This article examines transnational collaboration in the production of Mandela＇s biopics and what it means for Mandela＇s self-image, for South African history, and for the globalization of human experience. The film...This article examines transnational collaboration in the production of Mandela＇s biopics and what it means for Mandela＇s self-image, for South African history, and for the globalization of human experience. The films covered in this discussion include： Mandela （1987）, Sarafina （1992）, Mandela and de Klerk （1997）, Goodbye Bafana （2007）, Endgame （2009）, and Invictus （2010）. The article examines the portrayals of Mandela as a lover, action hero, conciliator, and as a symbol of the anti-apartheid liberation struggle, and then focuses on Invictus, Clint Eastwood＇s adaptation of Carlin＇s book, Playing the Enemy to show the degree to which Mandela is incarnated on screen through Morgan Freeman＇s stunning performance while at the same time underscoring the dangers of Euro-American cultural production of Mandela＇s image. While Carlin＇s book employs reminiscences, flashbacks, and shifting chronology to expose the injustice, oppression and brutality that the Springboks symbolized, the film instead focuses on magnifying Mandela＇s image and charm at the expense of South African history, leading to the misrepresentation of Mandela： the ＂heroic self-transcendence＂ typical of Hollywood＇s shallow treatment of historical material for commercial and cultural expediency.展开更多
文摘This article examines transnational collaboration in the production of Mandela＇s biopics and what it means for Mandela＇s self-image, for South African history, and for the globalization of human experience. The films covered in this discussion include： Mandela （1987）, Sarafina （1992）, Mandela and de Klerk （1997）, Goodbye Bafana （2007）, Endgame （2009）, and Invictus （2010）. The article examines the portrayals of Mandela as a lover, action hero, conciliator, and as a symbol of the anti-apartheid liberation struggle, and then focuses on Invictus, Clint Eastwood＇s adaptation of Carlin＇s book, Playing the Enemy to show the degree to which Mandela is incarnated on screen through Morgan Freeman＇s stunning performance while at the same time underscoring the dangers of Euro-American cultural production of Mandela＇s image. While Carlin＇s book employs reminiscences, flashbacks, and shifting chronology to expose the injustice, oppression and brutality that the Springboks symbolized, the film instead focuses on magnifying Mandela＇s image and charm at the expense of South African history, leading to the misrepresentation of Mandela： the ＂heroic self-transcendence＂ typical of Hollywood＇s shallow treatment of historical material for commercial and cultural expediency.
