(DailyDig.com) – The new Netflix series “Cleopatra” focuses on the life of Cleopatra, the final pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt. Casting a black performer in the role of the queen has been criticized as being historically inaccurate.
Although Adele James is a skilled actress, the show’s nonhistorical framework and casting have been met with criticism. After the show’s trailer debuted, many people took to social media to criticize the production for incorrectly casting the historical character as a black woman. Cleopatra had Greek ancestry from the region of Macedon.
The May 10 premiere of “Cleopatra” was met with poor reviews from moviegoers on IMDB. It received a 1.1 on a 10-point scale. As of the 16th of May, 94.2 percent of the roughly 39,000 ratings, the program had gotten one star or below, the lowest attainable rating.
Even considering the controversies surrounding the movie, a 1% viewer score seems close to statistically impossible. Fans often rank movies higher than reviewers, even awful programs. The casting choice was met with widespread backlash, particularly in consideration of the show’s self-proclaimed documentary status and viewers’ expectations of a reasonable degree of historical accuracy.
A renowned Egyptologist, Zahi Hawass, and former minister of antiquities had spoken out against the presentation, claiming that it was a total fabrication. Cleopatra was of Greek descent; thus, her skin tone was not dark at all. By promoting misleading and erroneous information about the genesis of Egyptian civilization being black, Netflix is intentionally sowing discord. According to Hawass, the 26th Dynasty Kushite kings were the only known black rulers of Egypt.
The film’s executive producer and narrator, Jada Pinkett Smith, defended her choice of actress, saying that it was vital to her that audiences hear and see tales of black queens.
The show’s director, Tina Gharvi, made her ideological motivations quite plain. She stressed that this was not only a documentary but also agitprop. She advocated having an honest talk about colorism and Hollywood-fostered internalized racism.
Copyright 2023, DailyDig.com
