students still don’t react (they are poker face) . They never break down. Finally they are arrested but they don’t resist arrest.   We can consider that they win even though they are arrested: they are courageous,  the white men are cowards. SO THE BLACKS STUDENTS BECOME MORE POWERFUL THAN THE WHITES  BECAUSE THEIR CAUSE IS RIGHT AND THEY FIGHT FOR JUSTICE AND EQUALITY -  THEY HAVE TO FIGHT TO GAIN POWER -

THE BUTLER - SIT-IN SCENE / THE WORKSHOP

THE WORKSHOP

Main character = Louis Gaines: the butler’s son. The scene takes place in Tennessee in 1960. There is an underground organisation called ‘the school of love’to fight against  SEGREGATION The goal is to build an army whose only weapon is love. The students learn about Ghandi’s techniques. It is based on non-violence and peaceful resistance. The students have no weapons and they can get killed. 4 qualites are necessary to challenge white power : patience, persistence, intelligence and thought. The students are trained to resist insults, physical and mental (psychological) violence. They must not break down when they are attacked.  This training gives them power: the power to fight and the power to resist and to reach their goal

POWER - TRAILER OF 'THE BUTLER'

THE BUTLER - TRAILER

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUA7rr0bOcc

POWER - THE BUTLER, FILM POSTER

Film Poster : THE BUTLER

The hero is standing with his back to us. He is a butler, he’s wearing white gloves. he is in fact in the White House and he is looking out of a window. To the right  there is the American flag (the Star and Stripes) with a bald eagle on top and to the right, there is the president's flag. They are symbols of power, of the power of the US.

In the background, in the distance, there is a white building on top of a hill: it’s Congress, the seat of legislative power.

Between this building and the White house there is a crowd of people. Thye are protesting. We can see a peace sign so maybe they are protesting against the war in Vietnam.

The butler is just observing the scene, so he is not involved, he is not taking sides  he is just an observer

So, several forms of power are represented: symbolic power (the flag)

                                                                               Political power: the White House and Congress

                                                                               The power of the people who challenge authority

The film is based on the true story of an African-American butler who served at the White House for 30 years. He served 7 presidents: Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter,

POWER - DEFINITION

Places and forms of power

« Places » could be important buildings or institutions that represent a certain form of power, for example Buckingham Palace – a symbol of the British monarchy, the White – a symbol of the American presidency.

A place can also be a country or a state –  for example the USA is a state which is powerful enough to influence events throughout the world (superpower) and China is a major economic power in today’s world.

What exactly is power?

It is the ability to control others, events, or resources; the ability to make things happen despite obstacles, resistance, or opposition. This of course leads to conflict between those who have power and those who don’t.

Resistance to power

There are many examples of resistance to power:

– the African-American civil rights movement (Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Junior, Malcom X….)

– the struggle for liberation in South Africa (Apartheid, Nelson Mandela)

– the Suffragettes’ fight for women’s right to vote

-Women’s rights movement

 The ability to influence others

The power of the media