Heartwarming / The Butler

• The moment when Martin Luther King Jr. tells Louis that his father is making a difference as a butler. It's so special to have one of America's greatest leaders and heroes tell the young man that he should appreciate what his father does.
  Martin Luther King Jr.: The black domestic play a very important role in our history.
  Louis: I didn't tell you that to make fun of me.
  Martin Luther King Jr.: Young Brother, the black domestic defy racial stereotypes by being hardworking and trustworthy. He slowly tears down racial hatred with his example of strong work ethic and dignified character. Now, while we perceive the butler or the maid to be subservient, in many ways they are subversive without even knowing it.
• Despite it being juxtaposed with an image of the man that raped his mother and killed his father, there is a short moment where Cecil imagines him and his father horsing around. It's just nice to see he had a few good memories from his childhood
• Cecil reading the books written about the Civil Rights struggle and reflecting on Louis's work during that time
  Cecil: They started writing books about everything Louis and his friends had done. Louis was never a criminal. He was a hero, fighting to save the soul of our country.
  • Then later getting jailed with Louis after joining and reconciling with him at a demonstration against the apartheid and for Nelson Mandela to be freed from jail
  • Gloria telling Cecil she loves him when viewing his childhood home
• The scenes during the 2008 Election, with Louis and his wife and child working with Cecil and Gloria. Then later Gloria and Cecil have a conversation about their granddaughter before she dies.
  • Cecil's joy at seeing an African American man be elected the President of the United States.
• During the training montage for the Freedom Riders, the white recruits are asked to use the n-word and other terrible language to get the black participants used to not reacting. More than one of the white students are terribly uncomfortable and visibly distressed at being asked to behave like that and use such language.