Connection Between Invictus and the Power of One
The movie, “Invictus” is a true account of the fact that sports are a universal language that can be used to bring people together. Nelson Mandela’s release from prison and ascent to take the topmost position in South Africa marked a period of change in South Africa. The departure from apartheid rule was not easy for anyone in the multi-racial country. The democratically elected president, Nelson Mandela, has to device a means to galvanize the two races inhabiting the nation together. Mandela’s love for game pushes him to support Springboks, a team that he had severally denounced while still in jail (Eastwood). The national team is comprised of predominantly white players and Mandela still backs them up to initiate national unity. Mandela’s decision is phenomenal and inspires the two races to unite for success in the rugby match. Mandela in the movie rallies the national Rugby team to pursue their historic run in the Rugby World Championship match.
Both the Movie “Invictus” and the book “The Power of One” are portrayals of the unity between the black and white races through sports. The book follows the life of a little boy growing up in South Africa, Peekay, whose ugly experiences fully transform his life into a boxing champion later in life. Peekay gradually grows from a helpless, weak boy who used to take all beatings without fighting back to a successful boxer who never accepts even a single defeat. “The cords that bound me to the past had been severed. The emptiness was a new kind of loneliness, a free kind of loneliness. […] I would be in control, master of loneliness and no longer its servant (Courtenay 99).” People from both racial divides assemble to witness Peekay’s unrivalled skill. At first, the protagonist discovers his power to overcome difficulties and embraces it. Some of his serious hardships such as racial prejudices are repaid back when he earns mass approval both from the whites and blacks. The connection between the movie and the book lays not only in the themes presented (sports and racism) but also in the settings of the events.