DR. PETER HAMMOND ON "MASS MARKETING THE MANDELA MYTH"!

MASS MARKETING THE MANDELA MYTH

Film Review

The new Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom film presents a selection and distortion of the history of South Africa and Nelson Mandela as the secular humanists of the New World Order would like us to percieve it. The film rushes through the life and times of Nelson Mandela, completely ignoring the Cold War context and threat of Soviet communism on the borders of South Africa at that time. It glosses over the murders and massacres of the Marxists and presents scenes that stereotype whites as racist and blacks as noble revolutionaries only seeking for justice. 

Political Propaganda

Producer Anant Singh is recognised as South Africa's preeminent anti-apartheid film producer. Previous productions of Singh include: Place of Weeping, Sarafina!, Red Dust and Cry, the Beloved Country. Heavily funded by the South African ANC government and the Nelson Mandela Foundation, this 22 million Pounds authorised biopic presents a selection of incidents from the history of South Africa and the life of Nelson Mandela that will go a long way towards further marketing the Mandela myth. 

Emotive Speeches Backed by Orchestras

Shot for spectacle with impressive crowd scenes, the legend of Nelson Mandela is presented with numerous speeches backed with swooning orchestration that climbs to emotional peeks whenever Nelson Mandela addresses any crowd. 

English Born Actor Plays Mandela

London born actor, Idris Alba, plays Nelson Mandela from his early days as a smooth lawyer through his recruitment to the African National Congress (ANC), to his arrest, imprisonment, eventual release and election as president. Naomie Harris plays Winnie, the fiery revolutionary love interest and second wife of Nelson Mandela. 

Animistic Circumcision Rituals

The film begins with Nelson Mandela as a teenager going through the Xhosa circumcision ritual where witchdoctors prepare youth for initiation rites. The painting of their naked bodies in white chalk, passing through the smoke of burning everything relating to their childhood and washing off in the river, with full frontal male nudity, is disturbingly depicted. 

Anachronism

Next we see the Nelson Mandela character depicted as a smooth lawyer in a three piece suite walking past anachronistic security gates and burglar bars (which did not exist in South Africa in the 1940s). 

Shallow Stereotypes

The film is a mythic and heroic story of man against man. In this case it is a black man leading all black people against white people who are depicted as uniformly racist, shallow and stupid. The film makers apparently believed that the best way to exalt Nelson Mandela was to depict all whites as narrow-minded, selfish, racist bigots. The first scene of whites in the movie is of them sipping champagne on a balcony, while the black workers bussle around on the streets below. Numerous fictional incidents and comments are inserted in order to reinforce this stereotype. 

Reluctant Revolutinary

The time worn cliche of the reluctant revolutionary is inserted into the story turning Nelson Mandela from a happy-go-lucky smooth lawyer confounding a white woman in the witness box, to a frustrated and angry revolutionary fighting for justice, peace and equality for all. 

Police Brutality

Numerous incidents of mindless police brutality are depicted, giving the impression that, without any provocation, or reason, they would beat up, or shoot, black men, women and children in cold blood. 

Adulterous Affairs and Abuse

Nelson Mandela's pattern of adulterous relationships and repeated beating of his first wife are briefly touched on in a few fleeting scenes. Then much attention is given to the romance with Winnie, who became his second wife. 

Prefering Paganism

In contrast to the repeated, respectful treatment of animism, Christianity is dismissed in a few striking statements and scenes. Mandela states that God only seems to answer the prayers of the Boers, and Winnie declares that there is no God who will save us, we must save ourselves! 

Necklace Murders

Later Winnie Mandela gives a revolutionary call to violence from the front of a church, where the cross is obscured. With much anger and expressions of hatred, Winnie Mandela repeatedly calls for using stones, boxes of matches and petrol to 'necklace'the informers and kill the enemy. One brutal burning to death of a supposed informer through the ANC's signature necklace method is depicted. Actually, over 1,000 black people were burnt to death by the brutal necklace murder, so publicaly promoted by Winnie Mandela. Many of these were elected black town councillors and mayors - but that is not acknowledged in this film, which claims that blacks had no rights, no votes and no elected representatives. 

Ignoring the Cold War Context

Significantly there is no mention of the Cold War context and not a scene or a reference to communism, the Soviet Union or the Russian and Cuban troops, at that time engaged in conventional warfare on the border of Angola and South West Africa. 

The Missing Victims

No mention is made of the Cuban training in terrorism received by Nelson Mandela. Nor are any of the victims of his bombing campaign depicted. From the film one would get the impression that his armed struggle consisted of nothing more than night time bombings of unoccupied municipal offices and a power station. In fact none of the ANC's car bombings are depicted, not even the Church Street bombing bloodbath. None of the ANC assasinations, such as of Bartholemew Hlopane, are depicted or referred to. Nor the Shell House massacre when Nelson Mandela, as head of the ANC, after his release from prison, ordered his security to open fire on unarmed Zulu protestors belonging to the INKATHA Freedom Party. 

The Communist Connection

At no time does one even see a hammer and sickle. The huge Soviet and South African Communist Party flags that Nelson Mandela spoke in front of are nowhere to be seen in this film. Neither are any of the white Russian communist members of the ANC, such as Joe Slovo and Ronnie Kasrils, depicted in any way in this film. 

The Making of a New Religion

It is disturbing that this film is due to open across the United States on Christmas Day. With songs of praise and hymns glorifying Nelson Mandela being sung by choirs and taught to school children, we seem to be seeing a beginning of a new religion. 

Icon of the New World Order

Certainly Nelson Mandela is the pre-eminent icon and idol of the New World Order. The United Nations General Assembly has even declared 18 July, Nelson Mandela International Day! 

Strategic Timing

The timing of this heavily state-funded propaganda film is interesting as the ANC, mired in corruption scandals, is heading into an election year. Many see the timing of this film as a distraction from the disastrous failures of the ANC, by rewriting history to depict the past in the worst possible light and rally the voters of South Africa behind the party of the revered Nelson Mandela. 

Blame Everything on Apartheid

The violence of the ANC is mostly blamed on Winnie Mandela, with Nelson Mandela apparently disapproving. Even when referring to Mandela's divorce from Winnie, Mandela's character blames it on the apartheid government! 

The Missing Opposition Parties

There are disturbing and shocking scenes of the black on black violence in the townships with axing, macheting, shooting and hacking of men, women and children, but no explanations given as to who was doing what to whom. At no time is any hint given that there were actually other black political parties in South Africa, such as the INKATHA Freedom Party, with whom the ANC were locked in deadly turf wars. 

The Last Word on Everything

Throughout the film, Nelson Mandela dominates the screen and always has the most intelligent and profound things to say. He always has the last word, even in court and in prison. No one else ever seems to have a reply for his dogmatic statements. 

A Redemptive Message

After all the depictions of white racism and evil, the film concludes with Nelson Mandela commenting: "If I can forgive them - you can forgive them!" He asserts"peace is the only way." The film ends with a quote from Mandela's Long Walk to Freedom book: "My country is not meant to be a land of hatred. People are taught to hate and they can be taught to love. Love comes more naturally than hate." 

Divorced From the Historical Context

If the message of the film is forgiveness then it is a good message. However, divorced from the context of the brutal war being waged by the ANC to intimidate the people in the townships, and terrorise farmers and civilians, this film turns communists into heroes and Christians into villains. It also denies the depravity of man, claiming that love (apart from God) is natural and dismisses God as irrelevant. 

Presidential Performance

The film wisely stops at Mandela's Presidential Inaurguration in May 1994. That is understandable, because at two and a half hours long, the film drags and sags at times. It is quite episodic. However, it would be relevant to note that the Nelson Mandela presidency was a disappointment and a failure in many ways. Nelson Mandela reintroduced race classification for Affirmative Action, Black Economic Empowerment and job reservation. He legalised pornography and abortion. Violent crime exploded with rape and child abuse increasing 400% during his presidency. The currency imploded and the ANC looted the country of billions of rands through chronic corruption. 

The Abortion Holocaust

Over one million babies have been killed, officially, legally, in South Africa, with taxpayer's money, since Nelson Mandela forced through the Termination of Pregnancy Bill 1 February 1997. 

Crime Wave

Under Nelson Mandela's presidency, an average of 25,000 people were murdered each year. Yet, to celebrate his birthdays, Nelson Mandela would regularly open prison doors and set many convicted criminals, including armed robbers, murderers and rapists, free. Some of these were murdering and raping within 24 hours of being released. Well over 100,000 people were murdered under Mandela's term as president. 

The Growth Industry of Murder

To put this into perspective, in 44 years of apartheid, 18,700 people were killed in politically related violence. This included soldiers, police, terrorists, civilians, necklace murders, rioters - all victims. However, after Mandela became president in 1994, an average of 25,000 people were murdered every year. Over 67,000 whites have been murdered in South Afica since 1994, 3,000 of them farmers. Many fear that this film will incite further race hatred and targeting of whites for murder.Genocide Watch warns that South Africa is already in the Genocidal process stage 6 targeting white Afrikaners for extermination. 

Economic Deterioration

In the 1970s, even while facing terrorism, riots and engaged in a border war with the Cubans in Angola, the SA Rand was stronger than the US Dollar. In Mandela's first four years as president, the Rand lost 80% of its value and more than 2.8 million man days were lost to strikes. The national debt doubled under Nelson Mandela's presidency. 

Financial Failure

Therefore, under Mandela, even with no war, no sanctions, no riots, no conscription and with massive international aid and investment, the Rand plummeted to R10 to the Dollar. Economic deterioration and sky-rocketing crime marred his presidency. The Economist at the time described Nelson Mandela's presidency as: "a failure." 

Do Not Let the Facts Get In the Way of a Good Story

However, we are not meant to allow facts to get in the way of a good story. So, this Mandela film calls us to forget all these facts and to shelve our pro-life, pro-family, moral convictions and bow before this new idol, sing this politician's praises and effectively burn incense before the image of a new Ceasar. 

Rewriting History

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom presents a selection and distortion of the history of South Africa and Nelson Mandela as the African National Congress (ANC) would like us to remember it. This heavily state-funded biopic is politically correct propaganda which markets the Mandela myth by ignoring the Cold War context and threat of Soviet communism on the borders of South Africa at that time. Stereotypical and episodic, it includes numerous obscenities, nudity, occultism, pagan and humanist worldviews, anti-Biblical and anti-Christian sentiments, immorality, adultery, drunkenness, smoking, extreme, brutal and disturbing violence, revisionist history and racism. See: www.movieguide.org for reviews on all films from a Biblical perspective. 

Summary

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom markets the Mandela myth by demonising white South Africans, dismissing Christianity and God, promoting paganism, occultism, humanism, socialism, and justifying violent revolution. The film is a mythic and heroic story of man against man. Despite ending with a call for forgiveness and love, the rest of the film seems more inclined to incite hatred and racial sterotyping. It does not allow the facts of history to get in the way of their story of this icon and idol of leftist causes and the socialist New World Order.
 

Dr. Peter Hammond

Frontline Fellowship
P.O. Box 74 Newlands 7725
Cape Town South Africa
Tel: 021-689-4480