A Netflix series about Queen Cleopatra has caused anger and outrage in Egypt without even premiering yet. To the point where a lawyer from the Arab country has sued the platform, accusing it of “Afrocentrism” and damaging Egyptian values. The reason: the characterization of Cleopatra as a black woman and the choice of an actress of this race, Adele James, to play her character.
Shortly after the trailer for the documentary ‘Queen Cleopatra’ was released, the lawyer Mahmud al Semary filed a lawsuit with the Egyptian Prosecutor’s Office to request “legal action” against Netflix. He argues that “most” of what the series aggregator broadcasts “contradicts Islamic and social values and principles, especially Egyptian ones”, which, according to him, “would erase the Egyptian identity”.
Its passage could lead to a ban on the streaming service in Egypt. “To preserve the Egyptian national and cultural identity among Egyptians around the world and to be proud of it,” reads the text presented by Al Semary to the Prosecutor’s Office, “and to consolidate the spirit of belonging to the homeland, accordingly we ask and We request that you take the necessary legal action against this platform.”
In another initiative led from Egypt, signatures were requested to cancel the series for “falsifying history” by presenting Cleopatra as a black person despite being considered a queen with Greek ancestors. Within hours, 85,000 signers supported the petition, but it was eventually removed from Change.org. Social networks have been filled with negative comments.
If the fury of the Egyptians doesn’t stop him, Netflix will continue with its plans to release the docudrama on May 10. The work tells the story of the last pharaoh of legendary Ancient Egypt and her fight to protect her throne, her family and her legacy. The reign of Cleopatra VII Philopator, between 51 and 30 B.C., is a fascinating period in the history of the Nile Empire because it opened the door to the control of Egypt by the Roman Empire. She was born in Alexandria in the year 69, she succeeded her father, Ptolemy XII, and was the last sovereign of her dynasty.
The figure of the Ptolemaic queen has been taken to the screens on numerous occasions and divas like Sophia Loren or Vivien Leigh have interpreted her. But aesthetically, in the retinas of people from all corners of the planet, the iconic image of Elizabeth Taylor in the famous 1963 film has been recorded as Cleopatra, with her mesmerizing eyes, her pale complexion and her straight, black hair.
Cleopatra’s origins have been a recurring topic of debate among experts. While historians agree that her roots lie in Greek Macedonia, others argue that her African blood ran through her veins as well. A 2009 BBC documentary cited archaeological finds as saying the pharaoh’s mother had “an African skeleton”. The identity of the parent continues to raise unknowns.
The media specialized in the Middle East ‘Al-Monitor’ has collected the latest controversy about the ruler and consulted with archaeologists, who maintain that, “although some black pharaohs ruled Egypt, Cleopatra was certainly not black.” Among them is the former Egyptian Minister of Antiquities, Zahi Hawass, who has spoken out against the series for misrepresenting facts from the History of Ancient Egypt.
“Cleopatra was Greek and looked like the queens and princesses of Macedonia, who were blonde, not black,” he told the aforementioned website. “If we look at the huge figure of Cleopatra and her son by Julius Caesar, Caesarion, on the southern wall of the Temple of Hathor at Dendera and on her coins, there is no evidence that she was black.”
The producer of the series, Jada Pinkett Smith, explained at a festival in February that it is an idea included in the “African Queens” project, which aims to “represent black women”. While ‘black pride’ is on the rise in the US with claims like Black Lives Matter, Egypt is still struggling with its identity ‘issues’. Last February, the American comedian Kevin Hart was canceled after saying that the ancient Egyptians were black. The Arab country suffers from serious human rights deficiencies and the Coptic minority – the country’s Christian community, descendants according to their tradition of the church established in Egypt in AD 50 – face constant discrimination and rejection.
“If you don’t like the casting, don’t watch the show,” the protagonist, Adele James, a British actress of mixed-race origins, snapped at critics on Twitter who was chosen precisely to put a face on “centuries of conversation about race” of the egyptian queen. “We don’t often see or hear stories of black queens, and it’s important to me, my daughter, and my community to know about them,” Pinkett Smith explains.
Will Smith’s own wife is involved in the docudrama as a narrating voice. “There was a time, long ago, when women ruled with unparalleled power as warriors, queens and mothers of nations, and there was none more iconic than Cleopatra,” begins the story in the voice of Pinkett Smith. Next, James breaks the ‘mold’ of Cleopatra, presenting her as an afro-haired warrior rather than a languid palace seductress, to ask defiantly, “I would die for Egypt. Why would you die?”
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