I chose clip number 3 out of the butler film because Kennedy got shot for supporting the black people because Kennedy risked his life for saving the blacks. The director Lee Daniels shows kindness to black people through white people. The director Lee shows this in four different screen shots, one is when Kennedy shows kindness to Cecil when he talks about the freedom riders. The second one is when Kennedy is talking about how black people should be treated as a normal American Citizen. Lee Daniels also does this again when Cecil is crying about Kennedy being shot. Also, when Cecil wife is thinking about drinking and what has happened (Kennedy been shot). The Author is trying to convey the message that white people understand and want to help the black people, this is shown in my first screen shot which is an over the shoulder shot when Kennedy shows kindness to Cecil when he talks about the freedom riders, an over the shoulder shot is when the characters are talking to each other at the same high making the scene more friendly.
The director has included Mixed lighting which is a combination of low, high key and front lighting making the room look warm, friendly, and inviting. Low Key Lighting are shadows, the areas that are dark or grey. High Key Lighting are parts where the light is very bright. Front Lighting is where the light is coming from (main point). Kindness is also shown in the voice and dialog of what Kennedy is saying, there is also a quiet, gentile song from a piano playing, which is added in after the scene was taken, this called Non – Diegetic Sound as the song was added in after the scene was shot. Diegetic Sound is real like Kennedy talking, Diegetic Sound is mostly what you hear each day for example – door opening/closing, footsteps on the pavement. This shows the views that Kennedy trusts Cecil and is friendly, kind and understands. He is also aware of what Cecil is going through with Cecil’s son in jail and being a Freedom Rider. This is showing kindness when Kennedy says, “I know your son is a freedom rider” then Kennedy says later on “You know I really never understood all that you went through until I saw that”.
This demonstrates that the director wants the viewers to believe and feel that Kennedy is trying to help the black people become American Citizens. In my second screen shot when Kennedy is talking about how black people should be treated as American Citizens. This screen shot is a close up as it only shows Kennedys upper chest and head, while he is talking on the black and white TV screen. Kennedy is telling America that every colour has the right to live. He goes on to say “I am therefore asking the congress to enact legislation giving all Americans the right to be served in facilities which are open to the public, hotels, restaurants, theatres, retail stores and similar establishments. It seems to me to be an elementary right, its denial is an arbitrary indignity, that no American in 1963 should have to endure, but many do”.
