WashingtonDC – To truly understand the current friction within African and Arab football politics, one must look beyond the pitch and toward the silver screen. If you haven’t seen Quentin Tarantino’s masterpiece “Django Unchained,” I urge you to watch it, not just for the cinema, but for the psychological mirror it holds up to our current reality.
In the film, which takes place in the American Antebellum south, the most visceral tension isn’t between the slave and the master. Instead, it’s found in the eyes of Stephen, the house manager played by Samuel L. Jackson. When Stephen sees Django, a formerly enslaved free man riding a horse with the poise of an equal, he is overcome with a specific, poisonous rage. He doesn’t see a success story; he sees a threat to the “order” of things.
The Hatred of the Mirror
As an insightful viewer recently noted: “Stephen despises Django from the moment he first sees him because he realized he hates him because he is everything that he will never be.” Stephen has spent his life mastering the art of being a “favorite” within a broken, stagnant system. When Django arrives unapologetic, unique, and riding a horse he doesn’t just break the rules; he proves that the rules were a lie.
This is the “Stephen Complex,” and it is exactly what we are witnessing today as Morocco navigates its rise on the global stage. For decades, the unwritten “rule” was that African development must be slow, chaotic, and “average.” Morocco has shattered that myth. By building a nation with world-class infrastructure, high-speed rails, and a footballing ecosystem that rivals Europe, Morocco has become the “Django” of the continent.
The Chaos of the Swamp
The recent AFCON drama, the 20-minute walk-off protests, the bizarre sideline skirmishes over towels, and the constant hum of conspiracy theories, was not about football. It was a clash of mentalities. Morocco has decided to drain the “swamp” of low expectations, but some of our neighbors and continental peers are still used to the mud.
There is a harsh proverb: “You can take the frog out of the swamp, but you can’t take the swamp out of the frog.” When Morocco provides a stage that looks like the 2030 World Cup, it forces others to look at their own backyards. For many, it is easier to resent Morocco’s “difference” than it is to admit their own stagnation. They want Morocco to be “normal” again, because as long as everyone stays in the swamp together, no one has to feel the sting of being left behind.
The Price of the Horse
Morocco is running ten times faster than the continental average. We are no longer competing for the title of “best in Africa”; we are competing to be the best in the world. This is our “Django Moment” refusal to stay in the place society assigned us.
The hostility we see today is simply the tax Morocco pays for its success. Like Django riding his horse away from the chains and people that once shackled him, Morocco’s progress is an act of defiance. To my fellow Africans and Arabs who find Morocco’s rise “insulting”: watch the movie. Study Stephen’s rage. You might just realize that your problem isn’t with Morocco it’s with the mirror Morocco is holding up to you.
Morocco has left the swamp that others still seem to enjoy, and the path to the mountain is open for anyone who chooses to rise. But we will no longer stand in the mud, waiting for those who refuse to climb.
