The Power of One Essay

During the long period of the South African Apartheid, the Black population was treated unfairly and weren’t given the same treatment as the British and Germans. In the film, The Power of One by John Avildsen, we watch a scene where Gideon Duma and P.K are running through the village. Duma tells what it is like living as a black in the Apartheid. By the way he talks to P.K, it is evident that the British and German have no idea what goes on within the villages. Using film techniques such as dialogue, scenery, and sound, Avildsen builds a great scene that conveys the story across to the viewing audience. 

Firstly, the setting of the scene shows you that Avildsen wanted to portray that, during the catastrophic time of the Apartheid, the black population of South Africa was treated unfairly. We see this when Gideon Duma and P.K run past the toilet, with the line going back until the start of the shabby houses. We see this when Gideon Duma and P.K run past the toilet, with the line going back until the start of the shabby houses. The use of scenery and people lets us see that the Black Africans-even though they were in the country first- were inferior to the British and German Africans. This scene can be heavily contrasted with the shot of the Marais household. The luxury that the Marais family lives in while the Black people have to live in small, shabby buildings.

Another technique that is used well is the dialogue that is used while they run. During the short run through the village, P.K and Duma talk about the pressing issues that restrict the Black Africans from doing what they want and from going to school. Which is meant to be a basic human right for all. Avildsen used this to illustrate the fact that the White Africans know barely anything that is happening within the Black settlements. Duma explains that law only allows two percent of the population to go to school and get an education. “The law says that only two percent of us can go to school.“The dialogue and the words chosen to word it let me have insight into the sort of world that the blacks have to live with daily, it makes the audience viewing the movie think about how the characters feel, and what it would be like to live in South Africa as a Black African during the Apartheid times. 

The third technique that stood out to me was the way that Avildsen used to sound. When the two starts running, in the background you can hear the villagers talking to one another. While you can’t hear what they are saying, it adds depth to the scene by showing you that the village is full of energy and is bubbling even though they are stuck in the Apartheid camps. Using both diegetic and non-diegetic sound over the top of one another can show that Avildsen wanted to add another dimension to the scene; whereas if he had only used diegetic sound, the sense of the depth wouldn’t have been there. The scene would have then not had an impact as big as it did on the audience members. The music that is playing while they run gives you the feeling that you are there in the village, with the villagers.  It gives you a feeling that that was what the real Apartheid was like, and what life would have been like if you had colored skin in the 1940s. You (the audience) could feel what life was like and what they did during the day in the village. 

In conclusion, by Avildsen using both verbal and visual film techniques, he paints a vivid picture of the scene. The scene has depth as Avildsen portrayed that the whites knew nothing about the villages they had created. We were given a small sliver into what life was like when only two percent could go to school when there was only one toilet for two hundred people. Avildsen gives us insight into what the lives were like for the blacks compared to the whites. 

Above is the essay that I wrote for my English assessment. I didn't think I was going to publish this to my blog, but here we are. And I'm writing a reflection paragraph.

Last term, we watched the film The Power of One. Throughout this film study, we watched the film twice, and some scenes over and over. With my essay, I'm proud of the links that I made at the end of each paragraphs as that was the one thing that I struggled with quite a bit when we were learning to write paragraphs. Linking my ideas to modern day events both in and out of New Zealand is something that I could improve on as my links are to mostly in-film scenes. This film wasn't something that I would've chosen to watch in my own time, but I did enjoy it. It was that type of feel-good movie that I enjoy, a film that brings people together and gets them talking to one another. The challenging aspect about the film was that I felt bad that I couldn't do anything. Or still can't do anything. But I did find that using the T.A.K.O and G.O.L.D.E.N tools made it easier to write