There’s no de-nile, Netflix is being tut-tuted for its ‘Egyptface’ in the casting of a English-Black actress as Cleopatra in the streaming services’ new episodes of ‘African Queens.’
Critics of the docudrama series include the Egyptian government itself, which has called the casting of Casualty actress Adele James as the iconic Egyptian monarch a ‘falsification of history.’
Former Egyptian Antiquities Minister Zahi Hawass condemned the production for “falsifying facts,” arguing that “Cleopatra was Greek, meaning that she was blonde, not black.” Our Wokesperts explain that the Blackification of Egyptian culture and history has gained ground since the rise of BLM despite there being little historical evidence to make Black Queens out of Muslim Monarchs.
WE NOW RETURN TO YOUR NOT SO REGULARLY SCHEDULED CULTURAL APPROPRIATION
Egyptian Film and TV critic Aswan Naswari tells GWU! that Netflix is “scrambling for new Black heroes for its woke programming.” The four part series titled Queen Cleopatra, which is now streaming, is produced by Jada Pinkett Smith, partner of Will (get your wife’s name out your f%cking mouth—ed.) Smith.
Naswari says that Egypt has many talented and beautiful female actresses who could have played the ritual role and cites the miscasting for the series poor reception both in Egypt and around the world. The historical docudrama received a disastrous two percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, the worst ever recorded. “Talk about making history,” laughs Naswari.
Pinkett Smith, who starred in GI Jane, countered that white supremacy was the reason that people turned off the new show, but the very few viewers who suffered through an episode disagree with this claim.
WALKING LIKE A SOUVLAKI
Cleopatra VII, was the last pharaoh of ancient Egypt and a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, which descended from Ptolemy I, a Macedonian Greek general who served under Alexander the Great. “This makes her Greek if not purely Egyptian. Why not just cast Jennifer Anderson and be done with it?” mocks Naswari.
Calling on Egyptians to speak out against Netflix’s revisionism, Hawass lamented that a trend has emerged in Black America to claim the Egyptian civilization actually came from Black Africa.
“Netflix is trying to stir up confusion to spread false information that the origin of Egyptian civilization is Black,” he said, insisting such claims are untrue.
BLACK OR WHITE – DO YOU REMEMBER THE TIME?
Calling for the Netflix production team including Pinkett Smith to be punished for participating in a “crime” against Egypt and its culture, Egyptian lawyer Mahmoud al-Semary argued that the casting promotes a ‘divisive Afrocentrism.’
“In order to preserve the Egyptian national and cultural identity among Egyptians all over the world there must be pride in the makings of such work,” the attorney said, adding that most of Netflix’s offerings “do not conform to Islamic and societal values and principles, especially Egyptian ones.”
Hollywoke producer Pinkett Smith who has wrapped her Cleopatra work is rumoured to currently be working on the true crime drama film ‘SAY. HIS. NAME. The George Floyd Story’ staring Ryan Gosling, Tom Holland and Jack Black.
