"The meaning that black skin gives him, is a lifetime of dedication, skin color struggle!" - Beyond The Glory Days
The famous band Beyond's song "Glory Years" celebrates the former president of South Africa, Mandela.
Mandela
Mandela is a world-renowned politician, in addition to "The Glory Years", there are many film and television works to praise him, the 2009 Release of the Hollywood movie "Success in People" is one of them.
"Things In People" is a film produced by Warner Pictures, directed by Clint Eastwood, starring Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon, and others.
The film is mainly about Mandela, after becoming the president of South Africa, he united all races and united the country by developing a rugby team.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > the theme of "Success in Man", first of all, in the praise of Mandela</h1>
The film celebrates him mainly from two perspectives:
The first perspective, from Mandela's perspective, is to show his deeds
In reality, before Mandela became president, he had been fighting for the rights of blacks, and in the movement for black rights, he was arrested and imprisoned for more than a decade.
This "Success in Man" shows more about the second half of Mandela's life, showing how he resolved the contradictions between various races.
After becoming president, for the sake of ethnic unity, for the sake of the overall situation, and for the long-term development of the country, he took the initiative to give up hatred, set an example, and even gambled on his political future to resolve racial contradictions.
He disregarded his own safety and let white people also serve as his bodyguard; he also took the initiative to wear the Springbok jersey that once symbolized racial segregation;
In the movie, his main focus is to develop a national football team dominated by whites, the Springbok team, hoping to unite the country through this team.
In addition, the film also praises Mandela from the perspective of the captain or the white bodyguard
When Mandela was ready to take office, the white bodyguards thought they would be "fired" because they felt that the black president had been working against the whites in the past, had been assassinated by the whites, and had been imprisoned by the whites, and he would certainly not use the whites as bodyguards.
The result was unexpected, and Mandela continued to use them despite his previous suspicions;
The captain of the Springbok team and the team also did not expect that the black president would take their predominantly white team so seriously, the president personally interviewed the captain, and the president deliberately remembered the names of most of the people on their team....................
In the hearts of these white people, they all had bad stereotypes about Mandela, but slowly they were all infected by Mandela's personality and slowly began to truly think that he was their president.
In "Things In People", Mandela is praised plainly and realistically through these two different perspectives and through different deeds.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > in addition to singing the praises of Mandela, in fact, "Success in Man" may be mainly filmed for Americans. </h1>
From the perspective of the film market, the United States is the main market for this film, and of course it is mainly made for Americans, because it is necessary to make American money.
But from the perspective of the film itself, "Success in Man" itself may also be customized for Americans, because another theme of the film is intended to "educate" American audiences.
Clint, the director of "Things in People", is a traditional American director, and his works are mainly to convey American values and reflect American social problems.
From his early Westerns, to his 80s and 90s filming Of Perfect World, The Dream of the Covered Bridge, To the Classic Car of the Century, The American Sniper, Captain Sully, to the recent Lamentations of Richard Jewell;
The core of his films is almost all the mainstream values of the United States, the mainstream culture, almost all of which are customized for Americans, and this "Success in People" is of course the same.
The problem that "Success in Man" may be the racial problem in the United States
The situation in the United States is the opposite of South Africa, the United States is predominantly white, supplemented by blacks, but like South Africa, the United States is also a "rainbow country"!
Race has always been a major contradiction in American society, because the United States is a national "melting pot" country.
In addition to having a large number of blacks, the United States also has a large number of immigrants from other countries, and the racial composition is very complex, so race has always been their main problem.
"Success in Man" is set in South Africa and celebrates Mandela, but it may also be about race in the United States.
In response to this problem, another theme of "Success in Man" is the call for racial unity
The whole film, through a football team as an entry point, to convey the desire for racial unity and harmony.
In the film, when Mandela first took office, the racial contradictions were very acute. Blacks had just been liberated from oppression and still harbored hatred for whites. White people, on the other hand, have just lost their supremacy and still look down on blacks, and many of them subconsciously do not regard South Africa as a country, and they are not even willing to sing the national anthem.
Faced with this situation, Mandela's plan was to develop a predominantly white national rugby team, the Springbok team, and promote racial unity through the sport of rugby.
This team in the past represented racial segregation, represented discrimination against blacks, so blacks do not regard it as a national team, even have hatred for it, and black people will even be beaten by their peers if they wear this team's jersey.
Mandela first attached great importance to the team in terms of attitude, he personally met with the captain of the team, and took the lead in giving up the hatred and putting on the jersey.
In addition, he also used various actions to support this team, personally came forward, withstood the pressure of the Sports Bureau, kept the team name, team emblem, etc. of the Springbok team, and usually paid great attention to the status of the team.
The Springboks were also asked to go to black slums to teach black children to play rugby, to engage with blacks, and to convey the atmosphere of mutual understanding and reconciliation between races.
In fact, Mandela was right to value the team, and the team managed to bring blacks and whites together.
The captain of the Springbok team, at first, was more concerned about the team's victory or defeat, and winning and losing was only a personal honor and disgrace for him.
But as Mandela attached importance to this team, he slowly realized that his team was a national team, and the success or failure of the team was related to the honor and disgrace of the country, and as the captain of the national team, he began to realize that he shouldered the burden of the country;
The members of the Springbok team, at the beginning, were unwilling to take the initiative to contact black people, unwilling to teach black children to play football, and the national anthem was not willing to sing, and then slowly understood how to fight for the country, and really sang the national anthem before the game;
White bodyguards and black bodyguards have always looked down on each other, even wary of each other, but slowly they all discuss the ball game together and rejoice together for the team's victory.
There is a black nanny in the white captain's home, before the final, he has the expectation of paying attention to the black nanny, while leaving a ticket for his family, he also deliberately left a ticket for the black nanny, so that she and the captain's family can watch the final together;
By the day of the final, the whole of South Africa, both white and black, watched the Springbok game together, supported the team together, and cheered for the team and worried about the team. An ordinary rugby that succeeded in bringing them together.
In the first part of the film, there is a black child who, when receiving poverty assistance, is reluctant to accept the Springbok jersey, because as a black man, he has a bad impression of the team;
But at the end of the film, he managed to hear the news of the Springbok final, and after the team's victory, he was also picked up by the white police and cheered together.
The characteristics of director Clint's films can be described as "boiled frogs in warm water". The overall rhythm of his films always feels very bland, but when you see the end, the mood of the story will suddenly explode from the blandness, making the audience suddenly feel a touch.
"Success in People" also retains this characteristic, most of the plot of the film, to the audience feel that it is a bland narrative, but in the later stage, the audience will not only feel the excitement of the game, but also by the scene of racial unity, boiling, the concept of racial unity will also enter their minds silently.
Although the story of the film is about South Africa and celebrates Mandela, American audiences may also be touched by the film's vision of racial unity, because racial issues are also their pain points, and they will also resonate.
This is "Success in Man"!
The above is a personal opinion only
Insight into film and television
(Picture from the Internet, invasion and deletion)