The networks are still being bombarded with all kinds of messages regarding the casting choice of the remake of The little Mermaid made by Disney, and Netflix becomes the new controversial spotlight due to the casting choice to play Cleopatra in the documentary led by Jada Pinkett Smith. The company published six days ago a small preview of this new episode of queens of africa and the criticism has not stopped piling up since then, and all for having chosen an actress of color to play this queen of Egypt known, among many other things, for having been the lover of Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. Adele James will be responsible for bringing this historical character to life in the documentary which will be released next May 10.
The choice of actress to play Cleopatra has not been well received for the most part, but there is everything
The representation that has been made of Cleopatra, throughout its history, has been linked to the physical features of a white woman. Artists like Theda Bara, Claudette Colbert, Vivien Leigh and even Monica Bellucci in that crazy version of Astrix and Oblix: Mission Cleopatra have put themselves in the shoes of the last ruler of the Ptolemaic dynasty of Ancient Egypt. On this occasion, however, Jada Pinkett Smith has wanted to represent the queen in another way, moving away from her background. This has raised a certain stir in social networks, although it also there are those who have been satisfied with this choice casting because Egypt was a civilization with African origin and, in fact, it is not the first time that Cleopatra has been shown like this:
Year 1984, Astrix comic, a well Africanized Cleopatra and at that time the trolls did not come out to attack nor did the current debate take place. pic.twitter.com/7YsJAvF7c3
Omer Freixa (@OmerFreixa) April 14, 2023
But on the other hand, as we mentioned, there are also those who do not agree with this representation What has become of Cleopatra, since this was of Macedonian origin and in no type of painting or art that has managed to survive the passage of time has the ancient Egyptian been shown with features of the black race:
🙋🏼♀️ Guess who is the producer of the Netflix documentary that tries to pass off the Egyptian queen Cleopatra VII as black
Jada Pinkett Smith, the black supremacist wife of Will Smith 🤪🤡
(Egypt is not a sub-Saharan civilization, no matter how hard they try) pic.twitter.com/gfzzpxySo6
Emily Habsburg (@emily_habsburg) April 16, 2023
The controversy is served and revolves around the wife of Will Smith and Netflix. It remains to be seen if the company will keep the premiere scheduled for the documentary or if it will back down given the criticism from the public. In any case, queen cleopatraas we have decimated them, is scheduled to launch on May 10 with actress Adele James as the main protagonist.