Invictus (2009)

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Invictus was released on December 11, 2009, in the USA. The American Drama film was produced by Warner Bros. The movie storyline was written by Anthony Peckham, and directed by Clint Eastwood. The movie was based on the biopic book true story of how Nelson Mandela unify the South African nation through the rugby game. The book itself was named "Invictus: Nelson Mandela and the Game that Made a Nation" written by John Carlin.[1].

Plot

In 1994, Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) is elected as the first black president of South Africa after his imprisonment for 27 years. However, he gets a serious issue to handle since the independence day of the nation, the apartheid system. The system has created violent racism between the white South African and black South African. He realized that unification of the nation should be done through the inspiration of the rugby game. For that reason, he invites Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon), the captain of the Springbok rugby team, to discuss how the nation should be strong and prosperous by inviting everyone to be a part of the unification experience. Nelson Mandela wants to bring all South Africans to support the Springboks, the best rugby team in South Africa yet the most hated by the Blacks as the team consists of many White South Africans. The team trains and plays as their whole nation begin to support the Springboks, the underdog team in the World Cup. Eventually, the Springboks of South African wins the Rugby World Cup in 1995[2].

Black Empowerment

Mandela and Pienaar in winning the Rugby World Cup [3]

Nelson Mandela tries to demonstrate how racialism is handled through reconciliation and forgiveness. This is shown in the scene where he appoints Fendrick Booyens (Matt Stern) and Etienne Feyder (Julian Lewis Jones), the white members who threaten the Blacks with violence, as his bodyguards. He also decides to keep all white staffers of the previous president to be working with Nelson Mandela. Although his colleagues resist Mandela's decision, they finally realize how important to show that they have to be an example where both races can collaborate with peace and create an excellent result. As Mandela says, "The rainbow nation starts right here. Reconciliation starts right here. Forgiveness starts right here.[4]", Mandela has shown how racism can be tackled through kindness.

References