Poster for the movie Queen Cleopatra
The portrayal of a dark-skinned actress as Queen Cleopatra in an upcoming Netflix documentary sparked controversy on social media in Egypt.
Many criticized the film’s portrayal of Queen Cleopatra with dark skin and of Macedonian origin.
The film re-discussed the ideas of the “Afrocentrism” movement, which spreads the idea that all civilizations of the world included black people before their dispersion.
Tweeters also accused the Netflix platform of “changing the ancient history of Egypt” and “falsifying established historical data.”
what’s the story
- The company “Netflix” began promoting the movie “Cleopatra”, directed by Jada Nincite Smith, wife of the famous American star Will Smith, and it will start showing on the platform on May 10 next,
- The company said that it is part of a series of documentaries exploring the lives of prominent and creative African queens, starting with the movie “Cleopatra”, as “the first season will be devoted to the most famous and powerful woman in the world.”
- The company pointed out that “she was misunderstood, as her fame as a bold, beautiful and romantic queen overshadowed her true nature, represented by her extreme intelligence.”
- The promotional advertisement for the modern documentary includes that the legacy of “Cleopatra was the subject of a lot of academic controversy, then it is followed by an assertion by one of the commentators in the documentary that Cleopatra was dark-skinned, contrary to what is commonly believed.”
Criticism of Netflix
Tweeters expressed their disapproval of the portrayal of Queen Cleopatra as a dark-skinned woman, and confirmed that she was of Macedonian origin and not a dark-skinned person as Netflix tries to portray her.
Muhammad Ghoneim said, “What is happening is not a theft of history, but an overturning of established historical facts.”
A team believed that “Netflix wants to establish that the Egyptian civilization is black, in support of the ideas of African Americans who adopt this theory.”
Another Twitter user tried to explain the reason for all the fuss about the movie, which are the ideas that the “Afrocentric” movement is trying to spread.
Karim Anwar said, “Any work of art must adhere to historical facts because these events are rooted in the mind of today’s youth.”
Documentary Defenders
On the other hand, another team of tweeters said, “The studies that were conducted on Cleopatra’s skull prove that it matches the people of Nubia, and therefore she may have really black skin.” A tweet also noted that “Cleopatra’s grandmother was black.”
While some mocked the criticism of the Netflix film, stressing that it is “just a work of art, not an investigative work.”
Ibrahim Moussa wondered about “the reason for objecting to a dark-skinned woman when everyone around her is blonde and therefore they are not Egyptian either.”
Who is Cleopatra?
- She is Queen Cleopatra VII, the last king of the Macedonian dynasty that ruled Egypt since the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC.
- Its rule continued for the year 30 BC, when Rome occupied Egypt.
- Cleopatra was born in Alexandria in January 69 BC. She was the daughter of Ptolemy II.
- She succeeded her father as queen in 51 BC, and shared the throne with her brother Ptolemy XIII.
- Cleopatra was known as beautiful, attractive, charming, strong and intelligent, and she ruled Egypt for a few years.
- In the year 40 BC, her kingdom became part of the share of the emperor, which affected Marcus Antonius, when the Roman world was divided between Octavius u200bu200band Marcus Lebedos after the death of Julius Caesar.
- Until now it is not known how she died. Some historians say that she committed suicide shortly after the suicide of Marcus Antonius.
