“Coming to America” is a MGTOW vs Simp Classic

Coming to America is a black classical film that has stood for a light-toned depiction of pro-blackness and excellence.  Black men are powerful and African nations are seen as more advanced and prosperous than America.  Prince Akeem, the royal son of King Joffer and Queen Aoleon, is a young man coming of age.  He is tired of being pampered by beautiful women who splash rose petals before his feet and bathe him.  Despite the fame and royal privileges, the Prince wants an independent woman who is more than a pretty face and backside.  During a game of combative wits with his best friend Semmi, it turns into a simp versus Men Going Their Own Way (MGTOW) debate.  Just within 12 minutes, it is hinting on the educated and independent troupe known commonly to be attached to African American women.  Also, there may be a response antithesis of African American men’s desire to travel abroad to find a wife who is unaffected by feminism and western culture.

The film reverses the situation.  The Prince turns down his potential arranged dark-skinned wife, despite a royal servant singing to his ear on how she is his object to do whatever he wants.  Prince Akeem is frustrated with African culture producing women to be mindless sex robots who are raised by birth for servitude.  He tells his father that he will go to America, but the King misheard his son’s mission and instead assumed the Prince was traveling to America to find another woman to engage in sexual activities with only.  His naive attitude plays on the real expectations of foreigners in America, but with sarcasm and glee.  Prince Akeem and his best friend Semmi search in Queens, New York as an illogical assumption that Queens actually describes the women who live there.  Instead, the bars are filled with undesirable women who are strange and have a ‘severe emotional problems’ as quoted from the film.  One was a woman who worshipped the devil and even Akeem crossed paths with a transgender woman.

Colorism is the major problem in the film as Patrice is the sister to Akeem’s love interest named Lisa who he saw in a pro-black beauty pageant.  She is light-skinned of course, despite her sister being of a much darker hue.  Dark-skinned women are again the side-kick in giving light-skinned women advice on how to get a man as those same dark-skinned women fail to take their own advice.  Patrice is a hopeless romantic who admires Akeem before Lisa, but Akeem is too obsessed with Lisa to move on especially when it has become clear that she has a boyfriend.  Of course, her boyfriend is a douchebag who plays the typical light-skinned pretty boy with ‘good har’ as he is the image of his father’s company Soul Glo which is a Jheri Curl company.

The double date basketball scene was a bit painful to watch as Prince Akeem contradicts his earlier statements in wanting a woman who thinks for herself  and likes him for him.  If he truly felt that open-minded about true love then he should have hollered at Patrice instead.

Even African American women are played out as needing saving from their patriarchal families as Akeem learns that Lisa’s father (an owner of a rip-off McDonalds called McDowells) will arrange her marriage to her boyfriend, despite not being ready for that type of commitment or even with her own knowledge of knowing her father would do this to her.  Akeem has a sit down conversation with Lisa about the surprise engagement and says, “No one should be married out of obligation.”  He only applied to work for her father so he could be around her more often.  Even if Lisa did not marriage either Akeem or Darryl, Akeem would not let her go as he has spent thousands of dollars on her from the surprise gift and unnecessary labor.  He even hides his wealth and money from her.  It is as if African American women are seen as struggle lovers and it seems to only benefit light-skinned women, even when dark-skinned women in the movie wanted to take the time to be with Akeem, despite him wanting to be the chase Lisa. She eventually gets mad that he lied and hid his fortune. He even offers to denounce his thrown for her.  Despite Akeem not being poor, his rigid lifestyle appealed to her as he is more in tune with other people’s feelings.

It has its happy ending as Prince Akeem thinks he will be married to the women he met before, but he is surprised by the appearance of Lisa in a wedding dress along with the approval of his parents.  Once they are officially married, he asks Lisa if he should denounce the thrown for her, but she is basking in the fame and this national event, so she tells him to keep it.  Despite how nice Prince Akeem is, he is role-reversed as he is a drone to his own feelings and thinks giving everything away is a testament to his heart.  Yes, Lisa wanted a nice guy, but the message gets lost over the misunderstanding on wealth.  Does it impress women?

For African women depicted in the film, wealth means status and power.  Prince Akeem’s mother may not have initially loved his father but over time they naturally bonded and both loved Akeem dearly.  Wealth in African cultures is the dividing line between rich and poverty.  It is an escape from the woes that Africa carries as most 1st world nations see them as liability than asset.  Black women are already seen as more employable, educated and successful despite the lack of concrete evidence.  These women know by birth that they will be head of the house and will be taking charge in the burden of raising a man (living in boyfriend), babies and their own baggage.  African American men in seats of power similar to Prince Akeem does not seem real and a to a degree black men in a weak position makes black women feel better about themselves as it builds their character.

Prince Akeem may have been in the right to humble himself as a mere peasant in America.  Black men with money carry bad stigmas such as the usual shit that ticks us off of how we only become successful when we marry white women, we are not black enough or we hate black people and egotistical womanizers.  Even professional black men who are not famous but rather have middle or above earnings have a hard time dealing with black women.  These women do not respect them and know how to handle his money and usually fail to adopt a middle class lifestyle.  One thing I do agree with in regards to Prince Akeem’s selection of potential wives in America was that he picked a woman who came from wealth and was already accustomed to patriarchy.  Trying to a polish a woman from the hood and molding her to royalty is a waste of time along with the likelihood of failure.  This is the reason why black athletes and rappers fail in their relationships because these men are dating women who sleep their way to money rather than work their way to the top.  Being a stripper is not hustling or a come up.  I would rather respect the artist or athlete who had to study their craft and the business than to heavily rely on looks.  This is something most women do not have as a skill or bragging rights to one-up men.  Black men are turning hoes to housewives and are failing miserably as these men are not married, yet are collecting baby mommas every year.

Akeem chose Lisa because she had a father in her life, just like how his father is in his life.  Despite her douchebag boyfriend, Akeem had confidence to risk it all.  The methods are questionable, but it made for a nice movie even if the attempt from a ‘nice broke’ guy would not have worked in real life.