Working as a Script Writer by O Segrel do Penedo

By María Allegue, Marta Rodríguez, Pablo Díaz, Morgan Magadán and Marcos Fernández.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

TECHNICAL DATA SHEET

OUR EXPERIENCES

FILM SYNOPSIS

DESCRIBING MAJOR CHARACTERS

Jason Tshabalala (interpreted by Tony Kgoroge)

Franรงois Pienaar (Interpreted by Matt Damon)

Nelson Mandela (Interpreted by Morgan Freeman)

CONVERSATION

POSTER ANALYSIS

TRAILER ANALYSIS

CONCLUSION

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INTRODUCTION In this project we are going to talk about the poster, the trailer, the synopsis and the characters of the film “ Invictus ”. We are going to deal with the place where the film is set and with the facts of the main characters.

The aim of this project is to open people eyes and teach them some values ( like respect ), because in this movie the facts are real. So, by describing the film and the set, we will show the people the real situation of South Africa and Mandela’s situation. The objective is to make people think and reflect. When showing this movie we can see the importance of sport for a country. After we saw the trailer, we decided that this movie would be the best to analyze. Firstly, because it contains the situations of racism that make you rethink your position in society as a person and think how the past has been so as not to make the same mistakes again, think about it, reconsider it and always look forward. To tell the truth we loved this movie and without a doubt we couldn’t have chosen it better.

TECHNICAL DATA SHEET Film directing: Clint Eastwood Country: United States, South Africa Year: 2009 Duration: 135 minutes Genre: Drama Cast: Matt Damon, Morgan Freeman, Scott Eastwood, Langley Kirkwood, Robert Hobbs, Tony Kgoroge, Bonnie Henna, Grant Roberts, Patrick Holland, Patrick Mofokeng Script: Anthony Peckham Production: Clint Eastwood, Lori McCreary, Mace Neufeld, Robert Lorenz Music: Kyle Eastwood, Michael Stevens, Johnny Clegg

Photography: Tom Stern Editing: Joel Cox, Gary D. Roach Artistic direction: Jonathan Hely-Hutchinson, Tom Hannam Stylist: Abigail Metcalfe, Brad Holtzman, Cathie Valdovino, Deborah Hopper, Jack Taggart, Jacqueline Shulman, Michelle Karavoussanos, Nick Scarano, Terry Anderson Distribution: Warner Bros. Pictures Budget: 60.000.000,00 $

OUR EXPERIENCES This film reminds us of different ones like “Adiós Bafana”, which is based on the memories of the prison guard, James Gregory, who spent many hours with Nelson Mandela, the main character of “invictus”; and it also reminds us of “Mandela: from myth to man” which also shows Mandela’s life. Also, this film reminds us of another film that is called “Gandhi” which relates Gandhi’s story and how he got the India’s independence and the peace between the two separates parts of India. “Gandhi” reminds us of “Invictus” because both films talk about the union of a country.

For one of us, it reminded something: Once when this mate was 10 he was watching TV when suddenly it appears the next news, Nelson Mandela is dead. Quickly his mind turned up and I asked his mother, who is he. Was he the actor he saw in many movies? His mom said no, she explained him Nelson Mandela’s life and goodness. But the point is that he thought that Nelson Mandela was Morgan Freeman, and in this movie Morgan Freeman does the role of Nelson Mandela. It was incredible. This movie kept him with a smile permanently throughout it. It’s one of the best movies he's ever seen in his life.

FILM SYNOPSIS "Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire, the power to unite people in a way that few get" - Nelson Mandela Nelson Mandela, in his first term as the South African President, starts uniting the apartheid-torn land. To make it, he decides to start working with the national rugby team on a mission to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup. That was for him something which could unite people in a way that few could get. The film also reflects the period when he was in jail through the captain of the national team who represents one of the most important roles in this movie. To reveal this there’s a clear evidence which is the poster of the film. In this poster we can see Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela, and Matt Damon as Francois with all the national rugby team raising the trophy. The theme is going to be expressed by someone in the film principally by Mandela and Francois, but it’s also going to be expressed through the scenes, the music and all the different points of view which are essential to make the film better. There are different issues or ideas raised in the film like the social or racial justice which is represented clearly in sports where you see the difference between white people who play in a good rugby field and “coloured” people who play in a sand football pitch which is not in the best conditions; and also about individuals and their emotional, private or political lives, in this case, Mandela who is the president of South Africa. These ideas are applicable to general conditions of life referring to race, class, nationality, dominant culture; but there are ideas limited to members of the group represented by the characters, for example, Mandela as a president. In this idea there are embodied values like empathy, responsability, knowledge… The story proceed chronologically most of the time but in some moments it is used a type of flashback. The clearest one is when Francois enters to jail where Mandela has been for years and he imagines how to live there is for all the time. He remembers the poem and he thinks later "How could he have spent 30 years in a tiny cell and then go out and forgive those who locked him there?". This flashback has different effects, but the most important is the empathy.

In the film there is an unique narrative thread that show Mandela’s life, but we can say that there are some little stories within the main story. For example, at Francois’ we can see his parents life which could be called a story, and that one is in the film. There are a lot of high points in the story, but the highest one which is the climax would be the final match between Springboks, the national team of South Africa, and the undefeated New Zealand All Blacks. In that moment the tension is clear and not only for the team who has the responsibility of all South Africa, it’s also clear for the security personnel who have to control there’s no problem with Mandela. One of the moments with more tension is going to be when a plane goes really close to the stadium. There are going to be more scenes with tension between characters, between conflicting perspectives and between contrasting values; one example is when Mandela tries to convince people not to change colours of the equipment of the national team. The story ends with the victory of Springboks in the final match. That end can be looked from different points of views. From the point of view of a story it’s a closed end because they get what they want; but from the point of view of Mandela’s life it’s open-ended because it doesn’t tell anything about how the country was after that and how It’s going to be his life. The story is not told by anyone in special, it’s just told by someone, not necessary by talking but with what this person sees, depending on the scene. To say it clearly, there are multiples perspectives. Most of the time it’s going to be conditioned by Mandela but there are different scenes where he is not there. For example, at Francois’ house the story is told by all the people there but showed through the point of view of Francois who is the main character. In the film there is not going to be any authorial voice because all the dialogues are going to be told by the actor/actress. As there isn’t any authorial voice it’s difficult to know the characters’ interior life so we must rely on their actions, responses, and dialogues to understand them. But there is one, Nelson Mandela, that is also showed by an interior point of view and we can know his live better than the other characters.

Apart from that I can say that as there are different points of view, the main characters’ life is clear and complete with the essential information to understand the film and make it better. There is no voice over in the film and as I said, all the characters explain everything with many details showed through different points of view. The different points of views might be constructed in this way to show the total reality and make you join all the points of view to compare them and the gigantic difference between people. As the film is a drama, the principal purpose is not to make you laugh, but Mandela’s character helps a lot in this aspect. He smiles most of the time and he uses a lot of jokes but obviously with education to stay with someone a bit. We can see in this cases, that comedy is showed in the film, but that’s not the only thing, because it’s also satire which is used most of the time by all the bodyguards. Here we can observe their humor is based on miscommunication and incongruity. This humor and happiness of Mandela is going to be essential to see him like a good person, really dedicated to his job always with a smile, and to show that everyone can change to do a better world. He said “Forgiveness liberates the soul, eliminates fear. That's why it's such a powerful tool ”. Ironie is also going to be showed in the film, most of the time it’s going to be Mandela the person who uses it and that makes him clever and more mysterious. All the characters come across to me with different thoughts and ideas. I can say for example, François’ father is a character that I don’t like because he discriminates people and he’s a racist, but even if I don’t like him, he represents a very important rule in the film because he shows a different type of thinking. The director wanted to show through different characters all the different types of thinking, or most of them, in that time way. The action takes place in the 1940s with the appearance of Apartheid, which was a process of racial segregation introduced by the English settlers in southern Africa, and in South Africa. Most of the time takes place in Johannesburg, Pretoria and some moments in the jail.

We can establish the setting really fast, just when the film starts. In that moment we can see some differences between people playing sports. Only looking at the place, you can imagine easily how people are and the situations they go through. The setting is going to be important in this film because it’s going to be something very important for Mandela who has to look for the country. It’s also showing different values on that time and the cultural, religious, and political conditions that are assumed are going to be important for all the film and Mandela’s decisions. Music is one of the most important things in this film and many people have worked for it. The result of all that effort is getting an amazing original soundtrack that creates a very good atmosphere describing every moment with sounds. Referring to music, we must talk about the national anthem which is something that gives some problems to Mandela who has different opinion from most part of the people. But apart from that, it’s going to be really important in the final match, when people start singing. It’s not going to be really important the differences between sound or silences but it is going to help in sarcastic moments or situations with tension, for example for the bodyguards, who have to protect Mandela. The film belongs to the gender of drama because it expresses and transmits the bad situation of South Africa and how Mandela tries to get better with a lot of difficulties.

DESCRIBING MAJOR CHARACTERS Jason Tshabalala (interpreted by Tony Kgoroge) Jason is President Mandela's chief security agent. He is a serious and firm person. He seems a reasonable and strong man, has a subtle appearance but appears to be aggressive. One of his stronger characteristics of his personality is that he is distrustful and independent. He supports many of Mandela's policies but does not share the idea of having to relate to the white population.

What stood out most in this character is that he refused to collaborate with the new white security team, which caused discrimination against them because they believed that they would not trust him because of his skin color. His intentions of protection and prevention seem to be of good intention, he is a character who cares about the president's life at work and at home. He is represented as a person of medium height and athletic type. Through the character we learn the importance of reconciliation between the different races of the country and not by using revenge. This character does not have a very deep development, he does his job correctly and avoids a confrontation between his co-workers.

François Pienaar (Interpreted by Matt Damon) François Pienaar, the rugby’s team captain. His team wasn’t good until Mandela came and helped them to get their union and to give a good impression to the people who didn’t support their team. The idea of wanting to get a better country through the union of people, is expressed, apart from Mandela, by Pienaar because he knows that if their team tried hard and helped South Africans, they would get the union. I think that Pienaar is represented realistically because it is a story based in real facts even though he represents an idea that is the desire of the union. We can’t judge him easily because he is a complex character and he has a complex mind apart from this, we can say that he is a good person that wants a better world. I can’t say that Pienaar didn’t change because everyone changes in one way or another, but I didn’t see much change in him. Well, before meeting Mandela he wasn’t worried about his team as he did when Mandela came. This personage has been the one that has evolved the most…He used to wear the equipment kit because he is the captain of the team and most of the scenes where he appears, in the pitch are or training. As I said before, for me, he has been so important because of his evolution, also you can easily realize how much he affected

the rest of the people, for example, he made them learn the country anthem, even if they didn’t want. He was the most mature of his team, he made a lot of changes and motivated the rest to win the rugby championship of the world cup.,he was very sure that he was going to meet his goals. At the begining he was so indecisive about his future but as the story goes, he began to be conscious and decided on what he wanted, his ideas were clear, his purpose was that Mandela's words would come true. With effort and sweat, literally...everything happened as everyone wanted.

Nelson Mandela (Interpreted by Morgan Freeman) The way the directors lit the character is special because this movie is not another one, is an special one. Mandela is lit by the actions and things he does. The director wanted to reflect the really good person one person can be. At the beginning of the film, Mandela’s wearing a suit, because in that moment he was getting out of jail. Then, he kept wearing suits because he was the president of South Africa, and he was supposed to be elegant. At night, he wore a normal and humble pyjamas. Talking about how the director places Nelson in the movie in relation to other characters, at the beginning he situates Nelson like a hero, because he went out of jail with applauses. After that the director makes Nelson take the role of a liberator and a really good coach. With other characters, Nelson is polite and gentle. An important thing is that most of the people in the movie are black, and the rest white, and Mandela gives us a really interesting message of equality and respect. We learn a lot through this character. Firstly, in the movie, he says lots of things to other characters; such as: life lessons, kindness, goodwill…

Secondly he teaches us through the movie, because as far as we were concerned, before watching the film we thought that Mandela was a great person. But, after watching it, we realised that Mandela is one of the greatest people that have walked the earth, comparable to Malala. Both defended the rights and freedom of the less-supported and more aware people. Through his words we can raise awareness. In the movie, Morgan Freeman plays really well a really good character. His actions are incredible and unimaginable. For example in one scene, South African people wanted to change the name of the rugby team, because the rugby team was created during the mandate of another president they didn’t like. But Mandela believed that the name had to continue. That way, if they win the championship, Mandela’s presidency would be reinforced. One visual clue could be his smile. The Majority of the film is spent by Mandela smiling. That gives me confidence, because if you smile in bad moments, it means that you do have clear ideas, and Mandela does. As I wrote before Mandela had great ideas in the film, but also a great mind, by his ideas ( like the one in which he tries to join rugby fans and rugby team ) he creates a new country with new ideas. He really wanted to make respect and equality come true. But, it was really hard to reach the objectives. All along the movie we can see the evolution of Mandela’s ideas and how they are expressed. They are also expressed in a good clever way, understandable by anyone. In the film, the character is described from different perspectives: the one of Matt’s father, the one of the kids and the one of the people all around his friendship thread. Matt’s father view represents an ignorant view. For him Mandela is a stupid president that only wants to fool our opinion. And he also thinks that Mandela isn’t qualified for being president.

The Kids’ view is fantastic because they see Mandela as their god. One of the most beautiful scenes is at the beginning when all the kids were screaming Mandela’s name while they were playing football opposite the white people that were playing rugby. The view of the people all around his friendship thread is delightful. They see Mandela as the greatest person they’ve ever seen.

CONVERSATION Narrator: François goes to Mandela’s house because he’s so interested and excited to know about Mandela’s period in jail. He enters the house and finds the police officers. François: Hi sir, how are you? Officer 1: Here, working as always Officer 2: Hi François, did Mandela invited you? François: Not really, I’ve just arrived motu propio. Because I am really focused on one thing… Did you know that Mandela spent 27 years in prison? Officer 2: Of course we know it!! Officer 1: It was really hard for him... Officer 2: Pff, that’s for sure… François: Well, have a great day!! Narrator: François enters Mandela’s room quite nervous. Mandela: Hi François, it’s great to see you again!! François: Hello, I’ve come to talk with you about something…….. I’ve been thinking a lot about that letter you handed me. Mandela: Tell me my friend, you seem to be worried François: I’m… The period you spent in jail, the quote you wrote, there were really important things that made me think. Mandela: I was wondering if I could talk about it with you. Mandela: In jail, the things were horrible I lived in rather bad conditions, I saw friends dying…

Narrator: The conversation continues for a few minutes. The police officers started to hear the conversation. They were leaning against the door and unfortunately it opens. Officer 1: So sorry Mandela. Officer 2: We apologise for our entry. Mandela. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t worry, sit down. As I was telling you, our conditions were disgusting and I was completely sad. Did I lose 27 years of my life? In my opinion; No. I learned lots of things about life, I learned how to survive, I learn to appreciate life, but the most importantâ&#x20AC;Ś. I learned that I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.

http://youtu.be/C5mvW3gsruY

POSTER ANALYSIS

Title: It shows the name of the poem which is going to be written by Mandela in prison. “Invictus” shows the spirit he had when he was in jail. The use of black typography against the white background draws the viewer's attention.

Main characters: Name indications show that Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon are the stars of the film. These names are written with red colour which also draws the viewer's attention. Another indication which shows that they’re going to be the main characters is that they’re the main image. They’re situated in the centre of the poster. François is on the foreground of a picture where the background is the stadium of the final match, and this is blurred with the suit of Mandela. François is wearing the equipment of the team which has the combination of colours between South Africa’s flag and the apartheid’s flag, a problem that is going to be in the film.

Tag Line, slogan: “His people needed a leader. He gave them a champion.This type of slogan confirms that Mandela becomes the president of South Africa and he got the victory in the World Championship with François, the captain of the team.

Background picture: In the background it is showed the public and followers of the national team. They’re in the final match and they’re very anxious for the result of the match. We can see some South African flags and a lot of people encouraging to their team. Release date: Shows the date when the film is going to be showed on the cinema.

Billing block: The billing block is at the bottom of the poster and is written with a different font.

TRAILER ANALYSIS The trailers serve to capture in one way or another the attention of the issuer showing the most shocking scenes, it is the audiovisual piece that tells us what the story is about. Also, it shows some interesting scenes of the film to encourage us to watch it. Now, we are going to display you some of the most significant scenes of these trailer that try to transmit in several ways, what's the film about, some of these, are very important (2:12 when François is inside the jail)

0:07 We can see the beginning of the film, of the story, the prison where Mandela was for 27 years of his life. This shot was chosen to situate the story and to show that the film is going to start talking about Mandela’s life after prison.

0:19 In this short part of the video we can see Mandela writing the poem “Invictus” and telling the main quote of the film. The clear purpose of this scene is to show where the title of the film comes from and the quote that defines Mandela.

0:25 To continue the trailer, in this shot Mandela is shown, in the car, as the president of South Africa and Mandelaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s presidency is one of the main ideas of the film.

0:29 Just when the film starts there are two different types of pitches and black and white people are separated there. Black children greet Mandela shouting, and rugby players are looking at them. This is one of the most important scenes of the film. This

scene is shown because it perfectly represents

the situation of racism and

discrimination, both themes are very important in the film.

0:41 In this scene Mandela is giving a speech about how to build a nation and how this nation is going to influence the football, in this case the equipment. This shot is clearly shown because it represents the continuous conflict with football.

0:45 In the shot, it is shown the final match and Mandela’s explanation which says that white people support South Africa and black people to England.

1:01 In this scene suddenly, François tells his family that Mandela wants to have a meeting with him. Firstly, François’ father doesn’t agree with it because he hates Mandela. This scene is shown because here we can see the perspective that rich people have of Mandela’s actions

1:09 Mandela makes François understand the important fact of winning The Rugby World Cup because in that way, the society is being joined. If they win the Rugby World Cup, the whole world is going to focus on South Africa because they haven’t ever won one, and, while the world focuses on South Africa they focus on Mandela’s presidency. This scene is clearly shown because the whole movie is developed around that plot.

1:49 François’ Rugby Team shows kids how to play and give them some balls, because in that way, they show the people that no one is better than anyone. This scene is great and charming.

1:43 François, as the captain of the South African Rugby Team, tells the team that they must change psychologically to continue keep improving and get the World Cup because it is their destiny, this scene is shown because in this point of the movie, the tension is high and the end is near.

1:57 The Final is the clímax of the movie. In this scene it is shown the hard and final match. As we said before, if they win this match, they will win people hearts and they will open their eyes.

2:07 In this final scene, Mandela and François are shown sharing good moments. It’s shown the moment when François empathizes with Mandela in jail. He tries to review Mandela’s life in jail, and he realises that Mandela has a great heart because he could forgive the bad people that arrested him. We can also listen to some famous quotes as: “I’m the master of my fate, I’m the captain of my soul.”

CONCLUSION A project about the movie "Invictus" helped us to better understand what it has meant for Nelson Mandela's policy that the captain of the South African team FranĂ§ois Pieenar understood that the victory of the rugby world championship was â&#x20AC;&#x2039;is a great possibility to unite a population that had been divided for a long time between races. The detailed analysis of the official poster of the film, the trailer, the cast and the story is a very important work to reason and analyze a story based on a true story of a very important human and moral issue.

This also helped us to empathize with the situation in South Africa, understand its problems, values and fights. It also opened our eyes, because, as far as we knew before doing the project, it was bad, but not as bad as it really was. We must say “ thank you” to the project, because it doesn’t leave us indifferent.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Film Affinity; https://www.filmaffinity.com/es/film584053.html [Accessed April 28] Movie trailer; Youtube; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZY8c_a_dlQ [Accessed April 28] Wordpress; https://documenteixon.wordpress.com/2015/12/16/invictus/ [Accessed April 28] Lahiguera.net; Cinemania; https://www.lahiguera.net/cinemania/pelicula/3579/ [Accessed April 28] Lahiguera.net; Comentarios; https://www.lahiguera.net/cinemania/pelicula/3579/comentario.php [Accessed April 28] Sensacine; http://www.sensacine.com/peliculas/pelicula-129694/similares/ [Accessed April 28] IMDb; Summaries; https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1057500/plotsummary [Accessed April 29] Lago, Loly; Working as a copywriter; Virtual classroom; Women in Ads I [Accessed April 26] Lago, Loly; Working as a copywriter; Virtual classroom; Group Work [Accessed April 26] Wordreference; http://www.wordreference.com/ [Accessed April 26] Virtual classroom; IES Fene; https://www.edu.xunta.gal/centros/iesfene/aulavirtual2/ [Accessed April 26]