Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

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Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom follows the story of Nelson Mandela, portrayed by Idris Elba, and the members of the African National Congress (A.N.C.) as they fight the injustice against the Black citizens during the apartheid period in South Africa. Throughout the movie, the viewer is led through the many adversities Mandela has to combat in order to eventually become South Africa’s first Black president. From his 2 divorces to his 27 years in prison, Mandela’s rise to fame and freedom is heartwarming.
The film itself is based off of Nelson Mandela’s autobiography that is entitled with the same name. Because of this the movie was historically accurate in its portrayal. At the beginning of the movie, Mandela’s first wife leaves him because he is never around to help raise their children. Not long after the separation, Mandela finds and marries his second wife, Winnie Madikizela. Almost 6 years into their marriage, Mandela begins his 27 years in imprisonment at Robben Island. Mandela’s correspondence with his family is severed as some of the letters he receives have had words and phrases cut out. Back at home, Winnie is left to raise 2 daughters on her own; however, despite the sudden load of responsibility, Winnie continues to work as an activist against apartheid. Her actions land her in jail where she was put into solitary confinement and tortured for a year. All the while Mandela is being moved around from prison to prison. Mandela and Winnie are together up until the very end of the movie where they divorce. The movie’s explanation for the divorce actually differs from reality. In the movie, the couple splits due to Winnie’s extreme political movements and because their 27 years long separation molded them into people with conf...

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... as martyrs for change and their actions led to the end of apartheid. This movie is powerful and uplifting and Mandela’s constant run-ins with strife and adversities proves that it really was a long walk to freedom.

Works Cited

"Nelson Mandela Gets His Divorce." Chicago Tribune. N.p., 20 Mar. 1996. Web. 11 Jan. 2014. .
"Prison Timeline." Nelson Mandela Foundation. Flow Communications, n.d. Web. 11 Jan. 2014. .
"The Long Walk of Nelson Mandela." PBS. PBS, 25 May 1999. Web. 11 Jan. 2014. .
"Winnie Madikizela-Mandela." 2014. The Biography Channel website. Jan 11 2014, 07:29 .

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