Sure I wouldn't doubt that the human rights violations that marked his regime were accurately portrayed in this film, but was Idi Amin really this delusional and erratic? If so, I wonder how he ended up a senior figure in the Ugandan army in the first place (as opposed to a psychatric ward)?
shareWith the disclaimer I wasn't actually there myself and am relying on second hand reports, "yes" he really was that delusional and erratic by the end.
As to how, keep in mind that:
1) There's a couple decades between his rise to being a senior military figure and his craziness. A lot can happen in that length of time. People change quite a bit.
2) As the old saw says "absolute power corrupts absolutely". Name a head of state that came to power in a military coup that did not misbehave several years later.
3) The same mental qualities that are sometimes judged crazy are also the basis of "charisma". IMHO, every public figure is a little crazy:-)
4) Restrictions weren't removed until he became head of state. He may have felt murderous way back when he was a senior military figure, but back then he couldn't act on his feelings because he knew killing 300,000 people would have just landed him in jail immediately.
I'm also not sure but the entire Kim Jong family and the Hussein family (the Iraqi one) were at least equally deranged and sociopathic.
shareMaybe, but certainly THIS music video does give an accurate image of Idi Amin:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFeJJAQPiK4
I'm sure he would have been very narcissistic, but I also wonder whether in some ways he was putting on an act to come across this way. As Forest Whitaker performed this role very well, the film also showed that he was a skilled orator who never shied away from making public performances.
shareThe only part of the film that I thought was incorrect in his portrayal was that they made him seem like a buffoon. The fact that he was probably bi-polar, did not particularly value human life, could be extremely violent, could be very charming, and many other things, were born out in the film, but making him seem like somewhat of a buffoon, I thought, was a little incorrect.
This is my opinion in regard to the various reading I have done on him and a few documentaries. All of those other things, sure, but not a buffoon.
"Well, the world needs ditch diggers, too."
Like many dictators he was popular at first and the British government supported him until his brutality got too much.
Its that man again!!
Many of the abilities that served him well as a military commander became unchecked as he took over the country by military coup.
The more power he appropriated the worse he probably got.
He certainly was a sociopath and possibly suffered psychosis.