"INVICTUS", the movie

Well, folks, I loved “INVICTUS”! It’s a very good film – not a biopic really but an inspirational movie on Nelson Mandela’s achievement in uniting a nation through sport.

Some time ago, I had already seen “Goodbye Bafana”, a film about the relationship between Mandela and his censor officer and prison guard, James Gregory. Even if the ties portrayed in the film are not 100% accurate, at least we have an idea of how hard it might have been to spend 18 years on Robben Island (of the 27 he spent in prison), breaking rocks, sleeping on the floor of a tiny cell, being humiliated and censored all the time. “Goodbye Bafana” ends with Mandela’s release from prison – on 11th February 1990 – at the very moment in which “Invictus” starts.

Immediately after being released, Nelson Mandela (often called Madiba , an honorary title adopted by elders of his clan) works to end Apartheid and to make peace with those who had put him in jail for so long. The first full democratic elections take place in 1994 and Mandela is elected president of South Africa but as an opposition newspaper put it “He can win an election, but can he run a country?” Indeed, there is much to be done to overcome decades of segregation, racial tensions and violence and healing such a divided nation (present even through his own security team) has to start by those who surround him…

While Mandela attempts to tackle the country's largest problems - including crime and unemployment - he attends a game of the Springboks, the country's rugby union team. Blacks in the stadium cheer against their home squad, as the Springboks (their history, players and even their colours) represent prejudice and apartheid in their mind. Knowing that South Africa is set to host the 1995 Rugby World Cup in one year's time, Mandela convinces the South African rugby board to keep the Springbok team, name and colours the same. He then meets with the Springboks' captain François Pienaar (Matt Damon). Though Mandela never verbalizes his true meaning during their meeting, Pienaar understands the message below the surface: if the Springboks can gain the support of black South Africans and succeed in the upcoming World Cup, the country will be unified and inspired. Mandela also shares with Pienaar that a poem, Invictus, had been inspiring to him during his time in prison, helping him to "stand when all he wanted to do was lie down".

Pienaar and his teammates train, but the players (all but one are white) voice disapproval that they are to be envoys to the poor and public - fearing exhaustion from overwork. Mandela, too, hears disapproval from friends and family. For many blacks, especially the radicals, the Springboks symbolised white supremacy and did not want to support their national team.

Things begin to change, however, as the players went around interacting with the locals. During their last few pre-tournament friendlies, support for the Springboks begins to grow amongst the blacks. The World Cup begins, and citizens of all races turn out in numbers to show their unanimous support for the Springboks. At the suggestion of several security guards, Mandela decides to sport a Springbok jersey with Pienaar's number 6 on it to show his support and his name is chanted repeatedly by the home crowd during his entrance, a contrast to a previous rugby match scene, in which Mandela is booed by some of the whites in the crowd. As momentum builds, even the security team members become at ease with each other and the black members who disliked rugby eventually began to enthusiastically support their national team alongside their white colleagues.

SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invictus_(film)

I really liked this movie. I believe Morgan Freeman truly incarnates the character and Clint Eastwood is very successful in making us admire Nelson Mandela, proud of François Pienaar and Springbok supporters.

A Nobel Peace Prize winner – among many other prizes – Mandela reminds me of Gandhi with his nonviolence strategy. Again, even if the film is not 100% accurate, it is a lesson on forgiveness and simplicity, and as far as I am concerned, a tribute to one of the greatest men of our times, an “unconquered” soul, who gave his very best for the transition towards a multi-democratic South Africa – the rainbow nation – and thus, to world freedom.

Don’t miss "INVICTUS"!!!

Other suggestions include...
FILMS: Malcolm X, Mississippi Burning, ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pby1KngOhBY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nptzg2odTKw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je7ekMr6v-o
POEMS...
SONGS...

INVICTUS

INVICTUS... is a Latin word that means "unconquered"; it is a short poem by British author William Ernest Henley
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Ernest_Henley
(1849-1903) first published in 1875 that goes like this...

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.


In the fell clutch of Circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of Chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.


Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

INVICTUS was also chosen by Timothy McVeigh (the man who was convicted and sentenced to death for the lethal Oklahoma City Bombing of 1995) as his final statement... but why am I telling you this now???
Well, this is the title of the most recent film from Academy Award winning director Clint Eastwood now in theatres.
"Invictus” tells the inspiring true story of how Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) joined forces with the captain of South Africa’s rugby team, Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon), to help unite their country.

Newly elected President Mandela knows his nation remains racially and economically divided in the wake of apartheid. Believing he can bring his people together through the universal language of sport, Mandela rallies South Africa’s underdog rugby team as they make an unlikely run to the 1995 World Cup Championship match.

SOURCES: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1057500/plotsummary
http://wwws.warnerbros.co.uk/invictus/main/index.html?gclid=CKH7srqY358CFY-JzAod6DjiHQ
 
Right now, let's just watch the trailer:



In the week that marks the 20th anniversary (Feb 11th) of Nelson Mandela's release after having been imprisoned for 27 and a half (long) years and in the same year that South Africa will be hosting the Football World Cup, a tribute to a truly great man in a movie (surely) worth watching.
SEE ALSO:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Mandela
http://www.nelsonmandela.org/index.php
http://www.nelsonmandela.org/index.php/news/article/un_general_assembly_declares_july_18_nelson_mandela_international_day/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apartheid

LITTER

Do you know the word LITTER? What does it mean? Do you know any other words with more or less the same meaning?

Well, LITTER means rubbish carelessly dropped or left about (especially in public places) but there are some more words to refer to worthless material that is to be disposed of: garbage, trash, scrap, waste,...

Following my last posting on PLP (Projecto Limpar Portugal) I picked up a poem by one of my favourite writers - this time reggae poet LEVI TAFARI - that I would like to share with you:

“Well hello everybody

How do you do?

I wanna introduce
myself to you!
My name is LITTER
I dwell in the gutter
I’m comprised of glass,
wood, metal and paper
I’m getting larger
hour after hour
you’ll find me lurking
in your area.”
“I move around the city
I make it untidy
to human beings
I’m really unhealthy
I’m not very pretty
in fact I’m quite ugly
some people even say
I’m real dirty
so I do what I can
to upset man
I’m unpopular
I’m not part of this plan
a menace to society
I’m very naughty
like poison
I’m quite deadly
vermin love me
I make them feel secure
I’m produced by the rich
thrown out by the poor
I’ve been around
a really long time
even though you’ve made
dropping me a crime
and if you think I’m rough
you ain’t seen nothing yet
I’ll get up to your neck
and make you sweat
this is a promise
it is not a threat
yes you can call me names
say I’m no good
but it won’t stop me

messing up your neighbourhood.”

“Because

I’m LITTER

from the gutter

and my mission

is to make you SUFFER.”

LITTER, by Levi Tafari (Rhyme don’t pay, Headland 1999 – pages 51+52)

Too much litter is, indeed, what is leading people from all over the country to join their efforts for a common goal as PLP. In a straight forward language, Levi Tafari deals here with a topic that is on top of the agenda and a must for teachers who are currently teaching "The world around us" since the poem can be used to talk about consumer habits, threats to the environment, attitudes,...
I hope you enjoy the poem / Levi's writing as much as I do :)