Essay on: The Power of One
(Show movie) This re-enactment in the movie is extremely different to the book! This part is what led me to dislike with a passion the way in which this movie was made and directed. I am annoyed that they did not intemperate it the way it was clearly set out in the book. They say that’s just how the “Director interpreters it” But my question is and still remains did the director even read the book. Because I find it very clear that it was done in the courtyard he was tied to a tree and he (Peekay) was hit with the rocks first. But in the movie it is totally different. I mean there is no way possible you can intemperate a tree as a ceiling and a courtyard as a dorm room! This is how it is set out in the book Prisoner of war Pisskop and Kaffir Chicken Rooninek were marched off to the Jacaranda tree for the last time under the nazis leadership of the Judge. This time I was blindfolded immediately as I was tied to the tree in the usual manner. I heard the sort “pfft” Of his catapult at the same time as I felt the stone slam into my stomach. ‘Fire!” A series of dull plops tore into the fragile bones of Grandpa chook.
I’m quite aware that there is no way the director is going to get it spot on. But that scene was just the beginning of the in my opinion poorly directed movie. But then again Bryce Courtney himself made it hard for me as the reader he didn’t make it fully clear whether the people at school with peekay were Negro or Caucasian.
“The power of one” is about a young boy who at an early age was faced with the dilemmas of discrimination. Peekay went to boarding school where he got first hand experience of what it was like to be discriminated against. He was verbally and Physically abused by boys from his boarding school simply because he was British. He then went from boarding school onto other places where to he found himself squirming his way out of situations that he seemed to have gotten into because of he race. But one day Peekay met a man that would change his life forever. Hoppie Groenwald who gave Peekay the encouragement to strive to be something great in fact Hoppie encouraged Peekay to be the next welterweight contender Hoppie at the times was a welterweight contender. Even though Hoppie was an Afrikaner Peekay soon realised that not everyone he would meet in this world would discriminate against him. Peekay finds himself fighting for money and soon come to meet the Judge who was the leader of the boys that tortured Peekay back when he was younger in boarding school. Peekay fought him to the death for justice and pride that was taken away from him those years ago.
From my perspective as the reader I felt I was positioned as an onlooker. I felt as though I was looking over what was going on in Peekays life and although I wasn’t positioned as one of the characters I felt as though I was there in the actually presence as Peekay, in the movie I felt the same way that I was an onlooker but found it hard because the movie was just so different then the book, with the movie I was just a watcher I didn’t actually feel engaged in the movie possible because I was frustrated at how poorly it was made. It almost felt like I was looking over Peekay, that I was the person that saw everything he had to go through and who really understood him. Personally the Book was much more eventful and enjoyable to read, frankly the movie was so poor I had to tern it off.
The film was radically different I had the same concept, it showed a lot about discrimination and prejudice in the wrong places, for example I found that the start when Peekay was at school that there was one of the strongest gestures of discrimination in the whole book but the film overlooks that whole scene and understates it showing not enough of what really went on therefore for those that don’t read the book I feel as though they miss a lot because they don’t fully understand just how bad it was. There were parts like when he was on the train with Hoppie that were missed, the movie missed the most I feel significant influence on Peekays like. Hoppie inspired Peekay so much that it gave him determination and heart to get into thing and give it a go. The movie doesn’t at all express how much Hoppie influenced Peekays life. This was defiantly a downfall. In the book the only downfalls I can find is that I found it hard to determine whether the Afrikaners where Negro or Cauc asian. The book was long but great without it being long it would not have been as engaging, enjoyable and informative. The book gave everything in pure detail the movie just skimmed through and left out many significant parts.
Author: Elizabeth
