Women in The Last King of Scotland

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Recommended: Narrative and gender roles

The Last King of Scotland, directed by Kevin MacDonald and based on the novel of the same name by Giles Foden, shapes events from the reign of notorious Ugandan dictator Idi Amin (Forest Whitaker) into a dramatic and attention-grabbing narrative. However, the film, which was praised by critics and garnered a Best Actor win for Whitaker at the Academy Awards, focuses far too much on “sexual conquests of a young white doctor who heads to Uganda in search of adventure” (Leader). By blending together real people in order to create artificial romantic subplots, it not only skates over fascinating historical detail, but also fails to portray any women as nuanced or developed characters. Rather than developing their personalities or exploring their motivations, it portrays female characters as either mindless sex objects whose only purpose is to provide male characters and viewers with pleasure, or as beings whose only purpose and motivation is their maternal instinct and who are shaped only by their reproductive choices. By crushing women into two-dimensional caricatures, the film robs itself of credibility and sacrifices historical legitimacy in favour of cheap entertainment. From the opening moments of the film, the implausible sexual hijinks begin. The very first English-speaker that Garrigan encounters (The Last King of Scotland 3:59) is eager to leap into bed with the unprepossessing Scot, initiating the first of the film’s gratuitous sex scenes (05:20). The camera focuses on Garrigan’s exultant face as he cries “I’m a medical officer overseas!”, only the nameless woman’s bouncing breasts visible at the edge of the screen. In fact, there are only three named female characters in the film, two of whom are the objects of Garrigan’s... ... middle of paper ... ...ic film Deep Throat (92:57), which Amin and his advisers are watching when Garrigan interrupts him. Sex and death are juxtaposed and used for shock and entertainment value throughout the film. Women are relegated to the role of seductress, mother or both, with no room to develop and no motivations other than copulation and reproduction. Both of the major female characters – those who are granted more than a single, topless appearance - are defined solely by who they sleep with. Rather than creating a nuanced and detailed portrayal of this important era in Ugandan history, The Last King of Scotland descends to the level of cheap thrills and gratuitous content. The film shocks rather than informs, running roughshod over its female characters and squandering the opportunity to tell these important stories with the respect and good taste that they so amply deserve.

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