| Endgame: A Must-See Film |
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| Written by A. Wesley Ballantyne | |
| Monday, 02 November 2009 | |
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The fall premiere of PBS' Masterpiece Contemporary Theatre this past week was a film entitled Endgame. It outlines the secret negotiations between the white minority led apartheid regime and the ANC (African National Congress). The discussions begin thanks to a British business executive, Michael Young, who is concerned with losing assets in a diamond company. Young enlists deputy representative, Thabo Mbeki to the president of the ANC, Oliver Tambo, to be the voice for the ANC. Finding people to take with Mbeki was Young's challenge as the ANC was being depicted as violent and dangerous at this time, which is arguably true. Fortunately, Young is able to find voices to speak for the whites, among them Professor Willie Esterhuyse. The film is masterfully done. Not only does it provide excellent content and an understanding of the time period, it also provides a rare glimpse into the success of the ANC and the birth of the new nation of South Africa without shining the spotlight on Mandela. Instead, it is Mbeki who is able to shine as he helps explain to the white coalition why there are factions amongst the ANC, mainly known as Umkhonto we Sizwe, who feel relegated to violence. The explanation is no doubt the climax of the movie and is one of the more under-appreciated quotes in regards to the issue of violence vs. non-violence. The dialogue is as follows: Thabo Mbeki: "I will do everything in my power to ensure that civilians no longer suffer from inadequacies" Professor Esterhuyse: "Are you telling us that you are unable to control some of your renegades, cadres, Mr. Mbeki?" Mbeki: "If you know the truth of our situation Professor, you will see that the issue of violence is irrevocably connected to the other issues we wrestle with, only when we can participate in a truly democratic process will our armed struggle become obsolete, only then will the conflict between us, end." As violence became more common towards the end of apartheid, it only served to the racist white minorities advantage as they could point to that as a reason for why these people were unable to govern themselves and that turning the country over to them would only be dangerous. However, Mbeki is clear to point out why it is that certain factions beyond his control behave the way they do. It was the same way during the Civil Rights Movement in the United States when Stokely Carmichael and Malcolm X had enough with turning the other cheek, the era of the "Uncle Tom" was over. It continues throughout other parts of Africa today as well. Violence is never something to be condoned, but it is definitely something that needs to be understood. The mainstream media constantly reports on violence within Africa, but also constantly fails to report on the reasons why the violence has occurred. Within Somalia, fingers are pointed at different "terrorist" groups who act with violence, such as Al-Shabaab. However, if we took the time to understand why Al-Shabaab was using violence as an end to their means, perhaps we could understand why they feel violence is the only way to be heard. As the US constantly grapples with the thought of even talking to certain countries, these countries inhabitants are belittled and even dehumanized. As can be seen in the film Endgame, it was the act of discussion that changed the course of history. Additionally, at the end of the film, it mentions that the IRA used the ANC to help them in its talks with ending violence and rebellion in Ireland, and now Hamas is using the IRA with its peace negotiations. Everyone wants to have a a voice. Endgame provides a template for ideas to explode and succeed, not like bombs, which explode and kill. If you missed it on PBS, you can watch it online here
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