Invictus Essay

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Invictus Reflection The movie Invictus, is a movie based on the poem by William Ernerst Henley, depicting the racial injustices that plagued South Africa in the late twentieth century. The poem bears quite a significant role within the movie, tying characters together while sharing similar themes of forgiveness, racial integration and unity. The film follows the South African Rugby team, as they fight their way into the world cup. Throughout the movie, the team becomes somewhat of a symbolic entity, bridging the gap between the blacks and whites of South Africa. As the rugby team progresses, and eventually wins the world cup, South Africans of all racial backgrounds are able to drop their fears and prejudices. The movie aims to convey messages about unity, discrimination, racial integration, forgiveness, and leadership. After watching the movie Invictus, there were three main scenes that displayed those themes. The first scene that struck me, was when Nelson Mandela hired new, white body guards, who served the former president. These body guards could very well have been the exact same people who threw him in prison for twenty three years. Despite this, Nelson Mandela not only hired these body guards, but astonishingly, trusted them with his life. Mandela truly had to forgive the white people and rise above the circumstances that were before him. Surely no one would have judged Mandela for not wanting white body guards, but Nelson, was able to rise above his resentment and forgive the terrible grievances they had placed upon him in the past. Another scene that really exhibited a theme of racial integration was the part where the black and white body guards were playing rugby together. Rugby was brought to South Africa by the British, and was typically considered a white man’s sport. However, the whites and blacks playing rugby together symbolized the

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