Week 5: Comparative Analysis

The beginnings of apartheid in South Africa were very different than the beginnings of the slavery in the US, but the treatment of the oppressed peoples by the white populations are very similar. South Africans were fighting for equality in their own homeland where they were the majority, whereas blacks in America were fighting for equality in a [once] foreign land where they were the minority. South Africans and Americans alike were denied a voice through their inability to vote, and both parties were assaulted violently. Sadly, although not surprisingly, the white leaders of these regions refused to lend a helping hand in the fight to end segregation.
I watched Selma on Monday and Mandela: A Long Walk to Freedom last night. Both of these movies were incredibly powerful, but struck different chords with me. Selma's focus on voting rights was enlightening, and I learned about the peace march from Selma to Montgomery. The film showed how King made all efforts to retaliate peacefully, and the attacks of innocent people eventually softened the hearts of the white populations. However, I would have liked to learn about more influential leaders, especially women, that helped fight for King's cause. I really had no idea that Lyndon Johnson waited so long to sign the Voting Rights Act. It makes me so sad that people in positions of power look out for their own best interest instead of the best interest of others, such as the blacks suffering from discrimination in the South. I did not know much about the life of Mandela before watching the movie, so to say the least, it was a very emotional experience. I had not known about Winnie until I watched this, which is shocking because she obviously played a big part in the movement to end apartheid. This film really demonstrated the destruction brought upon Mandela, his wives, and his children due to his leadership in the anti-apartheid movement. To be released from a 27 year imprisonment and to encourage the oppressed to take up their weapons of peace shows Mandela's true character and passion for equality of all peoples. The violence that once prevailed reveals the magnitude of the end of apartheid.
To be completely honest, it is very hard for me to watch movies such as these because I am ashamed and embarrassed of the ignorance, hatred, and abusive power of the white majority in the US and white minority in South Africa. It infuriates me not only to hear, but to visually see how blacks were treated on opposite sides of the world. I know we absolutely needed to watch these before we leave for Cape Town because we need to understand the why's of the treatment we might possibly receive from those in South Africa while we are there. We must be educated in the racial tensions that still linger so that we will be able to influence the lives of those in townships effectively.