Coming To America

In order to understand the importance of culture in Akeem’s life, it is very necessary to explain his past. Akeem is the prince of the African empire of Zamunda. Everyday he wakes up to a servant that takes care of all of his needs down to the details of making sure that he has never tied his own shoes. He also has rose bearers that throw rose petals at his feet. This is something that to an American is extremely strange and immediately indicates that the person who is walking on these petals obviously has a very high caliber social status. For Akeem however, the petals are just an annoyance. Akeem is also bathed by beautiful women on a daily basis, and groomed by a large staff of personal servants who make sure that he does no work at all. Making it extremely apparent that Akeem has not ever had to lift a finger to accomplish anything of significance. Although it is well established that Akeem is a very well taken care of individual, the movie goes on to provide more of an image of Akeem that illustrates a critical plot point. This critical point is that Akeem is emotionally distant from his parents as evidenced by his use of an intercom at the dinner table rather than face to face verbal conversation. Because of this obvious emotional distance, it is easy for the audience to understand why his personality is as different from his parents' as it is.

Having such a life of privilege has led Akeem to wonder what it would be like to be a normal person and what it is like to be semi-independent. Part of being prince for Akeem is being apart of an arranged marriage, an idea that he is very opposed to because he wants a woman with an opinion. Because of his mind wanderings, and dissatisfaction, Akeem decides to take a trip to America. Furthering the ideological disparity between Akeem and his parents is the scene where Akeem suggests to his father that he be allowed to explore the world before being married to his arranged wife. Upon this suggestion, the King takes Akeem's suggestion to mean that he wants to sew his wild oats, the opposite of what he wants to do in America. Shortly after, Akeem tells his best friend and assistant, Semmi that he intends to find his bride in New York, and ignorantly picks the Queens borough because of its name.