Coming to America: A Meditation on City Living

Coming To America

In the 1988 film Coming to America, Eddie Murphy's Prince Akeem relocates to the urban environment of New York City to find true love. Upon his arrival in the Jackson Heights section of Queens, I couldn't help but notice the urban themes that undergird the film's plot and the transformation taking place in the Flatbush community.

Immediately, the built environment portrays a community in blight. A resident throws garbage out of a second-floor window and a group of men huddle around an outdoor fire. His wealth draws the attention of residents including the landlord and is deployed by Semmi (played by Arsenio Hall) to renovate their shared walk-up apartment. Akeem's arrival mirrors the settlement of well-to-do residents in low-income neighborhoods and the economic and social transformation that accompanies it.

A second urban theme is entrepeneurship among African-Americans. Cleo McDowell, played by John Amos, proudly operates McDowell's and enjoys a middle-class lifestyle in the well-manicured neighborhood of Jamaica Estates. His choice for a partner for his daughter is Darryl Jenks, heir to Soul Glo, a company that makes hair products for African-Americans.

Coming to America is a meditation of the city, not as the suspicious place that it is often portrayed to be. Rather, it is the setting for the awakening of the heart to true love. Surpassing stereotypes that portray the urban environment as a place of lust allows one to experience love, whether it is with a person or with the city itself.