Essay (Power of One)

The statement "the concept of challenge is an important part of many texts", is certainly accurate when applied to the film The Power of One. In this text many significant ideas are raised and explored, such as the power of one and the need for inclusion not exclusion if a country is going to prosper. The issue of racism is also explored in relation to the concept of challenge.

The power of one or the idea of how one person can make a significant difference is an important idea in relation to challenge in the movie. One example is when Giel Piet is forced to eat crap by Sergeant. Ballman if he refused then the guards at the prison would have found the tobacco and all the prisoners would of got beaten up. As PK says, "it made me angry. Angry it was done. Angry I couldn't do anything to stop it" this quotes relates to the this idea and the concept of challenge because P.K saw this as a act of cruelty to the black people and he wanted to stop it. A cinematic technique shown to us in the movie is a close up of PK's face when he is at the waterfall, trying to decide on whether to teach the black South African people, because he thought a waterfall starts with one drop of water and ends up with a waterfall. That meant if he taught 10 people that 10 would each teach another 10 and so on so forth.

"Inclusion, not exclusion is the key to survival" as St. John said is another idea that is raised in the movie and means if all the black South African tribes unite they can stand up to the White Africana's and defeat them and take back the country, this is an important idea in relation to challenge. One example that shows this idea is the massacre at Alexandria, where the Africana's are looking for PK, killing anyone in their way but when the black South Africans unite as one they defeat them in the end. A cinematic technique that is shown in the film and relates to this idea is when PK new trainer and owner of the boxing place, paints a black and a white boxer on the front window boxing and shows a good close up of the painting. It means that if black and white people get along and there will be peace among the black and the white.

The last idea raised in this text and is a concept of challenge is racism. One example of this racism that's shown in the film is when PK was a little kid and war broke out in Germany, the kids had a little Nazi gathering and they brought PK to a place where they all were. They first hung his best friend and companion his chicken up and the biggest kid there Jaapie Botha snapped its neck and killed it. They then hung PK up and tried to snap his neck all because his was English and they all thought that the English killed there grand fathers and mothers, but luckily they didn't kill PK.
A cinematic technique used to describe this idea is when PK is watching his boxing place get burnt down. There is a close up of his face where you see the reflection of the flames and lighting.

In conclusion, challenge is an important concept in many successful texts. The film ‘The Power of One' is certainly a text that explores many interesting ideas in relation to challenge. Amongst the most important ideas raised in the film are, the power of one the ability of one person to create great change. Inclusion not exclusion is the key to success and Racism are also key themes that add to the films success and worth.