Invictus leadership scene

Scene Analysis: Invictus

Spring 2014

Due: 1/28/2014

2 pages max, double spaced, MLA format.

In this unit we encounter leadership and service in a variety of forms and in many situations. In the 2009 movie Invictus we will see leadership and service discussed and acted out principally by the two main characters, Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman), the leader of South Africa, and Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon), the captain of the South African national rugby team, the Springboks. For this short writing we ask you to do the following:

Writing Task: Analyze that scene from the film Invictus that for you best conveys the film’s message about leadership and service.

Your scene analysis would typically come in three parts: first, a succinct summary of what happens in the scene: what you see, hear, and feel from beginning to end of the scene you choose. Second, take a closer look at what the scene does to communicate, to help you see and feel that message. Here you would analyze such elements as dialogue, action, and setting, especially those details related to each that convey the most meaning and significance. Finally, you’d explain what message the scene conveys, and what your thoughts are on that message.

Your audience would be filmgoers who want to see a complex, passionate film about leadership and service.

Here are some scenes you might consider analyzing:

1. Nelson Mandela addresses his staff on the first day in office.

2. Nelson Mandela and Francois Pienaar have tea together in the presidential palace.

3. The Springboks put on a rugby clinic in one of black townships.

4. The Springboks visit Robbin Island, where Mandela was held prisoner for twenty-seven years.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., often talked about his work as being motivated by the desire to bring together or to restore “the beloved community.” One possible approach might be to analyze a scene that has this rhetorical purpose.