“They won’t hear anything, nor see anything, only serve”. The Butler” (2013) – Lee Daniels
by Elena Castelló | Editorial Alberta La Grup | February 2020
Cecil Gaines – played by actor Forest Whitaker – recalls his life in domestic service in Lee Daniels’ The Butler. The film goes from his teenage years on a cotton farm in Georgia, when his parents were sharecroppers, to 2008, when he is hired by President Obama after working in the White House for presidential families for half a century from the late 1950’s; as well as being hired as a butler for President Eisenhower. The storyline is based on real events and it describes the evolution of North American society and the racial issues within it, through the view of a man “always in service”.
However, in addition to this social and racial portrait, the story of Cecil as a butler also has much to say about how essential roles in the functioning of a great home have changed and about the new role that modern butlers play today.
As training, Cecil is told the phrase that heads this text, which describes an old-fashioned way of serving in which the butler’s discretion and services are absolute. This is a British court mentality that makes the butler invisible and subjects them to a strict discipline.
However, today this characterisation cannot be compatible with modern service. The very word ‘service’ is obsolete. The modern concept of the butler is that of the assistant: a professional that is an active helper, an executor, and someone who is capable of resolving all the problems that may arrive. In this concept, there is no longer room for definitions by gender, and although discretion continues to be an essential requirement, the treatment is equal.
What other traits define this concept of a 21st century butler?
And what is it that encourages them? What is the spirit of modern butlers today? On the contrary of what was taught to Cecil, today initiative is essential. The message is “we will take care of everything”. This is the immediate response to an urgent request. Time flies and needs multiply and become more complicated. The new butler acts always without losing sight of what is important and acting accordingly. And something essential: conserving dignity, respect and integrity. The new butler isn’t a servant, but a collaborator. And their approach is professional, but also personal. “There’s nothing more satisfying than the expression of plenitude and absolute trust that you see on a client’s face when their desires are fulfilled,” explains a Personal Assistant of today.
And thus, we have baptized the modern butler as a Personal Angel.
They care, watch, manage, resolve and fulfil. They know that they always have to be in the know and be aware of their environment, thus being effective, and detecting those who they need to help. Meanwhile building a network of contacts, which is one of the most important values of a Personal Angel. They know better than anyone the value of time, which allows them to find the result that they’re searching for. This is the only way to get what you want, when you ask for it.
A well trained team carries out as many as 800 tasks for their client. Travel, translate, care, purchase, verify, check, coordinate, organize, plan, supervise, write, call, describe, explain, drive, program, pay, notify, design, execute, decide, summarise… These are only some of the actions of the new butler. And in all the possible languages.
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