Last King of Scotland Movie: Uganda and Idi Amin

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There are many examples of "THE BOMB" that were present in the movie, The Last King of Scotland. One of the first examples I noticed was the gap between technology and health care amoung the villages and the cities of Uganda. The villages in Uganda still believe in witch docors versus actual doctors. It is weird to even think of witch doctors still being around due to the fact that in America, those who need medical attention can seek a trained medical personal just about anywhere. Also, Amin was a dictator in Uganda that promised the country a better build and prosperity, but however did the very opposite. His spiratic descisions were made throughout the movie just to protect himself. If there was any thought of soeone betraying and hurting the president, they immediately were killed or prounounced "missing." This quick action put many people in fear, even if they did nothing wrong.

Even though the film did not directly focus on economicdevelopment or poverty, the bad government and poor leadership under Idi Amin deffininatly hindered the economic growth of Uganda. One of the possible reasons was that under a dictatorship, there was violence. There was violence from those who supported the last president, Obote. Those people made threats and tried to attack Amin, such as when the convoys had blocked and shot at what they thought to be the presidents car. Once found, those who were Obotes' followers were executed. Alos, the president was very paranoid about someone overthrowing his power. Therefore, if there was anyone who seemed sketchy to the president in any way, they went missing immediatly. This struck fear into the public on what they can and can't do in safety. Also, Amin was so infatuated with his own protection, that we did not see anything regarding the economic standpoint of Uganda, leading veiwers to believe that it was not a priority on his agenda. Another issue that hindered economic growth was the fact that Amins' ruthlessness drove away those who were educated and therefore more wealthy then others. Those who could, fled the country to other safer places. In the movie, Dr. Garrigan tried to flee once he discovered what was really going on, but he couldn't since Amins' men stole his passport. When a large number of educated and talented people leave, the money leaves with them. This is called a "Brain Drain." When others see the educated and weathly leaving a country, there also will be no investments made since the smart leaving is a red flag.

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