Blog #2: Movie Review - Invictus (2009)

Summary:

The movie Invictus is based on true events in South Africa; beginning with the release of Nelson Mandela from prison (1990) and concluded with the 1995 Rugby World Cup. The film chronicles Nelson Mandela as he attempts to unite South Africa as President shortly after the abolition of apartheid. This movie observes the tough decisions that Mandela made and the relationships that he foraged to reach his ultimate goal of unification and equality. One of the most significant steps (tools) that he made was by utilizing the 1995 Rugby World Cup and the Springboks team as a vehicle to support the change in value and belief of the South American people. The Springboks Rugby team had mostly white South Africans palyers, his support of the team and their success was the necessary vehicle to illicit change and to create a sense of community.

How sports can unite a community

At its core, the movie Invictus has two main themes that support the community development concept that we have been discussing in class. The first noticeable theme is the qualities of a great and influential leader. Nelson Mandela personifies great leadership characteristics through his actions.  He recognizes that everyone has different experiences and therefore different opinions, he exemplifies a great leader by seeking to understand before he acts. He understood that being elected by the people meant that he was now responsible to take care everyone within the community. His words were influential to the community as they were always inline with his actions, which made him credible to his followers. Mandela knew that it was necessary to risk popularity to do what is right for the community. His believe in the public's support was great, he felt that they were capable of understanding that he was doing what was best for everyone. The most significant aspect of Mandela's leadership was his ability to take small actions and realize the big picture outcomes. This is evident from the conversation that Mandela had with his secretary when she suggests that there are other concerns that require his attention including poverty, and unemployment during their trip to a vote against the Springboks representing all of South Africa. Understanding the effect that these other community issues will never truly be resolved until the people  unite as country to contribute to solving the other problems.

The second theme of this movie is the reliance relationships to aid change.  The mutual respect and understanding between Nelson Mandela and Francois Pineaar created an opportunity for change. It was necessary for Mandela to use his position and his personal experience to inspire others to act; including Francois. Mandela knew that Francois and the Springboks had the support of the white South Africans, and if the team was able to show compassion and equality to the black South Africans, then equality was possible. This relationship required Francois to act as follower to Mandela's ultimate vision of uniting the country. I imagine that accepting Mandela's request for the Springboks to win the Rugby World Cup with the intention of using this event as a vehicle to unite the country was more difficult than the movie made it out to be. The introduction of the movie suggested that Francois grew up in a society that was with strongly prejudice on both sides.  Once Francois was engaged in vision, it was necessary for him to lead the South African Springbok rugby team to redefine the parameters of the community to which they belong. Francois was able to show his leadership abilities by stressing the similarities between the two groups of people to help them to relate to all South Africans.

I related to his movie, because I am in a leadership role where I work. I often have to make challenging decisions that are not popular. When considering important decisions, I have always given more consideration to the decisions that I recognize will be unpopular, but have always felt that I have made the decisions with the best of intentions. It is not always easy to do what is right, but as a leader I am able to recognize that making the right decision is most important thing.

I am inspired by this movie and Nelson Mandela as an leader because I recognize that he had to overcome hardship with a positive attitude and the ability to inspire others. Mandela was a great leader because he believed in a better community and that he could make a difference. He was willing to risk everything,  including 27 years of freedom to see it through.


EVERYONE should see this movie, it is not a rugby movie, it is a movie about the ability to change or impact the community that you live in.

- and that is my two cents

Dawn


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FozhZHuAcCs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mKku1_RRqs