Analysis of South Africa Through Two Films Mandela Long...

Analysis Synthesis of South Africa Based on the 1995 written autobiographical account of Mandela’s own life, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom serves as an inspirational biopic. Filmed on location in South Africa, the film focuses most of its time on Mandela’s early life and transition into adulthood, while dedicating only a small portion to Mandela’s life and political achievements after imprisonment. Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom can be divided into three parts: Mandela’s early life and coming of age, his unfortunate imprisonment, and lastly the effects of his unexpected freedom. The opening scene of the Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom sets the stage for the first part of not only the film, but also of Mandela’s early life and coming†¦show more content†¦Mandela was a natural people person. Along with his interpersonal skills, another contributing factor to this relationship was the sheer fact that Mandela and the guards spent a substantial amount of time together -- 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for nearly 30 years. It is hard to not develop some-sort of mutually beneficial relationship spending this much time together. As Dr. Anthony Cheeseboro, Associate Professor of History at Southern Illinois University stated, â€Å"It’s hard to be an ass when you are together all the time.† This part of Mandela’s life would also serve as a building block to his later years as a political figure in South Africa. It not only shocked Mandela, but also the world. After serving 27 years of a life sentence, Mandela was freed in 1990. Upon his newfound freedom, he stated, â€Å"We [South Africans] have waited too long for our freedom.† Mandela was free from life in prison, but he, and the rest of black South Africa, was still not free in the sense of racial equality. This last stage of Mandela’s life is where the film ends. In the nation’s first democratic election, Nelson Mandela was elected president. Four years after his release from prison, Mandela had become a champion for his people and was extraordinarily powerful. Just has he had formed a relationship with the enemy in prison, he did the same upon his election as President. The former enemy, the Afrikaner government, was included in Nelson’s