is prince charles prince akeem in coming 2 america?
also *that* bachelorette SA scene, and the ole recs
Hi guys,
Let’s get into this week’s sauce.
So naturally, I was glued to the TV to watch the Harry and Meghan interview last week Monday. Who wasn’t? And obviously, I spoke to death to anyone who would listen about all the bombshells (like when they worried about Archie’s skin tone, and Kate actually making Meghan cry). But something that also stuck out for me was when Harry spoke about his disappointment in his father, how he more than anyone should have been able to understand because he had gone through something similar. Remember when the ‘firm’ and the public image of the Royals kept him away from the woman that he loved? Of course, you do and if you didn’t The Crown season 4 reminded you.
Anyway, this conversation note reminded me of another piece of royal content that was released recently, Coming 2 America. Which, of course, is the sequel of the iconic film, Coming to America. In the first film Prince Akeem (Eddie Murphy) is a prince of a fictional African country Zamunda. When his parents present him with an arranged bride-to-be, he takes matters into his own hands and travels to Queens, New York to find an independent woman who loves him for him. There he meets Lisa (Shari Headley), his parents don’t approve but eventually, they come to their senses.
Similarly in the second film, Akeem finds out that he has an illegitimate son in the US, he brings the son to Zamunda. The son, Lavelle (Jermaine Fowler) has a sort of arranged marriage to a princess of a neighbouring country, Bopoto (Teyana Taylor) but falls in love with his royal groomer (played by our own Nomzamo Mbatha). Akeem does not approve and wants Lavelle to marry the princess. While Lavelle and all of us are thinking FFS Akeem, you literally went through the same thing, surely you should be able to seem the irony.
That’s how I think Harry felt about Charles. All of us with Boomer or GenX parents know that they are prone to falling back into what they know and not wanting to rock the boat. But surely Charles, who has been so terrorised by having to adhere to a system that preventing him from being with the love of his life, made her villain in the press, and where he and she were not supported, would understand what his son is going through? Prince Akeem eventually came to his senses and I hope that Charles would one day too. Not to save the monarchy, that is on its way out, but to save his relationship with his son and grandchildren.
incel behaviour on the bachelorette sa
Of course, alongside Love Island SA, I have also been keeping up with The Bachelorette SA. Most of the times the men are too sad to talk about so I don’t have too much of an opinion but last week an episode really rubbed me up the wrong way.
There was this one guy, Kyran. Kyran was already dreaming dreams by thinking he had a shot with Qiniso (our bachelorette) in the first place, but then he got roses a few times so he got a little cocky. Red flags starting flying for me when he said to Qiniso that ‘he comes across as nice guy’ and that sounds like the beginning of many villain origin stories. And then there was another scene when he was upset that someone else was getting alone time with Qiniso at the cocktail party and Ruan had to reign him in and say that he has gone on a one-on-one date with Qiniso, others have not been as lucky. His diary confessional also became increasingly scathing and problematic.
This all culminated in his final rose ceremony when Kyran was not given a rose and he was sent home. Instead of being gracious about it like Lunga, he bit back at her by saying, ‘I gave you honesty and trust. You gave me challenges, I won them. Perhaps you should check your own bullshit.’ Thee most incel-like behaviour. It was almost as if he could not fathom a scenario where he was not worthy enough for Qiniso’s affections, and the problem had to be her, not him. Misa Narrates wrote a great piece on Tagged Online about how Qiniso was right not to reward his bad behaviour.
In an interview with my friend, Leandra Engelbrecht over on Channel24, Kyran said he stood by what he said, but if he could do it again he would have phrased it a bit nicer. You can read his full quote here, but I kinda call bullshit.
You can watch the scene here:
recs
Film: Moxie is directed by Amy Poehler and tells the story of a shy teenage girl who finds her voice when she creates an anonymous feminist zine calling out the misogyny at her school. You can read my review on Channel24 here and watch it on Netflix here.
Series: We Are Who We Are is created by Call Me By Your Name director Luca Guadagnino and tells the story of a group of teenagers living on a fictional US military base in Italy. It tells how they navigate life at this rigid base while still trying to explore their gender and sexuality. You can read my review for Channel24 here and watch it on Showmax here.
Film: Rocks is one of the best films I’ve seen recently. Nominated for many BAFTAs this year, it follows a teenage girl, Rocks as she tries to take care of herself and her younger brother after their mother abandons them. Rocks is beautiful, heartfelt, and just a lovely film despite its’ subject. With a largely new but talented cast, it is a film that has snuck into my heart. You can read my review on Channel24 and watch it on Netflix.
Film: Emma - In my first article for Tagged Online, a sports and entertainment online magazine that I’ve been a fan of a while (such great writers on here), I wrote about my absolute favourite Emma (2020). The novel was written by Jane Austen 200 years ago, but it still remains one of the best mean girl rom-coms around, and that is evident in the film adaptation that was released last year, and is currently available on DStv Now. You can read my article here.
Article: I wrote about Cape Town’s drive-in cinema, The Galileo and why it’s a place worth checking out as you look for safe activities during the pandemic. You can read my article for ASA Magazine here.
Podcast: Pop Culture Happy Hour - PCHH is my daily dose of pop culture. From NPR, PCHH is a very short daily podcast, usually themed, where they hosts discuss (and bring on specialised guests) various topics from films to books to music to series. You can find it here.
what’s ign crushing on
In the latest episode of the podcast, we were joined by comedian Waylene Beukes to talk about being a woman in the comedy industry, growing up in Namibia and the time she met Dave Chappelle.
Then we interviewed actor, director, writer, producer Sisanda Henna about his new film One Night Kwa Mxolisi, his roles on Trackers and Agent, and his childhood crush on Jennifer Lopez.