Coming To America 2: Yet Another Racist View Of Africa

Summary

The author of the article expresses deep disappointment with "Coming to America 2" for perpetuating racist and outdated stereotypes of Africa, ignoring the continent's modern cities, technological advancements, and cultural diversity.

Abstract

The article titled "Coming To America 2: Yet Another Racist View Of Africa" critiques the sequel to Eddie Murphy's beloved film for its reinforcing negative stereotypes of Africa as a land of savannas, wild animals, and primitive customs. The author, who hails from Sierra Leone, contrasts the movie's portrayal with the reality of a dynamic Africa, boasting towering skyscrapers, thriving businesses, and a young, vibrant population. The piece emphasizes the continent's economic growth, engineering achievements, and modern lifestyle comparable to the West. The author argues that such one-dimensional portrayals not only misrepresent Africa but also support a racist narrative that hinders the respect and recognition of Africans globally. The article calls for an end to these reductive narratives, contrasting "Coming to America 2" with "Black Panther," which presented a more positive and progressive image of Africa through the fictional nation of Wakanda.

Opinions

The author believes "Coming to America 2" promotes a backward and savage view of Africa, which is a harmful and inaccurate representation.
The article suggests that the film's focus on wildlife and tribal stereotypes is an oversimplification that ignores the diversity and modernity of African cities and societies.
The author is critical of the movie for not showcasing Africa's economic growth, youthful population, and technological advancements.
The piece implies that the film's portrayal of Africa may lead to false expectations among African Americans and European Africans seeking to connect with their roots.
The author questions whether the film's adherence to stereotypes is due to commercial interests, personal ignorance, or the comfort of the white establishment.
The author considers Eddie Murphy's influence and regrets that he did not use his platform to present a more positive narrative of Africa.
The article points out that perpetuating negative stereotypes about Africa indirectly supports the idea that black people are inferior, aligning with racist insults like "Go back to Africa."
"Black Panther" is highlighted as a contrasting example that made black people proud and presented a progressive image of Africa, contributing to a more balanced global narrative about the continent.

Guess what? Africa isn’t one big safari with weird customs and traditions and scary witchdoctors

Student at Addis Ababa University — Photo credit: Gift Habeshaw

I’d been looking forward to watching Eddie Murphy’s Coming To America 2 all week. Yesterday evening, I eagerly put it on, gleeful and excited to finally return to the imaginary African kingdom of Zamunda. I’d watched the first film when I was 17 and loved it. Last night, however, for me, the movie’s sequel was a huge disappointment.

The film started off well until the boring, worn-out stereotypes of Africa took over. You know, the ones that promote a backward and savage view of the continent? So I’m also from West Africa — Sierra Leone. I am often in Africa and I can assure you, we don’t all walk around a savanna with modern-day loincloths and lions and elephants popping out of every bush. This is absolute nonsense. While there is a large but dwindling wildlife population in some parts of Africa, the reality is that the presence of these large mammals is only a small portion of what Africa really is. There is a lot more to this rich and resilient continent than the one big safari land of Zamunda.

It’s like you make a film about America and only feature the Grand Canyon. That is not at all representative of the depth, breadth, and diversity of the US. As such it presents an omission narrative of the country — one that might get you to think that the US is just one big useless hole when you and I know that it isn’t.

My point is, if you are going to show the wild animal side of Africa, then do us a favor and also show the towering skyscrapers of Lagos, Addis Ababa, Accra, and Johannesburg, or the bustling and vibrant cities of Nairobi, Kigali, Dakar, and Kinshasa. Show the thriving entrepreneurs, the tarmac highways, the dams, the bridges — which are sometimes even better engineered than most in the US and Europe. Show us the true Africa, the continent that has the fastest economic growth and the youngest population in the world. Show us all the many facets of Africa, not just the one that fuels a racist narrative that upholds a white supremacy ideology — that Africa and Africans are behind the rest of the world.

Don’t fall into the easy, thoughtless, single narrative of a primitive continent where wild beast run amok, where future kings need to clip a lion’s whiskers or show they have the courage to get a bit of their genitalia foreskin cut off by a mad and frightening witch doctor. These scenes promote negative stereotypes about a continent that has already had its fair and unjust share of bad publicity.

Africa isn’t one big Lion King of entertainment. There are thriving business districts, hospitals, universities, upscale neighborhoods, world-renowned fashion designers, rock stars, social media influencers with millions of followers. Africa is like the rest of the world, it is no different. Like you, we live in the 21st century too, we have iPhones, Netflix, and Teslas. We have Michelin star restaurants, La Mer spas, and haute couture. These omission-packed narratives created in the west by people living in the west, need to stop!

As well as showing an incomplete image of Africa, the entire Coming to America franchise also sets a lot of false expectations as well. Many of my African American or European African friends seeking to return to the continent have this image of an Africa filled with Zamunda like kingdoms in their heads. And because of movies like these, they imagine an Africa that doesn’t exist — that in fact never existed. When these friends come to the continent, they become disappointed and frustrated because it isn’t Zamunda with gold bar-laden briefcases and majestic elephants. They’ve come for that and feel cheated to find a place that reassembles what they may have left behind. The good thing though, is that there is no anti-black racism here.

Murphy had an opportunity to create a positive narrative about modern-day Africa, but he chose to fall back on tried and tested negative stereotypes about the continent. Is it that because that is what sells? Is it because of his own personal ignorance? Or is it because that is what the white establishment wants to see or feels more comfortable with?

He is a respected voice, but he chose to use his platform to further entrench negative stereotypes about Africa and Africans into the minds of many. This is disappointing because as long Africa is seen as inferior, Africans and black people will not be respected in the world.

Some of you might say that the movie is a comedy so I should give Murphy a break, but you must realize that laughing at the expense of Africa is in itself problematic. Why? Because it keeps promoting this narrative that Africa, the place where every single black person in the world ever originated from is a backward and inferior place and by association, black people are also backward and inferior. Whenever I hear that frequent racist insult:

“Go back to Africa.”

The message in there is: “go back to your primitive homeland”. We don’t need Eddie Murphy — an African-American man, making a whole movie reinforcing that point — there are enough movies and documentaries out there that already do just that.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention another movie that does just the opposite of the Coming to America franchise. It is Black Panther. In it, the imaginary land of Wakanda portrays a very different image of Africa. The continent is shown as modern and progressive, ahead of the rest of the world. It is shown as a place where black excellence thrives in a myriad of ways.

Black Panther made black people proud — it showed the world that black people are intelligent, beautiful, strong, and resourceful. It served to rebalance the narrative about my continent. Coming to America 2 — with its worn-out narrative, well performed but nevertheless stereotypical black song and dance routines, boring and inappropriate boomer jokes, needs to go back to the past and remain there where it truly belongs.

Thanks for reading my perspective.