Lee Daniels didn’t hold back during an interview with CNN’s Piers Morgan, saying that he believed President Obama’s term in office has revealed America’s “true colors” and it is still a racist and “angry” country.
Daniels wasn’t directing the comment toward all Americans, but he certainly had a point.
Morgan is known for asking the tough questions and when he pushed the director of “The Butler” to speak up on racism in America since Obama was elected, the interview took a powerful turn.
“I think that people are angry that he’s president and I think that they are showing their true colors,” he said.
He tied his response in with the message he was hoping to send through his new movie and added that although he tried to inject some hope in “The Butler,” it wasn’t enough to cover up the truth about the current state of the country.
He said that in the movie, the characters are living in a time period where a black man could be killed by a white person at any given moment and no one would be punished for it. Shortly after finishing the editing of the film, the nation was rocked by the not-guilty verdict in the George Zimmerman trial.
According to Daniels that’s when he realized that “sadly” we are far from reaching dreams of equality.
While he did admit that the country has certainly made some progress, “The Butler” cast member Cuba Gooding Jr. pointed out that there is a major “disconnect with the civil rights movement and the history of it.”
There is more than enough evidence to suggest that some Americans are angered by Obama’s election and are willing to do whatever it takes to paint him as a terrorist, Fascist or even the anti-Christ.
However, Obama’s administration hasn’t been substantially different from that of many other presidents who came before him – except that he is black. According to Daniels, that’s exactly why America is so angry with him.
Daniels is hoping that although his movie won’t give anyone the answers and solutions they’re looking for when it comes to racism, it might provoke the type of dialogue that is necessary for more progress to be made.
The movie has certainly sparked a national conversation about civil rights and race issues as each of the cast members in “The Butler” revealed their own encounters with racism.
Daniels has said that he has to send his white secretary to catch him a cab because taxi drivers won’t stop for him. Earlier this year, Forest Whitaker was publicly frisked in a deli after being wrongfully accused of shoplifting.
The movie also comes along with tons of debate regarding the N-word, which initially stemmed from the Paula Deen controversy.
Although nobody could have predicted what national events would take place as “The Butler” hit theaters, the timing couldn’t have been any more flawless.
In the midst of the Deen controversy; American discontent with their African-American president; the not-guilty verdict for Zimmerman; and tons of other racially charged national debates, now is certainly the time that America needs to engage in a powerful conversation that is necessary for the advancement of the country.
