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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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