History Film / TheButler

* YouKilledMyFather: Averted. While he doesn't confront the ones who cruelly took away his parents, Cecil gets some form of closure by returning to the plantation where he "lived" as a child. The plantation has long since been abandoned and overgrown with vegetation. But while it fell into ruin, Cecil outlived it and survived to the present day.

* SoundtrackDissonance: When [[spoiler:the soldiers come to tell Cecil and Gloria their son Charles has been KIA]], their reaction is accompanied jarringly by disco music (they were watching ''SoulTrain''). Which only makes it that much worse.

* YouKilledMyFather: Averted. Cecil never gets an ounce of closure for his parents being cruelly taken from him.

* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: The movie suggests that Ronald Reagan opposed sanctions against [[UsefulNotes/TheApartheidEra Apartheid South Africa]] because he was indifferent to the plight of black South Africans and even goes so far as to imply that [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain was pro-Apartheid]]. While the real Reagan opposed such sanctions and even vetoed a bill imposing them (his veto was later overruled by Congress), he was known to be privately appalled with Apartheid and his opposition was for more pragmatic reasons. [[note]]First, he believed that sanctions would do more harm than good for blacks (due to the "last to hire, first to fire" nature of segregated societies) while pro-Apartheid whites would continue to prop up the system. Second, this happened in the context of the UsefulNotes/ColdWar and the South African government was heavily anti-communist, having supported the US in several proxy wars against Soviet-backed governments, while South African dissident groups such as the ANC were backed by the Soviets. Reagan believed [[BetterTheDevilYouKnow it was better to take a carrot-and-stick approach with a known faction]] than risk replacing it with another government that could potentially be more hostile, (which would be especially troubling since South Africa had nuclear weapons at the time). With that said, the Apartheid government collapsed due to economic pressures from international sanctions, ultimately proving Reagan wrong in hindsight.[[/note]]

** UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan gets one when accepting Cecil's resignation along with [[spoiler:listening to Cecil's complaints of the pay gap and being willing to force Cecil's boss to give the same privileges.]] His wife gets one earlier when she invites Cecil and Gloria to dine with them as guests rather than as a butler and his wife.

* InvisiblePresident: Mostly averted, but the presidencies of UsefulNotes/GeraldFord and UsefulNotes/JimmyCarter are rather glanced over via a news montage, presumably because their tenures weren't as important to the Civil Rights Movement. Richard Nixon comes close, getting only a very brief cameo.

* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: The movie suggests that Ronald Reagan opposed sanctions against South Africa because he was indifferent to the plight of black South Africans and even goes so far as to imply that [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain was pro-Apartheid]]. While the real Reagan opposed such sanctions and even vetoed a bill imposing them (his veto was later overruled by Congress), he was known to be appalled with Apartheid and his opposition was for less coldhearted reasons. First, he was worried that sanctions would do more harm than good for blacks (due to the "last to hire, first to fire" nature of segregated societies) while pro-Apartheid whites would continue to prop up the system. Second, this happened in the context of the UsefulNotes/ColdWar and there were genuine fears that Soviet-backed rebels would overthrow the government and [[FullCircleRevolution impose their own repressive regime]], which the Reagan administration believed would be just as detrimental to global security and human rights, if not more so (which would be especially troubling since South Africa had nuclear weapons at the time). Reagan believed [[BetterTheDevilYouKnow it was better to take a carrot-and-stick approach with a known faction than risk replacing it with another dictatorship they had no relations with]].

* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler:Howard, at least as far as Gloria is concerned.]]

* ABirthdayNotABreak: Cecil learns of [[spoiler: Charlie’s death]] while he and Gloria are celebrating his birthday!

%%* OscarBait

* ArmorPiercingSlap: Delivered by ''Oprah'', no less.

* {{Jerkass}}: Howard. Louis and Carol eventually become this, though the former grows out of it.

* PetTheDog: UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan gets one when accepting Cecil's resignation along with [[spoiler:listening to Cecil's complaints of the pay gap and being willing to force Cecil's boss to give the same privileges.]] His wife gets one earlier when she invites Cecil and Gloria to dine with them as guests rather than as a butler and his wife.

* WellIntentionedExtremist: The Black Panthers. Also the teacher who first gets Louis and Carol into the Freedom Riders, putting them through TrainingFromHell to prepare them for what they will face, and being completely unsympathetic to potential recruits who are afraid of being killed.

* TranquilFury: Cecil to Louis at the fateful dinner scene, before becoming [[IHaveNoSon not so tranquil]].

* AngryBlackMan: Louis becomes this after tiring of Martin Luther King's non-violent approach and joining Black Panther Party, which really encouraged a belligerent attitude that infuriated his parents. Eventually, he decides that the Panthers are going too far and decides to leave to fight the good fight with more reasonable means. These include getting elected into the US Congress and leading peaceful demonstrations to further social justice.

* TheStoic: Frequently Cecil, in contrast to his son [[AngryBlackMan Louis]].

* ScaryBlackMan: The Black Panther party are a whole group of these.

%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample * BasedOnATrueStory
%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample * BeenThereShapedHistory

* TheGump: Cecil Gaines ends up witnessing or even participating in most of the major events of the Civil Rights Movement: Eisenhower discussing sending the Army to enforce the desegregation of Little Rock High School; Robert F Kennedy discussing how to move forward with desegregation in general; Lyndon Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act; the Freedom Riders (through Louis); the rise and militancy of the Black Panthers (also through Louis), and Nixon's fight against them; the international boycott and economic sanctions of apartheid South Africa; and finally, the election of Barack Obama.

''Lee Daniels' The Butler'' (previously known simply as ''The Butler'') is a historical film directed by Lee Daniels, who also directed ''Film/{{Precious}}''. It stars Creator/ForestWhitaker as Cecil Gaines (based on the RealLife figure [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_Allen Eugene Allen]]), the head butler of the White House from 1952 to 1986, where he served under eight different Presidents, and bore witness to the changes in the political and racial landscape of the United States during his tenure.

%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample * {{Adorkable}}: Charlie.