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Coming To America, Directed By John Landis

634 Words3 Pages

Imagine waking up in a house that is not your home. You do not know what the morning routine is, what is eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, or even know what is and what is not appropriate behavior. In the movie Coming to America which was directed by John Landis, Eddie Murphy’s character, Prince Akeem, is in for a cultural shift when he decides to move from Africa to Queens, New York in order to find his princess. In the film, Akeem is exposed to how Africa differs from America when he discovers the differences in power distance, work ethic, and the value of money. In America, we are independent people who strive to do and be better for our futures. Although we do have a democratic political system, we are given our rules and regulations. However, we are able to challenge them. For instance, if a person is found guilty of committing a crime, the perpetrator is able to appeal to the hearing if they believe that they have been wrongly convicted. In Africa however, according to Coming to America, they have more of a hierarchal system in place having a king, queen, prince, and princess. Therefore, when Akeem came to America, he was not prepared to be looked at differently for having his gold suitcases, fur, and jewelry because these things are a norm to him back …show more content…

Our parents, push us to go to school, college, and then work a career in order to be defined as successful. In America, we have the saying, “Work hard, play later,” because we value work ethic and appreciate it. In contrast, in Coming to America, Akeem did not even know how to use a mop properly because he had been fed the golden spoon. This means that he had, had an easy going lifestyle. Moreover, when his dad found out that he had been working while in America, he was not happy. According to the movie, it can be inferred that royalty does not and should not even lift a finger because they are better than

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In the film Coming to America describing the two cultures in the film are the African and American cultures from Africa and Queens New York. The African and American cultures in the movie are different in some ways but similar in other ways by the way the characters in the movie are all family oriented with the respect they show their parents and the way the parents only want what is best for their children. Then there are subcultures in the film that go a little further with style of living. The culture in Africa is that people are to wait on the royal family for everything they do, but in America, the family cares for themselves without the help of servants. The rites of passage are a cultural norm in Africa for the Royal family by having arranged marriages.

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However, overtime, America’s attitude toward the American Dream has changed, which is hindering success. We can all agree that wanting to be successful while having a hopeless mindset contradicts the purpose of hard work. Many Americans are pessimistic, carrying negative mindsets that make it harder for them to achieve greater things. Based on an article “Is the American dream really dead?” , Carol Graham found that “poor people in the US were 20 times less likely to believe hard work would get them ahead than were the poor in Latin America, even though the latter are significantly worse off in material terms”.

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