I love the smell of summer. Though you really can’t experience it until the sun starts to set and darkness sets in. Right now the sun is overtaking any whiff of delicacy in the air with its blazing heat, so you’d have to wait a while to experience what I mean. It has to be the perfect mixture of cool and warm mixed in a giant bowl called your backyard. I would describe it like freshly cut grass or the new growth of leaves on tree branches. Or maybe we can associate it with the smell of a coming rain. These aren’t very good descriptions. I know I have not enticed your creative mind to the extent of sight. I know you have not tasted the air of freshness melting on your tongue and all, but I have no other way to describe it aside from these basic examples. Besides, how does one explain the fragrance of life? Sometimes you can see a flower pouring all of its insides out, and cracking shells; shedding the once imperfect exterior to one more fitting for the season. Its growth is in many ways like our own. On first sight it looks like total destruction, and there is no gold at the end of the rainbow, at least not until we have weathered the storm. Always the hard stuff first, pain, suffering, tears, loneliness, doubt. I imagine it is a difficult process too for the flower. So much work to be done and change to endure early on. Only when it has shed its old casing do we begin to see the pretty pinks and reds of softer petals peek out from under the new coat of skin, see the dazzling beauty of what it has now become, and taste of the fresh smells of life.
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It is a treasure to find movies that have it all, and Coming to America is one of those movies. Comedy, History, and Symbolism.
For the most part, I fell in love with this movie for the same reason that everyone else did, because of its humor. If you need something to help make you laugh then put this movie in. I’m not even going to ask you if it’s part of your collection. I mean, you do have Coming to America…..right???? But as time went on I also started to notice other information of importance that surpassed the laughs. Not only is this movie extremely hilarious, but it also includes many messages.
Starring Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall, Coming to America is about Akeem Joffer, the crown prince to the throne of the wealthy African nation of Zamunda, who lives a prosperous life. But having been appointed a wife from birth and forced to marry her, Akeem is unfulfilled to take a woman who would obey him and submit to him. He is also uneasy with the idea of the arranged marriage. In fact, he is sick of being pampered in general. As a result, he decides to take a trip to America to find his bride; as he puts it, “someone who will excite his intellect, as well as his loins.” To make a long story short, he takes with him his friend (or personal side kick whichever fits), named Semmi and together they end up in Queens New York, an impoverished part of New York City, and opt to stay in a run-down apartment in one of the most disgusting rooms in the building (“it’s a shame what they did to that dog”…lol)
Now, since there is so much here, I’m going to take only a couple aspects of the movie that I see that involve a deeper message than the ability to tickle the funny bone.
#1: Authority and Submission
To start, part of Akeem’s travels is that he is not interested in taking a submissive woman as wife. It’s more than the arranged marriage; it is also the woman’s trained obedience to his authority. The famous, “Whatever you like…” scene showcases this well. While many of us laughed at this and threw our “I know that’s rights!” into the air, smashing our judgmental comments of Imani Izzi (arranged bride-to-be seen here) at the screen, in truth there was nothing wrong with what she said. Of course they had to exaggerate it, but the point is that a woman is supposed to obey her husband. She is his helpmate and her desire is his desire. Contrary to popular belief, authority has nothing to do with money. A man is not the head of his household because he’s supposed to make the money and a woman’s money does not appoint her as the head either. This is society’s definition of authority and it is the reason many women think they can step all over a man because they make more money than he does. And isn’t it a shame? That the one thing we value most in a man, many of our men do not have. No wonder 70% of black women are single.
A man’s authority is to be the leader and the protector of the family. A man provides more than just money. He provides protection, leadership, and guidance just to name a few. Contrary to feminist thought, submission does not mean weak nor is it synonymous with slave. Submission just means to give respect and to be in agreement. When a woman is respectful and in agreement with her husband she is following his direction. In addition, she strives to keep him happy in every aspect. The saying that a woman is a lady in public and a freak in the bedroom is not made up by happen chance. It just means that a woman works to keep her man happy in every capacity. Even something as subtle as King Jaffe sitting on the throne and Queen Aeoleon standing by his side; this is an accurate portrayal of how it should be. It is no wonder the King walks around with a lion hanging from his shoulders. In the animal kingdom, the lioness hunts down the food, she brings it to the lion, and he is the first to eat. Like I said, respect. As you can see from this example, the woman is by no means idle and her job is not insignificant. She must work to keep the family strong just as he does and ensure her home is a happy and thriving one for her family. She may do this by working or staying at home. Either way, she is helping to add to the strength of this business of sorts called family. She makes decisions and suggestions as well but this authority does not surpass that of her man’s. There can be only one CEO of this business and he stands up to pee for a reason.
In short, Akeem refuses a woman from his own cultural background who will be obedient and respectful to him, and instead seeks a woman from America who is more independent-minded.
#2 Identity
Akeem is in line to receive his father’s possessions. He is the royal descendent of a great people, much like the children of Israel. As he and Semmi maneuver their way around the “Land of the Free”, you start to notice an unraveling of their culture. They do not desire to be a set-apart nation of priests; they are simply, “Ordinary Americans.” They go from living in a palace to living in poverty; from letting their hair grow long to cutting it off; to being draped in gold, to designer jackets; from being pampered and provided for by a King, to having to work a 9-5 at a restaurant. Akeem and Semmi go from being among a powerful and set-apart people, to a downtrodden and despised people. They go from being in line to inherit the blessings, to accepting of the curse. In America, Akeem is not proud of his cultural heritage, he is ashamed of it.
Even the end of the movie is significant, but I will leave that part alone for the 2-3 people reading this who have not seen Coming to America (smh).
Trailer:
Funny Movie Mistakes:
When Akeem and Semmi get their apartment, the landlord says that the room has only one window facing a brick wall. But when Akeem is out on the fire escape, he yells out to a street, not a wall. And there are two windows.
Watch the movie and see if you can spot the knot!
“What’s your favorite movie? Is this among your collection? Why do you love it?”
I wanted to share with you a book I read a while ago as I began organizing and researching for Beyond The Colored Line.
As many of you know, I am preparing to release a short story soon that deals with the concept of passing: when a member of one ethnic group passes as a member of another ethnic group. Most notably, when an African American who appears European passes, or pretends, to belong to that race.
This has been a phenomenal experience exploring history, and I’ve had the opportunity to come across some decent reading material. One of the books I read is The House Behind The Cedars by Charles W. Chesnutt, who was, interestingly enough, light enough himself to pass and did on occasion. Chesnutt’s paternal Grandfather, Waddell Cade, was a white slaveholder, and his Grandmother, Ann Chesnutt, Cade’s mistress, was a free Black woman.
The book is about a brother and sister, John and Rena Walden, two African Americans, who decide to cross the colored line by pretending to be white to claim and maintain their portion of the American dream.
The book was first published in 1900 and revealed how deep self-hatred could be for a people lost to true identity. It shows the extent to which some are willing to go to keep secrets hidden and what they are willing t
o endure to be part of the American fabric to which they believe they are entitled.
It also showcases how the depth of childhood exposure and teachings play a part in one’s perception, not just of the world, but of one’s own self.
Without revealing too much, Chesnutt surpassed race in general and also included status. No one would choose to be poor or hungry, Black or white, and I find this is the basis on which many of my ancestors who did pass built their logic.
Still, what price is one willing to pay to live the American dream?
And is it the American Dream, real? Is it a real thing, or is it a perception?
As I thought about what to write for today’s #BeWoW, I struggled a bit. What is left to be said week after week about positivity? And what purpose does this light afford us? I started to list some of my favorite positive quotes, but it somehow did not seem sufficient. I’m all for happy endings but I also do not want to bore you. Quotes are cool, but they only go so far. And since I already indulged in some “quoting” today, I didn’t want to overdo it. So I sat here and I thought and instead of being my normal speedy gonzales self, I embraced the patience and thought some more. I even let my thoughts roam to other things, did some cleaning, ran some errands and gave this post a rest for a while. And as I did so, I realized how much a day can change from one to another. I thought about how different yesterday was for me than today and how far away last week seems to be from today. I thought about how I felt in the recent past and how it affected the present future. I thought about how easy it is to feel angry or sad one moment and excited and joyful the next. How simple it is to be spun into a wide range of emotions in one moment and to be relaxed and content the next. In this I understood how important it is to find and embrace the positive moments in our life. As a result, I do have a positive quote to share, but only one. And I hope that it gives you the serenity, courage, positivity, and strength you need to continue through to the rest of the week:
“The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.”
I missed you guys last week! I feel soo behind. Now, enough whining. 🙂
For today’s episode of Writer’s Quote Wednesday, I take my inspiration from one of my favorite authors, Richard Wright:
Yes indeed. Richard Wright is another one of my favorite authors (Native Son was simply amazing, a powerful read) and his words speak truth. I try to keep in mind, when I’m writing, that the constant understanding of self; the appreciation of self, and the confidence, not with conceit but with courage, are not optional for success; it is needed. While the defining moment of what that success entails varies, I know that my writing career hinges, in large part, to what I believe I can do. If I believe it is possible to write a novel, that I can do. If I do not believe it is possible, that I will not do. And so, I am only limited by that which I limit myself. I can choose to starve myself out of the endless possibilities before me, or I can feed on them and grow as a writer. Who I am always and must be illuminated in everything that I do. The moment it doesn’t and I, for whatever reason, begin to sacrifice that self-realization, everything I have will begin to diminish. I will be then in a kind of literary poverty.
Novelist Richard Wright, photographed in New York City, March 21, 1945 (AP Photo/Robert Kradin)
About The Author:
African-American writer and poet Richard Wright was born on September 4, 1908, in Roxie, Mississippi, and though he was only able to get a ninth grade education, he loved reading and eventually published his first short story at the age of 16. Later, he found employment with the Federal Writers Project and received critical acclaim for Uncle Tom’s Children, a collection of four stories. He’s well known for the 1940 bestseller Native Son and his 1945 autobiography Black Boy. Wright died in Paris, France, on November 28, 1960.
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That’s it for this weeks installment of Writer’s Quote Wednesday. Would you like to join us? Click the pic to find out how!
The PBS Blog 