Review of Without the King (2007) by Jonavon W — 04 May 2009

[font=Century Gothic]"Without the King" is a very illuminating documentary about Swaziland, one of the last remaining absolute monarchies in the world and judging by conditions its days may be numbered as people there are driven to activism and rebellion.(The mention of civil wars in Africa is a generalization. Not all countries there are unstable and violent. However, the situations in Sudan and Rwanda have been classified as genocides.) There is a written constitution but it is so limited with almost total power residing with the king that it is worth less than the paper it is written on. [/font].

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[font=Century Gothic]King Mswati III is first shown in the company of world leaders and Michael Jackson. While he has amassed an enormous personal fortune after taking over from his father in 1986 at the age of 18, his country is literally starving.(He is one of 250 children and already has multiple wives.) Most of the food is donated from abroad because there is so little edible food produced in country. That along with a HIV/AIDS infection rate of 42.6% drives the average life expectancy down to 31 years. For future reference, relying only on talk about chastity will do little good to stop the disease unless condoms are also included in a plan. Following Princess Sikhanyiso as she attends college in California serves as a very long introduction to the patriarchy of Swaziland which is at least partially at fault.[/font].

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