The Power of One Essay (Reflection)

The Power of One Essay

In the film ‘The Power of One’ directed by ‘John Avildsen’ there was a scene where Peekay and Gideon Duma were running through the ‘slums’ discussing the terms of starting a new school. A lot of techniques were used in this scene, and I’ve picked up on a few. Non-Diegetic music/sounds, dialogue, and a tracking shot. Non-Diegetic music is the music/sound effects added to the scene (after it has been filmed) during editing. So when filming the scene, the actors couldn’t actually hear it. Dialogue is when the actors are talking (speech). And a tracking shot/Dolly shot is when the camera moves alongside the subject, following it/them. It might be set up on a camera dolly making it a Dolly shot. It is set up onto the Dolly and placed on rails, sort of like a railroad track. And then the cameraman pushes it down the track by hand or (usually) with a sort of ‘remote control’. These techniques are used to affect the audience, showing a great impact. 

Sound is an important technique which affects the audience quite a lot. If there was no music- it would be quite a boring movie. At first, upbeat music played and then faded into the background, taken over by quiet humming. This is called Non-Diegetic music. From what sounded like a flute, it gave the first part of the scene quite a light, happy feel to it- definitely making the audience feel captivated. The sound was combined with the Africans humming, and very light drumming, possibly conga drums. 

Dialogue is even more important than the sound. Without dialogue, the movie would still be very boring! Gideon and Peekay were walking past Gideon’s fiancé just before they began their run. Once they were running, Peekay made a comment saying, ’what’s the queue for?’ And Gideon proceeded to say, ‘the toilet, the government allows only one for every two hundred people.’ This fact shows how bad the black population was treated, and how desperate they were for more of the important essentials. Soon after, Gideon brought up another fact. ‘The law says only two percent of us can go to school, and you know what you learn there? Enough bloody Africans to be maids, street sweepers, or mine slaves. We can’t even read the bloody Apartheid signs to tell us where we aren’t allowed to go.’ And that is another reason why Gideon wants to start a new school. To teach not only children to read and write, but adults too. Another form of dialogue shown in the scene is singing. We saw Africans singing and digging with pickaxes. And before that, we heard the background chatter of extras.

And last but not least, a tracking shot. This shot was shown when Peekay and Gideon ran past the men digging with pickaxes. The camera followed them down the street and then turned off to the side once they finished their run. A Dolly shot is the same as a tracking shot because a dolly is used to film the scene. A tracking shot is filmed with a dolly too. It runs along the track and doesn’t leave the subject’s side until the shot is complete. Sure, the subject can move around a lot and even dance if they feel the need, but the camera stays in one place (more or less).  

Overall, The Power of One is a great movie, and the storyline is written very well. Already in that single scene, we’re given a lot of information about the poor lifestyle the ‘blacks’ had to go through back then, and a little insight of what not only people in Africa still live like, but people in other countries too. In my opinion, I think that Peekay is kind of a hero. Even though he’s been through hell and back- after losing his father, his mother, his best friend Masi Bindi, Geel Piet, Maria, and nanny and Tonderai leaving for Southern Rhodesia, he still carried on and helped start a school with Gideon to make life a little easier for others.


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- What am I proud of?
- What can I do to improve for next time?
- What is one thing I enjoyed learning about this film?
- What is one thing I found challenging about learning about this film?
- What is one thing I found useful/I will use next time I write an essay?
- What is one thing I am wondering about regarding Visual Texts?
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I am proud that I finished my essay. I know I could have changed a few things to improve it because I think I could have done a lot better, but I'm proud I actually completed it on time. I think to improve more in the next essay I should work on it more at home. I did for this one but not as much as I could have. Something I enjoyed learning about this film is how many film techniques are actually in the movie. I never really notice the film techniques because that's not what I pay attention to while watching films, but it's amazing how many there really are. Something I found challenging was getting an idea of what I was going to write for each paragraph. For the introduction, the body paragraphs and conclusion, I found it challenging to begin writing. But once I started writing and going with the flow of it, it was easier. I think Grammarly helped a lot, it was really useful. I usually write with Grammarly on personal pieces of writing and using it to help write my essay was helpful too. Not only Grammarly but the GOLDEN, TAKO, and SEXXY tips helped too. One thing I'm wondering is if I'll remember to use these tips on writing in another essay or if I'll forget.