Netflix has been called out for casting a Black actress to play Cleopatra in a new docudrama series. Read more at straitstimes.com.
CAIRO – On this much, at least, everyone can agree: Cleopatra was a formidable queen of ancient Egypt, the last of the Macedonian Greek dynasty founded by Alexander the Great, who went on to even greater posthumous fame as a seductress, immortalised by Shakespeare and Hollywood.
Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, the government agency in charge of heritage, declared the show a “falsification of Egyptian history”. “We don’t often get to see or hear stories about Black queens, and that was really important for me, as well as for my daughter, and just for my community to be able to know those stories because there are tons of them,” Ms Jada Pinkett Smith, who produced “African Queens”, said in a Netflix-sponsored article about the show.
But it stirred up a very different debate in Egypt, where many view identity and race through another lens. But in Greek and Roman times, historians say, Egypt was seen as a major player in the Mediterranean world, the gateway to Africa, rather than fully African. But many Egyptians and historians say the racist slurs hurled online at Ms James, while abhorrent, distract from the real issue.The show is dragging an ancient queen into the middle of contemporary Western debates in which she has no real place, they argue.
The pyramids and the pharaohs became sources of pride for these Afrocentrists – and Cleopatra, for all her Greek blood, a potential hero of the movement.
Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Race row as Egyptian archaeologist releases Cleopatra documentaryCAIRO: An Egyptian archaeologist on Wednesday (May 10) released a documentary on the life of Cleopatra, the same day Netflix began streaming a controversial production depicting the ancient queen as black. For weeks, pundits and officials in Egypt have reacted angrily to streaming platform Netflix's decisi
Read more »
Comedian Hannah Gadsby returns to Netflix with a stand-up 'love letter'“It’s more positive. It’s expressing a happiness I don’t think I had done in earlier Netflix specials,' Gadsby said.
Read more »
Thai Queen’s basketry bags a hit with fashionistas after appearance at King Charles’ coronationA Yan Lipao bag is hand-woven from vines native to Thailand. Read more at straitstimes.com.
Read more »
Will Thailand get a third prime minister with the Shinawatra name?Pheu Thai's leading candidate for prime minister is Ms Paetongtarn Shinawatra, whose father Thaksin and aunt Yingluck were ousted in separate military coups.
Read more »
WWE fans demand Triple H to “give us what we want” at WrestleMania 40Several famous performers have demonstrated in WWE that they are reliable wrestlers. Logan Paul and Bad Bunny, two celebrities whose recent performances in the
Read more »
US congressman accused of multiple lies faces federal charges: ReportsNEW YORK: A freshman United States Republican lawmaker whose extensive lies have made political headlines since his election last year has been charged by the Justice Department, US media r
Read more »