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Sunday, 1 July 2018

The Power Of One SEXXY Essay

29.06.18

In English, we worked on how to write a SEXXY paragraph and then created our own based on the film The Power Of One.

Essay


The film The Power of One, directed by John Avildsen. Is based on the Apartheid that happened in South
Africa. Included in the film, was a variety of conflicts between the White people and Black. In the hang him up
scene, the main characters, P.K --an English boy -- and Jaapie Botha--an Afrikaner teen-- are shown in different
techniques to outline the confrontation they are about to have, surrounded by Afrikaner students. In the scene,
P.K is targeted as he’s English, and these aspects helped us understand the conflicts and hate was not only
between white and black but also between the English and Afrikaners. Techniques used were low-key lighting,
close-up and low angle. These film techniques gave us an idea of what will unfold throughout the confrontations.
Each film technique created different effects on the audience and changes in the way we think.

In the Hang him up scene the director uses low-key lighting to show how intense the scene will be. We see this
when the scene switched up from bright lighting to a darker lighting. Where Jaapie Botha is waiting for his carved
tattoo to be done, but only his face is shown in lighting that could be seen, while around him dim light is used.
The purpose of this was to give away how profound the scene is. Also giving the scene an atmosphere that would
fit with the confrontations happening between the students, Jaapie and P.K. This helps us understand how much
small detail can create an impact. The way the lighting was used gave us an understanding, of how quickly our emotions can change just by changing the lighting. This also helps us understand how much P.K has suffered
throughout his stay at the Afrikaner school. The struggles he had while having to endure the pain of bullying by
not only Jaapie but the students. This aspect can be compared to when P.K was teaching the black Africans English
in a Church but had to do so without getting caught by the Afrikaners - who were in power at the time- which can
be contrasted to when he was in the room with only Afrikaners around him. Instead of having fear or anger, he felt
confident to stand and speak without cowering in fear.


When P.K is brought into the room by force the director uses a close-up shot, to show through his expression that
he held mixed emotions about the scene which is unfolding right in front of him. For example, the director, John
Avildsen used this aspect to show how both Jaapie and P.K look at each other with intense stares. This was done
to display how instantly P.K’s facial expression changed from fear to anger as he struggles to get away from the
stronghold the students had on him, and as he suffers from the slap he receives from Jaapie Botha. This shows how
much power was radiating from Jaapie as he throws insults at P.K for something he was not responsible for. This
action made us feel more hatred towards Jaapie and the Afrikaners. This reminds me of one of the scenes in the
film, where Geel Piet--a black African-- was held up against the wall by an Afrikaner prison guard, Sergeant Borman
as he stares back in fear. The director used obvious shots to show who was in power and had the upper-hand in
the situation.

In the hang him up scene low angle is used deftly to make Jaapie appear mighty and powerful. This is demonstrated
when he is shown from a low angle standing while chanting “Hail Hitler” to the crowd. This shows how much power
he has. The director did this to give the effect of the difference of power in which each Afrikaner student had, as
every student respected and obeyed every instruction given by Jaapie. This gave the audience the feeling of being
threatened.  We can see an immense difference in power, but we know that power can create problems and
change. Which is what Jaapie believes in. This aspect can be linked to when the Headmaster was giving a
speech -standing up on the Podium- about how they will overthrow the English and gain the power they once lost,
back. This also made us feel threatened, by the amount of power he had. As no one had the audacity to speak,
but only listened.

In conclusion, The Power Of One by John Avildsen created an immense effect on the audience. The director uses
the techniques, low-key lighting, close-up and low angle efficiently throughout the scene. We see the Afrikaner
students, who are portrayed as bullies as to show respect to Jaapie Botha. As they manhandled P.K. each
technique had a significant effect on the emotions of the audience.

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