Intuition Posted April 20, 2023 Posted April 20, 2023 Egyptian lawyer Mahmoud al-Semary has sued Netflix for depicting Cleopatra as a Black woman in a new documentary. al-Semary filed a case with the Public Prosecutor to shut down the streaming service in Egypt, following the release of the trailer for Queen Cleopatra – you can watch it below. As reported by Egypt Independent, the lawyer has demanded that serious legal action be taken against those responsible for the making of the documentary. The case claims that the documentary contradicts and distorts Egyptian history in favour of promoting Afrocentrism. al-Semary described the new depiction of the historic figure as a “crime”, and blamed Netflix’s management team for its participation in the project. He also demanded a thorough investigation of the process, as well as an outright shutdown of Netflix in Egypt. The case submitted against Netflix stated: “Most of what Netflix platform displays do not conform to Islamic and societal values and principles, especially Egyptian ones.” It added: “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 complaint has also accused the makers of the documentary and platform management of “forgery”. Former Egyptian Antiquities Minister Zahi Hawass said that documentary was “falsifying facts”, adding that “This is completely fake. Cleopatra was Greek, meaning that she was blonde, not Black.” Queen Cleopatra, the last ruler of the Ptolemaic dynasty, was born in 69 BC and died in 30 BC in Alexandria. https://www.nme.com/news/film/egyptian-lawyer-sues-netflix-for-depicting-cleopatra-as-black-in-new-documentary-3432799
heckinglovato Posted April 20, 2023 Posted April 20, 2023 2 minutes ago, popmusicisdead said: it's Netflix what did he expect? not you defending racism nnnn currently suing atrl for not banning you
ProudLBS Posted April 20, 2023 Posted April 20, 2023 13 minutes ago, Intuition said: The case claims that the documentary contradicts and distorts Egyptian history in favour of promoting Afrocentrism. He’s right, but that’s not grounds for a lawsuit
Pendulum Posted April 20, 2023 Posted April 20, 2023 (edited) This discourse has been so weird. People from both sides who are mad and reactionary have been parroting the same learned phrases. "b-b-b-but she was Macedonian Greek!!!", meanwhile they don't even know what the Macedonian Empire was. Everybody is suddenly an Egyptologist and a historian. Either way, I support Egypt's reaction. (not this lawyer, it's giving delusion) If they claim to have made a documentary, then it should be as realistic as possible. The facts are there and if Egyptians are causing an uproar.. then maybe something is wrong. And this idolisation of Cleopatra is weird. If we're using a modern-day context, then her dynasty's rule over Egypt could be labelled as colonialism. I'm just wondering couldn't they find any reputable people to cast? Colleen Darnell with her coloniser-core aesthetic being there throws the whole thing out of the window. Edited April 20, 2023 by Pendulum
Trent W Posted April 20, 2023 Posted April 20, 2023 I’ve seen so many Egyptians complaining about this documentary online I never understood the obsession of making Cleopatra black honestly
Trent W Posted April 20, 2023 Posted April 20, 2023 1 minute ago, Pendulum said: This discourse has been so weird. People from both sides who are mad and reactionary to these have been parroting the same learned phrases. "b-b-b-but she was Macedonian Greek!!!", meanwhile they don't even know what the Macedonian Empire was. Everybody is suddenly an Egyptologist and a historian. Either way, I support Egypt's reaction. (not this lawyer, it's giving delusion) If they claim to have made a documentary, then it should be as realistic as possible. The facts are there and if Egyptians are causing an uproar.. then maybe something is wrong. And this idolisation of Cleopatra is weird. If we're using a modern-day context, then her dynasty's rule over Egypt could be labelled as colonialism. I'm just wondering couldn't they find any reputable people to cast? Colleen Darnell with her coloniser-core aesthetic being there throws the whole thing out of the window. From what I’ve read is basically Egyptians being appropriated by American political issues Most countries loathe America’s right vs woke battle and don’t want part of it
BadMonster96 Posted April 20, 2023 Posted April 20, 2023 I have seen so many egyptian people complain, they better sue the sh1t outta netflix for this outrageous history thieft
Badgalbriel Posted April 20, 2023 Posted April 20, 2023 Ok but my question here is : Was she black or white after all? If she was white, why does woke Twitter want her to be black? If she was black, why is this guy suing Netflix?
Lil' Oz Posted April 20, 2023 Posted April 20, 2023 Ancient Egypt was literally a multiracial society, just like Egypt is now.
Hector Posted April 20, 2023 Posted April 20, 2023 The fact that he is suing for promoting "Afrocentrism" but has probably had no problem seeing "Cleopatra" portrayed by Elizabeth Taylor on the big screen or seeing the probable likes of Angelina Jolie or Gal Gadot playing her tells me everything I need to know about him.
Pendulum Posted April 20, 2023 Posted April 20, 2023 1 minute ago, Badgalbriel said: Ok but my question here is : Was she black or white after all? If she was white, why does woke Twitter want her to be black? If she was black, why is this guy suing Netflix? Most scholars agree that she was of Greek descent, descended from Ptolemy I Soter who's known as Alexander the Great's bodyguard. There's debate over her mum. There's speculations that she's an illegitimate child from an unknown woman but I don't know how much that holds up. If the mother was not royalty, it would've been pointed out during her lifetime. So she would've looked Mediterranean at best. And everybody is glossing over the fact that she was severly inbred. Her paternal grandparents were literally siblings. People think of Ancient Egypt as ONE state which is not true. Ancient Egypt is the term used to refer to the Egyptian civilisation prior to the new era. Throughout Ancient Egypt there were numerous dynasties, rulers, empires and what not. Tutankhamun and Cleopatra were separated by more than a thousand years. Cleopatra died around 2050 years ago.
Aethereal Posted April 20, 2023 Posted April 20, 2023 (edited) Suing is a reach. He is wasting his time and money. Besides modern Greeks and Egyptians are culturally and to a lesser extend, genetically, very different from the ancient ones. Edited April 20, 2023 by Aristotle
Pikachoo Posted April 20, 2023 Posted April 20, 2023 two questions: 1) why are they depicting her as sub-saharan African is Cleopatra was black? 2) why is Cleopatra part of "Egyptian culture" if she was Greek anyway?
ProudLBS Posted April 20, 2023 Posted April 20, 2023 4 minutes ago, Lil' Oz said: Ancient Egypt was literally a multiracial society, just like Egypt is now. Egypt at the time was a Greek colony, and Cleopatra was the only ruler who bothered to learn the language of the people she ruled over 3 minutes ago, Hector said: The fact that he is suing for promoting "Afrocentrism" but has probably had no problem seeing "Cleopatra" portrayed by Elizabeth Taylor on the big screen or seeing the probable likes of Angelina Jolie or Gal Gadot playing her tells me everything I need to know about him. Elizabeth Taylor, Angelina Jolie and especially Gal Gadot are way closer to what Cleopatra looked like than whoever Netflix picked
Badgalbriel Posted April 20, 2023 Posted April 20, 2023 18 minutes ago, Hector said: The fact that he is suing for promoting "Afrocentrism" but has probably had no problem seeing "Cleopatra" portrayed by Elizabeth Taylor on the big screen or seeing the probable likes of Angelina Jolie or Gal Gadot playing her tells me everything I need to know about him. But wasn't she white after all? The entire Cleopatra mess will never make sense to me. Some people want her to be white, some want her to be black
Aethereal Posted April 20, 2023 Posted April 20, 2023 1 minute ago, ProudLBS said: Egypt at the time was a Greek colony, and Cleopatra was the only ruler who bothered to learn the language of the people she ruled over Elizabeth Taylor, Angelina Jolie and especially Gal Gadot are way closer to what Cleopatra looked like than whoever Netflix picked Modern Greeks from Crete are actually more Eastern shifted towards Western Asia (30-35%) than Ancient Greeks were.
popmusicisdead Posted April 20, 2023 Posted April 20, 2023 2 minutes ago, Aristotle said: Modern Greeks from Crete are actually more Eastern shifted towards Western Asia (30-35%) than Ancient Greeks were. Ava Max should've been cast as Cleopatra WBK
Intuition Posted April 20, 2023 Author Posted April 20, 2023 1 minute ago, Aristotle said: Modern Greeks from Crete are actually more Eastern shifted towards Western Asia (30-35%) than Ancient Greeks were. Well of course. Mainland Greeks are different from even the Islanders, who have less of a Slavic input. I'm a quarter Greek from Anatolia and my DNA comes up as Western Asian on 23andme from that side and not Balkan. Many different groups were Hellenized, so being "Greek" is often a cultural and linguistic thing and not necessarily genetic. Cleopatra was a Macedonian Greek though, so she would have been similar to Mainland Greeks.
Aethereal Posted April 20, 2023 Posted April 20, 2023 1 minute ago, popmusicisdead said: Ava Max should've been cast as Cleopatra WBK No old Greeks were Mediterranean, but more western towards Sardinia.
ProudLBS Posted April 20, 2023 Posted April 20, 2023 (edited) 11 minutes ago, Aristotle said: Modern Greeks from Crete are actually more Eastern shifted towards Western Asia (30-35%) than Ancient Greeks were. Yeah. Elizabeth, Angelina (with a tan and makeup) and Gal look like those people. Edited April 20, 2023 by ProudLBS
Aethereal Posted April 20, 2023 Posted April 20, 2023 (edited) 7 minutes ago, Intuition said: Well of course. Mainland Greeks are different from even the Islanders, who have less of a Slavic input. I'm a quarter Greek from Anatolia and my DNA comes up as Western Asian on 23andme from that side and not Balkan. Many different groups were Hellenized, so being "Greek" is often a cultural and linguistic thing and not necessarily genetic. Cleopatra was a Macedonian Greek though, so she would have been similar to Mainland Greeks. Mainland Greeks did not differ from islanders in antiquity. Modern Greeks are mixed with Anatolians and Slavs. Islanders have more Anatolian ancestry while mainlanders have more Slavic ancestry. Just pick someone who looks Mediterranean IMO. Ancestry does not matter. Halle Berry who is half African American could play an Ancient Egyptian role. Edited April 20, 2023 by Aristotle
Intuition Posted April 20, 2023 Author Posted April 20, 2023 1 minute ago, Aristotle said: Mainland Greeks did not differ from islanders in antiquity. Modern Greeks are mixed with Anatolians and Slavs. Islanders have more Anatolian ancestry while mainlanders have more Slavic ancestry. Just pick someone who looks Mediterranean IMO. Ancestry does not matter. Halle Berry who is half African American could play an Ancient Egyptian role. Halle Berry doesn't look Mediterranean though and Egyptians should play ancient Egyptians or North Africans at the very least. It's not like Little Mermaid. These are real people and their history.
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