http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuojHqfe4Vk

You’ve already seen this trailer. A lot. Lee Daniels is on his game.
Forrest Whittaker burns with quiet dignity. Oprah Winfrey slaps a Black Panther so hard that his lips flew into the mashed potatoes. And, then there are the white folk; JFK, the KKK, a cotton field killer, and Robin Williams.
There is even a Miss Daisy in it. Because what is Shuffle porn without an old white woman dispensing folksy wisdom?
And there is an army of Black butlers. Like, more Black domestics than a dozen Driving Miss Daisy’s or The Helps. Not just any domestics, either, but the Special Forces of holding trays. They even take a vow of silence.
It’s going to be good. There is something about period pieces in which Black folk nobly – and silently – shoulder the burdens of racism. After more than a year of cynically criticizing the Help, I finally saw it, and I liked it. I didn’t want to, but I did. The acting was impeccable. Same with Driving Miss Daisy. Good stuff. It’s like sweet tea and fried chicken; comfort food for the big screen.
I’m just tired of shuffle porn. You know,period movies that show us how noble it is to serve. White folk love them, because they get to reflect on how far we’ve come. Black folk love them because we love any occasion when our story gets widespread acceptance – everybody likes to be liked.
These period pieces depict the struggles of the period while somehow sidestepping the glut of anguish, anger and frustration that should and could be stirred up. The stories are honest…ish. Like in The Help, when they almost totally avoided the issue of sexual abuse of the Black domestics by making the main characters totally non-sexual.
Where were the Black men? Either in the soda shop or off camera, silently getting murdered or abusing the shit out of their wives. Honest-ish.
Similarly, Redtails gave us an almost totally vanilla view of racism. Black soldiers were getting lynched for wearing the uniform in the States. How did George Lucas choose to handle racism? Some Cuba Gooding Junior monologues, a bar fight in the beginning, drinks all around at the end. Problem solved!
This isn’t a rant against the Black domestic. Both of my grandmothers were domestics for a time, as were many of my great aunts. One of my grandfathers was a chauffeur.
I was a valet at an upscale City Club for about five years. I know how to serve. I know how to keep my mouth shut out of necessity. I’ve been called the help, and a whole lot of other things.
Serving in silence, no matter what insults or indignities are hurled your way, is not as dignified as they would have you believe. It’s horrible. It’s abusive. These characters are noble despite their circumstances, not because of them. And there are a whole lot of other noble Black folk in the periphery, too. We like getting off on shuffle porn so much that most other period pieces about Black folk go either untold or ignored. It’s like our importance can only be measured by our proximity to white folk. If you spend less than 1 1/2 hours of screen time tending to their every whim, well, who cares about you?

Thumbs up Lee Daniels. I am sure this is going to be a good film. You’ve proven that you can direct. You make stars out of nobodies, so you will probably propel Oprah into Godhood. But I won’t be seeing the Butler anytime soon. I’m pushing back from the table. I’m sure Paula Dean will love it, though.