Topic > Nelson Mandela as a strong leader in the film Invictus

Invictus is a biopic about Mandela's leadership in the nation of South Africans. The film is also based on a book. “Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game that Made a Nation.” From the title of the book it can be easily deduced that the Film Invictus examines Mandela's life and revolves around his efforts and the strategy he implemented in an attempt to unite South Africans (Teays, 2017). The periods before the advent of Nelson Mandela, apartheid, had done harm to South Africans. South Africans were heavily divided along the lines of racism and when Nelson Mandela came to power he had many goals to achieve. In trying to achieve his goals as president, he encountered many challenges and it was not easy to unite the people of his country. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Morgan Freeman played the role of Mandela in the film. Mandela is caught between trying to calm his fellow blacks who felt oppressed and the whites who had incarcerated and tortured him in prison. As a leader, he had to quell the fears of whites and strive to gain their trust to enable him to lead effectively as a leader. When Mandela took office as president, Mandela retained the previous government's employees and bodyguards. It is through the game of rugby that he saw the opportunity to unite South Africans together. Having identified the potential of the games to unite his people, Mandela organizes a world cup match in which all the world's participants will participate a year later. As a leader, Mandela can therefore be said to have been an opportunistic leader. He saw the opportunity in organizing the world cup which was to be hosted in South Africa and in turn succeeded in achieving his goal. The film features leadership as the main theme leader, and therefore it is represented throughout the film. For example, Mandela as a leader was dedicated to eradicating apartheid. He even went against his people's wishes to eliminate the Springboks team. They complained that they were taking revenge for apartheid actions taken against them by whites. It can be said that Mandela was a steadfast leader. He couldn't compromise his thoughts and beliefs. Whatever he believed is what he did. When his people wanted the team to disband, he told his friend that the people were wrong. According to Mandela, leadership does not involve following public opinion, but involves persuasion and convincing people from their passions to align activities with right or just principles. Furthermore, in his meeting with François, he consulted François on the best ways he can sharpen his leadership skills. Mandela wanted to inspire his boys to become better futures and leaders. According to him, leaders should live by the principle of encouraging them to be their best. He describes the principles of being good and doing better by asking a black bodyguard to forgive a white bodyguard (Van der Westhuizen, 2016). Having spent almost 30 years in prison and finding the courage to forgive white people illustrates what Mandela expected from his country. Leadership as a characteristic requires an understanding of human nature. His friend had accused him of playing to a base political calculation by supporting the continuation of the rugby team even though the people had never wanted its continuation. In his response, he relied on process and patience so that people might one day change their minds. His method involved replacing hate with love. Furthermore, through sports, he intended to establish unity and would easily, 9(3), 449-465.