What Role Does Rugby Play In The Movie Invictus

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`“How do we inspire ourselves to greatness when nothing less will do? How do we inspire everyone around us?” as proclaimed by the notable Morgan Freeman, who plays Nelson Mandela in the major motion picture, Invictus. Over the duration of the movie, it becomes clear through his leading of the Springboks Rugby team, from the divided country of South Africa, to victory in the Rugby World Cup, that one individual with a lot of passion is capable of inspiring others to greatness.. The performance of the Springboks rugby team in the World Cup unites the nation by bringing people together through the universal sport, rugby. Although the people from South Africa, as depicted in the movie, have their differences. The blacks kept their distance from…show more content…
In reality reality, sport has the power to change the world. For example, at the beginning of Invictus, the white children are very secluded and keep their distance from the colored children. However, after the Rugby game, the black and white’s all hugged each other because they came to realization that they were for once, on the same “team” when it came to Rugby. Additionally, there is a scene where the rugby players are interacting with a group of young black children whom admire the rugby players. As the Springboks rugby players step off of their team bus, they are approached by dozens of African-American children running towards them while chanting the name of the African-American Springboks player, Chester. The Springboks then volunteer to play rugby with the black children and explain how to play. They all practice rugby together and enjoy bonding with each other. After they finish playing, the black children feel a sense of inclusiveness with the rugby players and several of them sit on the shoulders of the white rugby players while smiles and laughter fills the field. The black children and white rugby players have come to appreciate not only the sport in itself, but also each other. This scene showcases a cross-racial form of affection that occurs as a result of their mutual love for the sport, which in turn shows their love for the nation as one. Previously, they had not…show more content…
The reason for this is related to nationalism. When members of one’s country are out there, putting in effort in a sport, to make their country “win”, it makes others want to feel a sense of involvement and patriotism to cheer on their team. When a country’s team wins, members in a country gain a sense of dominance and proudness of their country. Sports are on the the few universal things in the world. No matter where one is in the world, they can find some type of sport occurring. For example, languages vary depending on which part of the world you are in, but if you kick a ball to someone, there’s a good chance they’ll understand that you want them to kick it as well. We look around the world and things such as politics, religion, cultures, technology, social statuses, and ways of life are all very different from each other, but sports remains constant. At the end of the movie, the Springboks win the World Cup game and we see the nation existing together, as one peaceful entity. The citizens of South Africa, both black and white, bond over the fact that their nation just won. Rather than considering all of their differences, they come to realization that for once, they have something in common--rugby. This celebration gives everyone something they can relate

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