ESSAY Writing - English

In English, we have been assigned to write an Essay on a specific scene in the movie The Power of One by John Avildsen. We are supposed to write a five paragraph to explain each different techniques that were used in the specific scene.



In the movie, The Power of One by John Avildsen describes the historical time of apartheid, the scene where P.K was mistreated in the school with his Afrikaner classmates. It shows that it is not just black people who were being treated horribly, but also the two white tribes that fight to claim South Africa, the English, and the Afrikaners. The African people have no choice but to do nothing because they were mistreated by the English and the Afrikaners. For example is when Sergeant Borman forced Geel Piet to eat animal feces. Different types of techniques are used to show how P.K was abused by Jaapie Botha.




In the scene where P.K was been slapped by Jaapie Botha, a close-up shot was used so that we can see the facial expression of P.K. It was shown that P.K’s face is covered in blood. It was used to show P.K’s face that he is furious, worried and scared. The director’s purpose to use a close-up shot is so that we can see P.K’s facial expression. It is really effective because it impacts the audience really well. We saw how he is afraid and worried about what is going to happen to him. This shot links when Jaapie Botha was been slapped by the director of the school. He felt embarrassed in front of the other students. This scene impacted the audience by showing that if you do something wrong, there will always be a consequence.




Another technique that was used is where P.K pushed Jaapie Botha, Jappie ordered the students to hang P.K in the rope. A low angle shot has been used to show that Jaapie Botha is stronger than P.K. For example, the low camera angle is used by Avildsen to show that Jaapie Botha is a threatening character by putting P.K below the camera angle because it shows that Jaapie is stronger and a dangerous character, it also shows tension on the scene. The Director’s Purpose is to show who is more capable character between P.K and Jaapie. The technique impacted the audience by causing them to feel anxious about what’s going to happen to P.K. It also shows that P.K fought back against Jaapie even if it meant he would get hurt. This shot links when Sergeant Borman made Geel Piet eat an animal excrement. They used a low angle to show that Sergeant Borman is dangerous and has the power to do anything to Geel Piet.




Another effective technique that Avildsen used is where Jaapie was slapped by the director of the Afrikaner school. Low key lighting was used to show the tension of what is going on. For example, the low key lighting was used to show how dramatic the scene is. It also improves the place where the scene happened. The director’s purpose is to show that the scene is happening at night time and it is also used to show how dramatic the scene is. This scene impacted the audience by causing them to feel tensed and embarrassed for Jaapie. The scene also shows that everything that you did wrong will have a negative impact on your life just as Jaapie did. This scene links back when Gideon Duma and P.K runs from the Afrikaner army at Alexandria. A low key lighting was used to show how tensed the scene is and how horrific and messy the setting is. It also shows that they lack electricity in place which instead of lights they use candles. It shows how black people were treated horribly.


In conclusion, The movie The Power of One by John Avildsen really describes what happened in the time when Apartheid was happening. It shows how the Afrikaners and English treated black people in South Africa. The director used various techniques to make an impact on the scene. For example is when Geel Piet was being punched and beaten to death by Sergeant Borman. Some techniques that are used are close up shot, low-key lighting, Over the shoulder shot, High Angle shot and Diegetic sound. These shots had powerful and meaningful impacts on the audience because we can actually feel or put ourselves in the spot where Apartheid is happening.