If you haven't already heard, a marketing firm called Quirk is planning to petition the Lego Co. to make a Nelson Mandela Freedom Fighters set to tell South Africa's best story. So why am I blogging about it, well I actually have a vested interest in this... sort of. My sister work's for the marketing firm in question and she came home all excited about it, before it was broadcast before the nation on prime-time news. So I'm just doing my part to spread the word before the December petition handover - which will mark one year since Madiba's passing! It does seem that Lego is taking over the world, especially in pop culture, from famous movies - The Avengers, The Justice League, Star Wars etc. to other famous films and even TV series'. Even the Beatles have Lego caricatures. So, it kind of feels right that Madiba should get one too - and this is one series that will transcend markets and industries and commercialism, heck, it already has. Quirk may have started this with convenient publicity benefits and a greater message, but its already become bigger than them because it involves so much more; its about continuing immortalizing the Legocy and conveying SA's greatest story to the next generations, in one of the most popular mediums yet. Have you signed the petition? --- www.legocy.co.za The trailer for The Lego movie, released earlier this year. (read ITK's review HERE) This film also transcended a story simply about toys and actually managed to be allegorical of quite a few issues in society. If you haven't seen it i highly recommend it. Here's the link to the LEGO Youtube Channel, to take a firm step into the world of stop-motion.
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I thought of posting this video/song simply because its cool, but as so often happens, it does tie in well with a broader message and theme permeating in South Africa today, Madiba has been laid to a much deserved rest, but a huge part of his legacy remains within us - a part he fought and was prepared to die for: FREEDOM. Additionally, mandela always said that music and Dancing put him at peace with the world... The 'free' sung about in this video (by Rudimental featuring Emeli Sande) is complete in its openness - its the freedom we yearn for but so seldom exercise. We have been liberated, so don't live like you're still oppressed... it all starts in the mind. An African Myth A poem by Steven Benjamin From humble hills A heart starts to beat Walking begins From humble teachings Breaking a branch “Troublemaker” is born A mind grows No boundaries found, but what he sees. A man of blood and bone, and of the earth. A tormented land, thirsty Quenched, only with the blood of its own people. Within the division, He grows He is armed The land knows his name Shackles now, and resolve In the dungeons kept Land and frigid sea, between His blood, from youth, and love Reformed in the cold of night and blinding heat of day Behind high walls and in rocky quarries A brotherhood is sealed. And through the wire and the stone, his voice grows His spirit remains. But the body withers His name is known Bullets fly, bodies fall A nation walks to the edge The bloodied hand of the Abyss beckons The gates open with the chant of the people for the cage must be unlocked The man steps forth The world takes a breath. One last brother falls The Abyss steps closer... But, the boundaries seen are broken, My heart beats as yours To kill you, is to kill me His heart beats For his people, and rampant land. Peace He broke a branch once Perhaps from an Olive tree And extended his hand gracefully, To his fearful enemy ... - Years pass That fearful day nears When the land will reclaim a man The people will cry tears to soak the once bloodied ground And the heavens will cry too An old man’s heart stops beating... And the world stops, for a moment. He is sent back His body taken, Back into those humble hills - This is the story of a boy, a man, a husband, a father, a Chief, a lawyer, a leader, a soldier, a freedom fighter, a prisoner, a peacemaker, a reconciler, a liberator, a president, a humanitarian, a King, a legend, a hero, an icon… the father of a democratic nation, the son of an African land... the closest incarnation of that ancient African myth, where all hope, is in but one, an incorruptible one. Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela 1918 - 2013 ... [God Bless all, 2013 is marks the first full year of publication of this blog, here's to a waaay bigger 2014. I'll be a little preoccupied in this end of year festivities and travels. Be safe, be blessed, hug your family and friends, and keep on reading and writing. thanks to all my first time visitors as well as dedicated loyalists, Cheers - I take my proverbial hat off to you!] South Africa stands still, because in the face of death, nothing else matters. With Nelson Mandela gone, it was imperative that I write… something, anything. This after all, was a man who inspired such things, and much more. The title of this post comes from a line in an article on The Daily Maverick entitled: "With Madiba gone, who do we become?" - and it quite perfectly sums up modern South Africa... a miracle country with many problems and deep flaws. But, with the death of our nations father, we are able to take a moment to step back and reflect, getting out of our own way to look at our current circumstance with a fresh gaze, and realize that we as a country still don't know who we are. We're exiting our difficult teenage years, and now the time has come for us to really show our maturity - or to grasp it very quickly, because that's what needs to happen. This moment of reflection and honoring our great leader was desperately needed, and so, even in death, Nelson Mandela continues to serve South Africa. I was 19 when my father died, but still it has taken a few years to truly become a man – the one I know he and God can look on with something vaguely approaching satisfaction; that I can at least claim to be on the right path toward that beacon, wherever it may be. The years since his death have been an education, the deepest of my young life. South Africa is 19 years into democracy, still just a teenager, and our country’s father has just died. They say the best stories surround a great hero overcoming a mighty foe, and though Madiba was by no means alone, he was the head of the army, the accepted and acknowledged leader in the fight. Apartheid – the great scourge of our nation’s past, and during its existence, the stain on the world map. The stakes could not have been higher. We’ve seen and read about such tales of heroism, endurance and fortitude amid bloodshed, no, blood-flow, and death, strife, unimaginable pain and anguish. We, South Africa were born out of a tormented and warped past, one still haunting us today, though more so the older generations. But now that that demonic system of oppression lay like a vanquished enemy in the dust of history, the great hero who spear-headed the campaign, has taken his final bow. Apartheid called for a great leader to arise, and, in quiet calm dignity, he, Mandela, answered that call. Now, when there are no more such evil enemies holding us captive, and no more heroes of Mandela's caliber left or required (stealing a glance at the fallen or slain greats like Walter Sisulu, Oliver Tambo, Goven Mbeki, Chris Hani and Steve Biko et al.), we are left, to ponder our own devices, to find our path, alone… and together. This is the season, potentially the realization of that dream a good few have spoken of; this great man will forever be a bastion of reference, his legacy a guiding light toward that dream we like to call, the African Renaissance. I believe I speak for the vast majority of SA when saying that we all felt it deeply, even though we saw it coming (nothing can prepare you for that hollow chasm of grief)… it’s that sudden alarm, vague shock when your guiding light, the same light which was so strong in leading you out of the dark, even when hidden in a island dungeon - simply because we knew it remained... is then extinguished. And now we stand still, taking a moment to honour him, before we take those first steps into the unknown, in all our youth and vulnerability. Madiba, you were among the best of us, and stamped the seal as our example, "We South Africans have had the uncommon luxury of outsourcing our morality to one of history’s giants, a man who was simply unable to disappoint." (from the article alluded to earlier)... but now, more than ever, is the time to live by those same morals, and hold one another accountable. I salute you, Tata Till we meet again “The implication of that was if any of us take the witness box, we should take our cue (from Mandela’s speech)… Proclaim your political beliefs, don’t apologise, don’t ask for mercy. If there’s a death sentence, we will not appeal. That’s how Madiba was exemplary in whatever he did. He led from the front. No matter what the risks, he was right in front,” -- Ahmed Kathrada, struggle icon and fellow political Prisoner on Robben Island. This in reference to Mandela’s famous four and a half hour speech at the Rivonia trial, pledging to fight against black and white domination, and saying he was prepared to die for his convictions. “He was, and by the time of his death, universally held to be a great man; he may well be the last of the great men as the concept of greatness retires into the historical shadows.” – JM Coetzee, novelist & recipient of the 2003 Nobel Prize in Literature. Invictus - William Ernest Henley 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. --- Ulysses (extract) - Alfred Lord Tennyson [...] ... Come, my friends. 'T is not too late to seek a newer world. Push off, and sitting well in order smite The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths Of all the western stars, until I die. It may be that the gulfs will wash us down; It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles, And see the great Achilles, whom we knew. Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho' We are not now that strength which in old days Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are,-- One equal temper of heroic hearts, Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield. --- “… we must also ask ourselves a question: What about the future? I think as we celebrate the life of Nelson Mandela, this becomes a central task, to ensure we do not betray what he and others sacrificed for.” – Former SA Pres. Thabo Mbeki An unconscious truth Is the past scary? It seems so because many of the peoples of today want to leave the past in the past… It’s all about the here and now, and of course what comes tomorrow. We live in equally depressing and exciting times; the technological age mixed in with global warming, mixed with the Olympics (yes that happened this year) and the recession BLAH BLAH… it all becomes noise after a while, the same ol’ stories, very much a la comedian Tommy Tiernan’s (@tomedian) classic take on the current debt crisis: Okay calm down, take a breath. What my current utterances actually refer to is “heritage” --- OH NO you di’nt --- yes I did, I said it, the “H” word. It’s one the youths of today scoff at, with a wave of the hand, squinting at you “you mean like, Nelson Mandela? - Or tribesman, right? The bush people… no boet, isn’t that something for Heritage day?” – That one public holiday in the year, and most don’t know what it actually means, it’s true significance anyway. And yet we practice it everyday, heritage that is. I suppose most would have expected me to post this closer to that day (24 Sep – for those keeping score) but that would contradict what I’ve just mentioned. Anyway… imagine this; cast your mind to a world minus all that came before us. Imagine each generation went about tearing down whatever the generations before them had created. Where would we be? – most pertinent to that though is; who would we be? The concept of culture would be dead. The word would be foreign to our ears, and since language itself is something we carry from generations past, would we not be communicating in strange, rudimentary and different ways: clicks and sign language, each person with his own take on it… --- Quote: --- The History Boys (2006, IMDB) "Tom Irwin: Um, Rudge... Mrs. Lintott: Now. How do you define history Mr. Rudge? Rudge: Can I speak freely, Miss? Without being hit? Mrs. Lintott: I will protect you. Rudge: How do I define history? It's just one f****n' thing after another. [raucous laughter from the other students, but the interview board is appalled]" I imagine quite a confusing world. Or perhaps just a basic one. And so, we need what came before, because without it, we’d be nowhere nice, transported back to mumbling cavemen – Neanderthals. And yet, even in our evolution and progression, we never cease to find ways to complicate our lives more and more… what a strange bunch we are. However, stepping away from your generic and immediate associations with the term heritage, let’s take a quick look at heritage on a grand human scale; Globalization, which could very well be counterproductive in the quest to preserve our heritage, has yielded UNESCO – and thence… world heritage sites. Here, take a look; can you imagine a world without them? And yes, though many are natural wonders, provided by mother earth herself, we humans do just so happen to have an uncanny knack for destroying things, don’t we? This: just to make you think a little harder, especially on a Monday… We forged new ways, continue to invent new things, because we are pioneers, searchers, adventurers... it's part of who we are - but so is our past, even if we're not always aware of it. All photos from National Geographic. Visit the site to see all the other interesting and beautiful World Heritage sites!
image by Steven Benjamin I was actually planning something a little amusing for this post, but events ensued, unfolded, came up and dictated matters. So alas, twas a glorious day yesterday, and there we were, traveling through the 'wine country' of Paarl valley on our way to Drakenstein Correctional Center (DCC). It was only as we made the turn in to the entrance that I realized where we were. After all, the DCC is a name that bears little distinction. So for those who are still in the dark, as I was for a small period; this prison was formerly known as Victor Verster Prison, YES, the very same facility that Nelson Mandela was released from in 1991. It underwent an unceremonious (by my standards) name change around the time democracy made landfall in RSA. And so, there we were, on Youth Day, in the shadow - metaphorically speaking - of the statue of the iconic leader. This special event taking place on the Prisons sports grounds (just outside the actual prison, lets call it the DCC staff and security village) was by no means coincidence of course, I was just mum on the details... well there you go, everything turns out for the good in the end, and a great time - and lunch - was had by all. Wishing you many blessings! |
[Banner illustration by Joel Kanar]
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