I recently watched Darrell Roodt’s movie on Winnie Mandela. The story starts in 1953, three years before I was born.
It’s a poignant tale about a complex, brave and ultimately flawed woman. It captivated me, mainly because it is about a history that was familiar to me – on almost every level – political, familial and more.
What struck me, as I watched the film, in this post-Nelson Mandela era in which the ANC of both Nelson and Winnie is imploding, is how hard it has become, for many people – mainly black – whose lives and consciousness were shaped by those events, to break with the liberation movement, no matter how tainted by corruption and failure it has become.