From sick old man to mythical hero
In his autobiography, Conversations with Myself, Mandela spoke about his concern that the world had a false image of him as a saint and semi-god (Mandela, 2012). However, it can be noted that Mandela and the ANC carefully built up his symbolic power in the press and media to represent him as “some...
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| Language: | English |
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University of Johannesburg
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Communicare |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.uj.ac.za/index.php/jcsa/article/view/1604 |
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| author | Sandra Pitcher Tammy Frankland Nicola Jones |
| author_facet | Sandra Pitcher Tammy Frankland Nicola Jones |
| author_sort | Sandra Pitcher |
| collection | DOAJ |
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In his autobiography, Conversations with Myself, Mandela spoke about his concern that the world
had a false image of him as a saint and semi-god (Mandela, 2012). However, it can be noted that
Mandela and the ANC carefully built up his symbolic power in the press and media to represent
him as “some kind of Messiah” (Ottaway, 1993:11) who had led South Africa to freedom almost
single-handedly, and in doing so cemented his ideals of liberation, peace and non-racialisation
in the imagination of the world. However, as Mandela’s health deteriorated before his death, his
constructed immortality was tested as society began to question if his legacy could live on without
the physical presence of ‘Mandela the man’. Consequently, this article examines the representation
of Mandela in his few final years. In an examination of the Independent Online news repository in
2010 and 2013, this research highlights how ‘Madiba’s Magic’ was a carefully constructed media
image and one that, during his long illness, forced South Africans, and the world, to recognise his
‘humanness’. The paper concludes, however, by documenting the immense power of Mandela’s
legacy as played out in the press, and how, after death, his carefully constructed legacy rose
above the damage of his prolonged illness, elevating him from a sick old man and reinforcing him
as a mythical revolutionary.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d9d5e26827b942c5b500602ce2bbccd8 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0259-0069 2957-7950 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | University of Johannesburg |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Communicare |
| spelling | doaj-art-d9d5e26827b942c5b500602ce2bbccd82025-01-20T08:55:08ZengUniversity of JohannesburgCommunicare0259-00692957-79502022-10-0135110.36615/jcsa.v35i1.1604From sick old man to mythical heroSandra Pitcher0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2745-9319Tammy Frankland1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3771-8935Nicola Jones2University of KwaZulu-NatalUniversity of KwaZulu-NatalUniversity of KwaZulu-Natal In his autobiography, Conversations with Myself, Mandela spoke about his concern that the world had a false image of him as a saint and semi-god (Mandela, 2012). However, it can be noted that Mandela and the ANC carefully built up his symbolic power in the press and media to represent him as “some kind of Messiah” (Ottaway, 1993:11) who had led South Africa to freedom almost single-handedly, and in doing so cemented his ideals of liberation, peace and non-racialisation in the imagination of the world. However, as Mandela’s health deteriorated before his death, his constructed immortality was tested as society began to question if his legacy could live on without the physical presence of ‘Mandela the man’. Consequently, this article examines the representation of Mandela in his few final years. In an examination of the Independent Online news repository in 2010 and 2013, this research highlights how ‘Madiba’s Magic’ was a carefully constructed media image and one that, during his long illness, forced South Africans, and the world, to recognise his ‘humanness’. The paper concludes, however, by documenting the immense power of Mandela’s legacy as played out in the press, and how, after death, his carefully constructed legacy rose above the damage of his prolonged illness, elevating him from a sick old man and reinforcing him as a mythical revolutionary. https://journals.uj.ac.za/index.php/jcsa/article/view/1604Nelson MandelaIndependent Online‘Madiba’s Magic’immense powercarefully constructed legacy |
| spellingShingle | Sandra Pitcher Tammy Frankland Nicola Jones From sick old man to mythical hero Communicare Nelson Mandela Independent Online ‘Madiba’s Magic’ immense power carefully constructed legacy |
| title | From sick old man to mythical hero |
| title_full | From sick old man to mythical hero |
| title_fullStr | From sick old man to mythical hero |
| title_full_unstemmed | From sick old man to mythical hero |
| title_short | From sick old man to mythical hero |
| title_sort | from sick old man to mythical hero |
| topic | Nelson Mandela Independent Online ‘Madiba’s Magic’ immense power carefully constructed legacy |
| url | https://journals.uj.ac.za/index.php/jcsa/article/view/1604 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sandrapitcher fromsickoldmantomythicalhero AT tammyfrankland fromsickoldmantomythicalhero AT nicolajones fromsickoldmantomythicalhero |