"Invictus"--Reflection On South Africa

“Invictus”—Shallow but Brilliant
When the African National Congress, lead by Mandela, took power of the South African government in 1994, they inherited not only the problems facing the country of housing, poverty, crime, etc, but also the unification of a nation so long torn apart by the policies of Apartheid. Rather than move towards retribution or even assigning blame, Mandela lead hiscountry towards reconciliation and forgiveness. Perhaps never before or after have a people so bitterly oppressed showed such immediate mercy to their oppressors. South Africa has a long history—one that began even long before apartheid—which can’t be detailed in full. Viewers who know little to nothing about South African history will love the movie “Invictus” and those with a greater historicalunderstanding will appreciate its portrayal of the new government’s policies towards reconciliation.
While the movie could easily be dismissed as a great sports or rugby movie (which it is), “Invictus” also brilliantly shows the politics and practices of forgiveness in a nation trying to move forward and its citizens struggling to forgive and forget. The opening scene alone hints at thecontext of South Africa in the early 1990s: white men in nice uniforms play rugby on a perfectly manicured field where across the street black children play soccer with a beat up ball, no goals, and no real grass. They begin chanting “Mandela” as a car drives down the road and across the street a young rugby player asks his coach who that is and what is happening. “It is that terrorist Mandela,they’ve let him out,” the coach replies. “Invictus” then shows footage from the 1994 election and the inauguration of Mandela to President of South Africa. Many white citizens still considered him a terrorist and feared the policies he would enact. The movie not only tells of rugby, but of Mandela’s attempts to reconcile his nation, beginning with his first day in office through the first year of hispresidency and the rugby World Cup.
While I can’t personally verify all the details in the movie of Mandela’s words or actions, the details empower the film and accurately depict Mandela’s advocacy for forgiveness. In response, we see the subtle change and unification of South Africa post-apartheid. For example, we watch Mandela in his first day in office. He walks in to see all of the whiteworkers packing their offices and leaving. He calls them together to tell them that they are free to leave if they wish, but if they are packing only in anticipation of dismissal, they have wrongly assumed and are more then welcome—and even asked—to stay. Mandela’s team of bodyguards, however, doesn’t appreciate the appointment of white men (the guards for the previous president) to theirteam. Inherently they distrust them. Mandela speaks with his head bodyguard, explaining that his guards are part of his public image and he needs to show a “rainbow nation.” The point of it all is that “forgiveness starts here--” meaning in his very office and his life. Mandela strove to be an example to his country and explains how forgiveness is such a powerful tool.
Desmond Tutu speaks of thedecision for forgiveness in his book No Future without Forgiveness. Chapter 2 titled “Nuremberg or Amnesia? A Third Way,” details the problems South Africa faced in becoming united. Certainly blacks had been treated unfairly, but when they came to power they faced the question of Nuremberg or amnesia—to put their oppressors on trial for what they had done or to completely forget about it.Mandela’s administration decided that Nuremberg-like trials would only further bitterness and resentment. Aptly put, Tutu explains, “While the allies could pack up and go home after Nuremberg, we in South Africa had to live with one another.” Similarly an amnesia situation—granting total amnesty—would possibly be equally painful. Wronged, the victims of apartheid needed to at least receive...