Chandler Richards- Invictus

Chandler Richards

2A

My topic was the film “Invictus,” directed by Clint Eastwood. Invictus is a movie set in 1995; a year after Mandela became president. The gist of the story is that Mandela (played by Morgan Freeman) knew that the blacks and the whites South Africa were not going to be at peace with one another without something to bring them together. Mandela later realizes that the thing that would bring the two groups together is rugby, if the South African Rugby team wins, but their team sucks and hasn't won anything for a long time. Another problem is that the team, in the eyes of the blacks, represents apartheid because there are not blacks. And so, in the beginning of the movie we see them voting on whether or not to change the logo, name, and colors of their team. Mandela tells them that if he and the team can’t change then he can’t expect his country to change. He talks to Francois Pienaar (played by Matt Damon) who is the captain of the rugby team and tells him that he needs to motivate his team to win the world cup. Throughout the movie, we see how he and his team change and slowly realize what their role is in their country and what they are doing for their country as well as Nelson Mandela. At the end of the film, the only black man on the team leads the prayer that they say after they have won and Nelson Mandela meets Francois on the stage and give him the trophy. When he hands him the trophy, though, he says “Thank you for what you have done for your country.” Francois replies “No, thank YOU for what you have done for our country.”[1]

This was influential to South Africa and apartheid because the movie is a true story. The team was able to get everyone to put aside their differences, if even for one day, and come together in a time of extreme happiness and that is all Nelson Mandela wanted (for South Africa to be a country as a whole and not just Black South Africa and White South Africa.

I personally loved this movie. I think it gives you a glimpse at the dream of WHEN there will no longer be apartheid. I think it is very educational too, because it explains, in a way, what apartheid is and what it has done to South Africa, but also how it can be fixed. Roger Ebert (the Chicago Sun-Times) gave it three and a half stars out of four and said “It is a very good film. It has moments evoking great emotion.”[2] Jake Tomlinson, who is from Shave Magazine, said, “The strong themes of forgiveness, unity, and compassion make this much more than just a sports movie or a historical account. The movie can easily be regarded as inspirational at times.”[3]

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[1] Citation: Invictus 2009. Dir. Clint Eastwood. Perf. Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon. Warner Bros., 2009. DVD.

[2]Citation: Ebert, Roger. "Invictus." All Content. Chicago Sun-Times, 09 Dec. 2009. Web. 20 Dec. 2013. <http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/invictus-2009>.

[3] Citation: Tomlinson, Jake. "Online Men's Lifestyle Magazine." Shave Magazine, n.d. Web. 20 Dec. 2013. <http://www.shavemagazine.com/entertainment/reviews/091201>.