Regarding Netflix's Black Cleopatra

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Yes it amuses me how much Arab speaking Egyptians and white Americans are dissecting the actress's physical appearance rather than the actual historical authenticity of Cleopatra's life.

This is a Rorshach's test of what is inside the minds of both populations

According to the US Census Bureau

https://www.census.gov/topics/populatio ... about.html

Egyptians count as "White"

you're contradicting yourself.

They focus on her race BECAUSE the issue is historic accuracy. The girl and Bassem are both talking about historic accuracy. Every point they make about it is 100 percent true.


If anything "dark skinned Egyptians" should be even MORE offended by Netflix for glorying "the Whitest queen in Egyptian history" than light skinned Egyptians are.

The issue not just that they make Cleopatra Black- its that they are making her into a supposedly nonfiction version of the ruler of the Planet Wokanda- into a symbol of Black nationalism and of defiance against Whites (with Romans and Greeks having the role of American "Whites"). Which is many kinds of absurd- from the standpoint of historic accuracy. Not the least of which being that Cleopatra was (like the gal said)"probably the Whitest queen in Egyptian history". Her portraits make her look like a Jewish American White lady. She didnt wear afro hair styles. She was southeast European person who would be classified as White in the Jim Crow American south.




Further...Bassem's point is there were real historic figures who really WERE Black who were heroic (in the Caribbean and in west africa) whose stories Hollywood ignores. So why latch onto a person who is (lets face it) White (Cleopatra) and falsely make her Black? How on Earth can you disagree with that?

And I would add to Bassem's point that a Black American nationalist CAN latch onto Egypt, because there WERE Black dynasties, and in Egypt's many native dynasties there were individuals who clearly had a west african look in their portraits whom modern Americans would classify as "Black". So again ...a Black Egyptian per se is not the problem. The problem is why pick "the Whitest queen Egyptian history to make as your face of American Black nationalism"? How is that not "ignorant" and absurd?

The American Black gal at one minute into this vid sums it up in two sentences.

https://youtu.be/rAmifcow2vA

Last edited by naturalplastic on 05 May 2023, 12:02 am, edited 2 times in total.

It amuses me how you contradict yourself. They dissect her appearance BECAUSE they are concerned about the historic authenticity of her life, and how it is at odds with this movie. you're making a distinction without a difference.

You are still focussing on the right of Bassem and the girl to claim Cleopatra as "their cultural legacy" when I have already pointed out Cleopatra was a white European woman who spoke Greek and probably identified herself as a Macedonian. Just because she dressed up in Egyptian outfits and spoke a few words of Egyptian (she was the first and infact only member of the Ptolemy line to even bother learning any aspect of the language) doesn't make her an ethnic Egyptian. This is a modern day projection. When she spoke to her family she only used Greek.

All of this doesn't mean anyone can't claim her (heck Bassem and the girl are welcome to claim her as I have been at great poins to point out but you seem to conveniently side-step). But for these two clowns to feel insulted because she is being played by a dark skinned woman should make no difference to her legacy being damaged to them because she is a foreigner not an Egyptian (she shares zero DNA with Bassem and the girl). If I was Greek or Macedonian on the other hand I would have a case for race-swapping.

As I have said before, if they cast a white Greek looking woman to play Cleopatra these Egyptians would eagerly claim her and the actress as one of theirs. I smell a double standard.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRJe99I ... NowStudios

Polar Bears

So as far as the motivation of Pinkett Smith re: Cleopatra OR Shondaland in casting a black Queen Charlotte (the latter is even worse as Charlotte was descended from German/Portuguese royalty ) the historical accuracy is always going to be questionable/suspect. Both producers are not historians, they are both pro-Black. You don't have to sell the "outrage", I have already agreed the casting is stupid.

We live in a world where identity politics is a real thing. In my view the representation of young black women on television in fictional roles really should not elicit such heated anger. The bigger picture is representation. I think the actresses are both terrific individuals and while I won't be watching these (I also don't watch Sanditon, Bridgeton or Queen Charlotte on Netflix) I recognise the casting of black actors in these productions has so far been hugely successful and there is an audience for such productions.

If Arab Egyptians, Greeks or white Americans want to learn real history then go to their local library with your children and pick up a book. Don't rely on Netflix for your education

Spend some time with their children, as a bonus learn something rather than stare like zombies at Netflix expressing faux outrage.
Netlfix is for entertainment. Overall I don't care what Pinkett Smith or Shondaland are doing. It's for entertainment, not education.

I wouldnt talk about racism if I were you because you're the guy who claims that Egyptians couldnt have built the pyramids and they needed help from space aliens.

I just got through explaining how I am all for having more Black characters- thats the very problem- the real Cleopatra was not black. But other historic figures in the world, including in ancient Egypt itself were.

How does the fact that I argue for Black characters mean that I am against Black characters?

Last edited by naturalplastic on 05 May 2023, 11:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Wakanda was a concept developed by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. It's not the creation of afrocentrics as you were implying

What does that hafta do with anything?
Where did I imply that it was made by "Afrocentrics"?
And where did I say anything bad about Wakonda?

Wakonda is a current blocbuster movie that everyone knows about and that the Netflix staff clearly are .....influenced by (not gonna say theyre ripping it off).

But Wakonda is pure fantasy fiction. There is no issue of historic accuracy to worry about. Cleopatra was a real person like George Washington.

Are you talking about Wakanda?

Okay...maybe Egyptians shouldnt be all out OFFENDED by the Netflix movie. They should just chuckle and look down their noses at it with amused and bemused contempt at the childish Netflix production because of its historic inaccuracy.

But historic inaccuracy is reason enough to dislike something.

But its not just skin color. Theyre putting Cleopatra into a Black nationalist role that she did not play. When they could find real historic figures who DID play that role. Like Allen Toussant (who led slaves to overthrow French rule of Haiti), or actual women warriors of the Ashanti tribe.

Whatever the recent Blockbuster Marvel movie -which is about Black ruled planet.

Wakanda

When I google "wakonda" it doesnt even come up as a thing...you just get a million pages of "Wakanda" .

So everyone else must misspell it the same way I do, and no one but you even knows about this other "wakonda" thing that you apparently thought I was talking about including I.

Last edited by naturalplastic on 05 May 2023, 11:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Precisely.