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Verisimilitude

I was watching The Last King of Scotland the other day and so many things were familiar from my experience in Cameroon. Even though the movie is set in East Africa, the place has far more similarities to West Africa than to North America.

 

But there was one moment that did not ring true, and it took me a while to realize what was wrong. When Idi Amin addresses the crowd after his seizing power, he speaks eloquently and passionately into a crystal clear sound system.

 

Wait—crystal clear sound system?

 

Did any outdoor sound system back in the 70s sound that good, much less ones used in rural East Africa? In Cameroon in the late 2000s, I was not in the presence of any sound systems that did not squawk, squeal, stammer, and static the entire time they were being used.

 

So close, but not quite.

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Scottspiel said…
Hehe - you're right on target; although then they would need captions on the screen, as you wouldn't be able to understand what he was saying :)
March 26, 2009 at 6:54 PM
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