Nelson Mandela and his leadership in the wake apartheid in South Africa, considered through a story about the 1995 Rugby World Cup, where the Springboks of South Africa prevailed against fierce international competition in addition to intense and complex domestic pressures.
Invictus (2009) starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon, directed by Clint Eastwood, written for the screen by Anthony Peckham, based on John Carlin's book "Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game that Made a Nation". Nelson Mandela, in his first term as president of South Africa, initiates a unique venture to unite the Apartheid-torn land: enlist the national rugby team on a mission to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup. (IMDB)
Featured in this episode of PopViolence are two podcast hosts from the organization PeacePlayers. Their podcast debuts July 12, and is called Play it Forward; "Through the lens of activism in sports presented by PeacePlayers International, Play it Forward will feature conversations with youth leaders, community organizers, industry experts and those using sport as a tool for positive change around the world."
This episode confronts the themes of the film, like forgiveness and reconciliation, and how they are desirable outcomes that may not have been depicted in a way that deeply considers how such progress can be made in the wake of intense and overt oppressive regime change (or in any context of systemic violence really). While the meaning of the film takes the foreground, the conversation is deeply connected to issues around racial justice and and equity.
"I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can only rest for a moment, for with freedom comes responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not ended." -Nelson Mandela
"Poverty is not an accident. Like slavery and apartheid, it is man-made and can be removed by the actions of human beings. -Nelson Mandela
"Freedom is indivisible; the chains on any one of my people were the chains on all of them, the chains on all of my people were the chains on me." -Nelson Mandela
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