Mid-nineties South Africa was both a charming and frightening place to be. There was the joy of having toppled the nationalist government of the National Party and formally moving past Apartheid once and for all, but there was also fear. The African National Congress was not the only political party that had stood opposed to the National Party in the elections, and there was fear that other, less moderate parties would mobilise to seek revenge for the years of oppression and inequality under Apartheid. There was also a concern that right-wing extremists might stage attacks or insurgencies, and this was not unfounded either. The right-wing, neo-Nazi party Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging had staged an armed attack on the multiparty talks between the NP, ANC, and other parties in December 1993, and they assured the public that they would violently oppose the new regime.
It was a time of confusion and uncertainty. People did not know what to expect and were frightened of reprisals or at least radical reparations. Yet, in the aftermath of the democratic elections, the first in South Africa to feature universal franchise, the lone voice of Archbishop Desmond Tutu rose above the chaos and said that the people of South Africa must draw together as one rainbow nation. This was repeated by former President Nelson Mandela on his first month in office when he uttered the immortal words, "Each of us is as intimately attached to the soil of this beautiful country as are the famous jacaranda trees of Pretoria and the mimosa trees of the bushveld - a rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world."
It seemed inconceivable, impossible even that a man imprisoned for 27 years for treason against a brutal, racist regime could emerge and speak not of revenge, hatred, and reprisals but of unity, tolerance, and peace. Yet here was Nelson Mandela preaching exactly that, and he began the process that would leave a mark on the life of every South African.
Invictus was directed by Clint Eastwood and stars Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela and Matt Damon as the captain of the South African rugby team, Francois Pienaar. The film begins with two boys’ rugby games divided along racial lines. It is the day Nelson Mandela was released from prison on 11 February 1990, and in the first five minutes of the film, we move swiftly through the events leading up to the elections and Mandela’s inauguration as president. Actual news footage from the time is used and gives an authentic feel to the massive change that was sweeping across South Africa at that time.
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