Madiba's image

Nelson’s image before he was the president in the Afrikaans press was a very bad person who influenced the county and he was in jail several times for causing troubles tin the country. The Afrikaans press represent nelson as very dangerous person to the community. He was always the accused number one in the Revonia trial to life. However, his people knew that he was fighting for them. And they took Mandela as a very remarkable man. But now, Nelson is portrait in a well mannered way. He is well respected. His relationship with the media is a very good one, because the media always represent him as big world peace-maker. Since South Africa has been reluctant to commit forces to international peacekeeping operations, but actively pursued political solutions to international crises by diplomatic means. Nelson has been the symbol all over the world not only because of unyielding the resistance to racism and despotic rule, but also of reconciliation with the enemy.

Nelson as president

As a president he never did things for publicity, he did them because they needed to be done. Little is it known that the same day that he had comforted the family of a black girl shot "accidentally" by a while farmer, he'd taken a helicopter to the home of a dying 12-year-old white African girl, who was suffering of leukaemia, whose dream was to meet him. Its amazing that a politician today has managed to free himself from his schedule and grant a dying girl's wish without making publicly known (learn to question). As president of South Africa, Mandela was committed to the principles of Western democratic parliament system. He did however, address the dilemma of how involve traditional tribal leaders in the political structure (Hagemann 1995:152). He was described as a strong personality by his colleagues.

Mandela's characteristics

Media highlights most of Mandela’s characteristics, but ignores the fact that he was not the only black South African who fought for democracy. The fact that he did not go to the exile alone, where are the other freedom fighters? Apart from those who died on strikes? Through ANC, Nelson became the first black South African president. In the form of class, the right political leadership in modern democratic societies based on the consent of those are led. unlike in the past where the ruling class could establish its ruling through force, repression or terror. The media has changed the class and status of Nelson Mandela. This essay will look and focus on Madiba’s status as the first black president and the particular role that he plays through the media to the nation. Nelson is used in commercials subjected to variety of influences. He is influential and can help the media to maintain their profitability

mandela's uniqueness

Factors that made him unique and form part of his personality or his image are the class and race. Before the democracy, Nelson was presented as the economic gains black people have made and the lack of progress they have made in terms of how they were seen by the others. Berger wrote that ‘even when black people are shown at the summit of their achievements, they often fail to carry it off’. In a way, Nelson proved Berger wrong. Behavior of people who are minorities is frequently interpreted in this binary form of representation with complementary polar oppositions such as good or bad and civilized or primitive. Hall said that black people always shown ‘being good at something, winning at last!’(Berger 2005:169). A political power determines how people are being represented, classified, stereotyped and made different. Mandela was, in a post-apartheid, as a negative stereotyping, but now the media portrayed him in positive and influential way.

representation

Nelson Mandela represents the black social group. He was the first black South African president. He is represented in a well respected manner, because of his repetition of being the world savior and for sacrificing his entire childhood for his country. The media represent him based on his skin color. He has his name on streets, roads, bridge, buildings and others. Race has seen to be an issue in dipicticting males; it has been argued that black men seem to be much more on display than the white men (Briggs & Cobley 2002: 329). Race after apartheid is not simply a matter of discarding or embracing already formed racial positions, but of renegotiating it in a new context. Race itself is significance as a ground for politics and category for the organization of daily life (McCarthy 2000: 8). Most covers we see on men’s’ magazines are of a well known politicians or other public officials, not because their body matters, but power and representation of more abstract value (Briggs & Cobley 2002: 331). Because Madiba is a first black president, he was presented as a man who rescued South Africa from the apartheid and he brought peace and reconciliation amongst different cultures.

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela( Madiba)

Rolihlahla a Xhosa name that signified that he could be a troublemaker. his clan honorific Madiba associated him with his aristocrafic Thembu lineage[...]Nelson, [...] imprinted his life with the name of one of the imperal Britain's naval heroes.(Ellen Boehmer.Nelson Mandela:A Very Short Introdution.p1) A man who is a hero in his own country, a country whose freedom he had to win. A living legacy of Mahatma Gandhi, The Gandhi(king) of South Africa, as known to the peeple of Burundi. A man who upon release greeted South Africa in the name of "peace, democracy and freedom for all". A father who atfer being politicaly imprison for more than 26 years Said he stood before us all not as a prophet but as a humble servant for all, and "places the remainder of his years in our hands". Mandela a man of steel, an unshakable, an absolute upright man, courageous, heroic, peace upholding, peace resembling and a father not only to me, but to all South Africans." [...] to be free is not merely to cast off one's chain, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others," this is what Mandela says in his poem Our greatest fear is not that we are inadeqeate, but that we are poerful beyond measure. You are the 'maker of your own destiny',and this is what Mandela believed.

Third marriage

Mandela remarried in 1998 on his 80th birthday, to Graça Machel, widow of Samora Machel, the former Mozambican president and ANC ally who was killed in an air crash 12 years earlier. The wedding followed months of international negotiations to set the unprecedented bride-price to be remitted to Machel's clan. Said negotiations were conducted on Mandela's behalf by his traditional sovereign, King Buyelekhaya Zwelibanzi Dalindyebo, born 1964. The paramount chief's grandfather was the regent Jongintaba Dalindyebo. Chief Jongintaba had arranged a marriage for Mandela, from which he fled to Johannesburg in 1940.[6]

Second marriage

Mandela's second wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, also came from the Transkei area, although they, too, met in Johannesburg, where she was the city's first black social worker. They had two daughters, Zenani (Zeni), born 4 February 1958, and Zindziswa (Zindzi), born 1960. Later, Winnie would be deeply torn by family discord which mirrored the country's political strife; while her husband was serving a life sentence on the Robben Island prison, her father became the agriculture minister in the Transkei. The marriage ended in separation (April 1992) and divorce (March 1996), fuelled by political estrangement.

Mandela still languished in prison when his daughter Zenani was married to Prince Thumbumuzi Dlamini in 1973, elder brother of King Mswati III of Swaziland. As a member by marriage of a reigning foreign dynasty, she was able to visit her father during his South African imprisonment while other family members were denied access. The Dlamini couple live and run a business in Boston. One of their sons, Prince Cedza Dlamini (born 1976), educated in the United States, has followed in his grandfather's footsteps as an international advocate for human rights and humanitarian aid. Thumbumuzi and Mswati's sister, Princess Mantfombi Dlamini, is the chief consort to King Goodwill Zwelithini of KwaZulu-Natal, who "reigns but does not rule" over South Africa's largest ethnic group under the auspices of South Africa's government. One of Queen Mantfombi's sons is expected to eventually succeed Goodwill as monarch of the Zulus, whose Inkatha Party leader, Mangosuthu Buthelezi, was one of the political rivals of Mandela, before and during his presidency.

first marriage

Mandela has been married three times, has fathered six children, has twenty grandchildren, and a growing number of great-grandchildren. His grandson is Chief Mandla Mandela.[39]


First marriage
Mandela's first marriage was to Evelyn Ntoko Mase who, like Mandela, was also from what later became the Transkei area of South Africa, although they actually met in Johannesburg. The couple had two sons, Madiba Thembekile (Thembi) (born 1946) and Makgatho Lewanika (born 1950), and two daughters, both named Makaziwe (known as Maki; born 1947 and 1953). Their first daughter died aged nine months, and they named their second daughter in her honour.

The couple broke up in 1957 after 13 years, divorcing under the multiple strains of his constant absences, devotion to revolutionary agitation, and the fact she was a Jehovah's Witness, a religion which requires political neutrality.

Thembi was killed in a car crash in 1969 at the age of 25, while Mandela was imprisoned on Robben Island. All their children were educated at the Waterford Kamhlaba.

Evelyn Mase died in 2004.

Marriage and family.

During his stay at Sisulu's house, Nelson met Evelyn Mase who also happened to be a nurse.They got married at 1944 and rented a house at 8115 Orlando West (LATER TO BECOME PART OF SOWETO TOWNSHIP). Their first child was named Madiba Thambekile, who was later nicknamed "Thembi".Although Mandela was rarely at home, he enjoyed playing, bathing and feeding his son whenever he got the chance. A year later they got a second child, this time a duaghter named Makaziwe. Unfortunately as i huge tragedy to the family the child died at the age of nine months. Although Mandela was still on apprenticeship they lived of the earnings of the Evelyn.

political beginnings

In 1943 he had his first taste of direct protest when he marched with his friend Gaur and the others in the support of a bus boycott. Mandela found the experience of marching with his people inspiring and was impressed by the effectiveness of the boycott. He was encouraged by Sisulu to join ANC in 1942. ANC was black organisayion founded to develop conditons of Africans. He was affected strongly by Lembede's view about llosing the respect for the Western ideas and the whites need of approval, because he knew he was in danger of becoming one African elite approved of by the British and critisezed by Lembede. Mandela and his colleaques formed the Youth Leaque after realising that the ANC organisation does not reach out to most of Africans. Together with his colleaques, Mandela produced the leaque's manifesto, and in 1947 he was appointed secretary

Madiba's educational qualifiactions

Nelson Mandela went to local missionary primary school where he studied English, Xhosa, History and Geography. He did well at school, thats where he was given the nickname 'Tatomkhulu'(Grandpa).Madiba's carreer had already been decided,he was to continue his education until he was ready to become an adviser of the thembu land, therefore following his father's footsteps. Following primary school, Mandela was sent to Clarkebury, a missionary boarding school, which was about 96 km (60 miles) away. Clarkebury was a most advanced secondary school and training college. From there, At the age of 19, he went to Healdtown, a Methodist boarding school. Most teachers at that school were British. In 1939 at the age of 21, Mandela was first enrolled to the University college of Fort Hare to study for a Bachlor of Art (BA). Mandela studied English, anthropology, politics and native administration, thats where he became involved in student politics.In 1943, after he had passed his BA exam the previous year, he enrolled at the University of Witwatersrand as a part-time law student. The university was one of only four English-speaking universities that allowed high-achieving africans to study specialised courses. amndela was the african in the law faculty.

Biographical information

Nelson Mandela is one of the most influential political figures of our time. Nelson Mandela was born in Mvezo a place located in the district of Umtata, Transkei, in the Eastern Cape province on the 18th July 1918. His father, Chief Gadla Henry,was a well respected man in the village of Thembuland. Chief Henry was a polygamist with four wives. Nelson's mother was the third wife of the Chief. At the age of 12 Nelson's father died and David Dalindyelo became his guardian.