[denmcdough]

I watched Invictus last evening and was very moved by this poem. It has a way of speaking to all of those who are opressed!! Enjoy!

Invictus

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

William Ernest Henley

[Oldhiker]

my middle school english teacher made us recite this poem from memory. I didn't get it at the time. wish I had understood then... youth is wasted on the young

[Mike_Oettle]

On your recommendation, Den, perhaps I ought to watch that movie.
I am always a bit wary when Hollywood comes bursting in with its own actors and tries to tell the world what things are like in South Africa.
And thanks for the poem.
But, as Oldhiker says, youth is wasted on the young, isn’t it?
Regards,
Mike

[denmcdough]

Mike, yes, please watch the movie and give us your perspective. Personally, I thought it was good, but I'm not a South African. Enjoy!

[cavscout]

This was a good movie. I was very skeptical as well but found that the movie was much more about the Rugby team and only grazed the surface of apartheid in a very vague way. I was young at the time of these events so I can't speak to the accuracy of the film but the story is told well and very inspiring. It's well worth the rental or being moved to the top of your queue.

[cajunscot]

Originally Posted by cavscout

This was a good movie. I was very skeptical as well but found that the movie was much more about the Rugby team and only grazed the surface of apartheid in a very vague way. I was young at the time of these events so I can't speak to the accuracy of the film but the story is told well and very inspiring. It's well worth the rental or being moved to the top of your queue.

The movie is actually based on the book "Playing the Enemy" by John Carlin, about how Nelson Mandela used the Springboks as a way to bring whites & blacks together in post-Apartheid South Africa. While the poem certainly inspired Mandela during his time in prison on Robben Island, it is only half the story. Mandela used the poem as a way to unite the country, and resisted the call of revenge against his former oppressors.

Lawrence James, in his "The Rise and Fall of the British Empire", quotes Mandela discussing his school days in Natal. Mandela credited the British school he attended with instilling in him a sense of democracy, and that he had not discarded the influences of British history and culture. (p. 629).

I too will be interested to hear Mike's take on the movie.

T.

[MacBean]

Took me a while, but it showed up on TV this week. Remembering Dennis' strong recommendation, we watched it together and loved it. It is always inspiring when people put aside the pettiness and move together. The problems of any day, are only man's inhumanity to man.

[denmcdough]

Mark, glad you liked the movie. I agree with your assessment 100%. Hope all is well in the east! D