The movie Invictus is about Nelson Mandela, in his first term as the South African president. While becoming president, he initiates a unique venture to reunite the apartheid torn lands by setting a goal for the South African rugby team, which is to win the rugby world cup. He especially grows fond of the rugby team's captain, Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon), and he joins forces with him to try and end apartheid in south Africa via the nations most popular sport.
Nelson Mandela's nation currently remains racially and economically divided in the wake of apartheid. South Africa's rugby team isn't very good at this point. In fact, they haven't won a game yet. Mandela sees this as an opportunity to strengthen South Africa's rugby team and people. He then calls a meeting with Francois and he talks to him about a song and poem that would help him to get the strength to keep fighting. He then tells Francois "We need inspiration, Francois. Because in order to build our nation, we all must exceed our own expectations." Just those words brought Francois eye to eye with Mandela, and he then went on to tell his team that they would pretty much never lose another rugby match.
I personally found the rest of this movie to be very touching. The team worked harder and harder as they defeated their opponents one by one. As each victory came to the team, apartheid started to slowly go away as the people started growing closer to each other. Mandela himself even stayed up for days watching rugby. The team made it to the world cup and they were up against the best team. South Africa was the underdog for sure, and everyone loves underdog movies. It was very inspiring to see the team fight and fight till there last breath, and to see them win was just like seeing a new Batman movie.
I would say by the end of this movie, even though apartheid isn't ended, the country of South Africa is more united than they have ever been. All this change coming from the mere will of two men, wanting to see their country become a better place. Not only was it a goal but by this point it was an accomplishment, because they had achieved those goals. At the end of the match the people of South Africa were dancing, playing, and just enjoying being united. I even saw two white cops playing with little African boys. I personally believe that this rugby game did end apartheid for a while. However, apartheid in Africa still exists today, meaning that it was most likely a short-term inspiration.
This movie is great for showing apartheid at the beginning, the struggle for change, and the final change at the end. It is also a very enjoyable movie to watch, even if you're not a huge sports fan. I will admit that I teared up a little when I watched this movie. If you haven't seen this movie yet then I highly recommend that you see it soon. It is both informal and fun to watch. Nelson Mandela had a huge impact on apartheid, but this movie also represents the little people, like Francois, who also sought to see a brighter country. We should totally watch this movie in class on a free day.
Video on the philosophy of leadership:
Video on reconciliation and forgiveness:
Video on Francois and his destiny:
Video on the poem that inspired a nation:
-Wesley E, 1A
I really liked the storyline summary you gave and I am definitely intrigued and would like to see it myself. The underlying themes you pointed out about hope and change I think are the most important part. The idea of hope in a time like that of apartheid is so scarce and needs to be recognized. You describe this movie as a different way of changing apartheid through a sport. I feel this is the most intriguing because it uses an everyday, enjoyable topic to resolve such a hard situation and this is where I believe Nelson Mandela's brilliance really shines. I think this is very well written and your essay flows. I really like how you explained the deep themes and significance of the movie and not just the basic storyline. To improve your essay I would use a few more examples or quotes from the actual movie. What are some inspirational quotes from this movie?
ReplyDelete-Riley P., A2
Aaron Martin
ReplyDeleteI highly enjoyed the great amount of detail and effort you put into gathering all this information. The topic that you showed in this blog was very informational. I was able to learn a lot and gain many more perspectives about his philosophy. I like how you were able to present all of this information clearly but also made it unbiased. I also like how you used Youtube video references to give us vivid visuals of Mandela's thoughts. The only area of improvement would be to have some actual text sources so we can really read and get to learn more. My only question is how would you forma method so we could be able to watch this movie in class?
I have seen this movie before and I also made a blog entry on it. I appreciate the detail and information that you provided in your entry as well. I am also glad to see that we had the same views of the movie. You did a great job with elaborating on the context of the movie and also with your feelings towards it. I couldn’t find anything wrong with your blog; however, you could use more examples to add to your information. But you did a great job overall. My only question is to verify what you meant by showing the film at the beginning. Did you mean at the beginning of the topic Apartheid? If so, why?
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