Nelson Mandela And The Theme Of Racism In The Film Invictus

Nelson Mandela once said that “No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin or his background or his religion.” Nelson Mandela is a person who was imprisoned for 27 years on Robben Island, South Africa because he was speaking out against Apartheid. Later he became the President of South Africa in 1994. In this world, racism has often happened and it usually occurs by the difference of skin colour. Racism may cause social division into two parts which are the division of white and the division of black. Racism must be stopped immediately because of its impacts on social welfare and violation of human rights. Racism is a serious problem, especially if people are not taking any action to stop it. There are several ways to stop it which are forgiving each other, never give up, and work together as a unit.

Firstly, to stop the action of racism people must forgive each other. It is very hard for the victim to forgive each other when people are racist, but if the victims of racism could do it, it shows that the victims are moving one step forward to successfully stopping this action. In the movie Invictus, Mandela said that “Forgiveness liberates the soul. It removes fear. That is why it is such a powerful weapon' (Nelson Mandela). This quote tells the audience that forgiveness is such a powerful weapon. It means, by forgiving each other, the victims and the defender can surely stop the action of racism. The movie gives the audience a message which is forgiveness, when Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 30 years and after he came out from the prison, he could forgive and trust his bodyguards who are white people. Francois Pienaar, a leader of the Springboks team said, “I was thinking about how you spend 30 years in a tiny cell, and come out ready to forgive the people who put you there” (Francois Pienaar). Mandela studied to forgive someone for about 30 years when he was in prison and he does not just study to forgive others, he also applied it on his daily life. He did not get angry with a person who put him in jail because he knows that, if the times change, people must change too and he even considers his citizen as his family. Therefore, forgiving each other could help this world become full of peace and pleasant life.

Secondly, to stop the action of racism people must never give up. In order to keep fighting against the action of racism the victims and the defender need a great enthusiasm. From the movie Invictus, Nelson Mandela kept getting insulted from the white people. They kept insulting Mandela because they believe that their race (white skin) is more superior than his race (black skin). For example, the High School Rugby Coach said, “It's the terrorist Mandela, they let him out. Remember this day boys, this is the day our country went to the dogs.” There is a scene when Nelson Mandela was watching a rugby match between South Africa and England, while all of white people supported South Africa, all of black people cheered and support for England. That is the moment for Mandela to convinced that South Africa could be united in the future: “All the whites cheer for South Africa. All the blacks cheer for England” (Nelson Mandela). It makes Nelson Mandela more convinced and does not want to give up to stop the racism. He is not afraid of anything to stop the action of racism from white people to black people, even though it is risking his position as a leader: 'You're risking your political capital, you're risking your future as our leader.' In reply, Mandela says “The day I am afraid to do that is the day I am no longer fit to lead.” Therefore, never give up and optimistic will help the victims and the defender to successfully stop the action of racism.

Lastly, to stop the action of racism people must work together as a unit. At first, it was difficult for the black and white bodyguards in the movie Invictus to try to work together, because there is a fear that builds up a negative thinking to each other. In the movie, Mandela asked all of the staff of the president's office to help him to build the country by working together and have no fear of different languages or skin colours: “I’m here to tell you have no such fear, the past is the past, we look to the future now, we want your help, we need your help” (Nelson Mandela). There is a scene when Nelson Mandela met the captain of the Springboks team, Francois Pienaar, Mandela said to Pienaar, 'How do we inspire ourselves to greatness when nothing less will do? How do we inspire everyone around us? I sometimes think it is by using the work of others' (Nelson Mandela). This quote tells the audience that Mandela had an expectation to unify the black people and white people. To achieve his expectation, he needed to inspire his citizens by using examples, so they could work together and build South Africa without any fear of one another.

In conclusion, racism is a serious problem, especially if people do not do anything to take part in trying to stop the action of racism. Racism must be stopped immediately, if not, it will impact the social welfare and violation of human rights. The perpetrators of racism think and believe that their race is more superior than the other races. Several ways to stop the action of racism are: the victims and the defender must forgive each other, never give up, and the perpetrators and victims must work together as a unit. The result, if people could stop the action of racism, is this world will become peaceful and all of the humans in this world will have a pleasant life.