Last Updated on 04/27/2023 by てんしょく飯
The trailer for Netflix’s new show Queen Cleopatra has been released, and it is under fire.
On 13 April, Netflix released the trailer for its original documentary drama Queen Cleopatra.
The film is co-produced by Jada Pinkett Smith and features black actress Adele James as the lead character Cleopatra.
[Video] ‘Queen Cleopatra’ Trailer
In relation to the film, Jada Pinkett Smith says in the promotional material that “it was really important for me, for my daughter, for my community to know these stories because we don’t often get to see or hear about black queens”.
However, the racialisation and casting of Cleopatra in the film was controversial and caused a firestorm. This is because many historians and experts on ancient Egypt have stated that Cleopatra was of Macedonian* descent and was likely to have had white skin.
*A state founded by the ancient Greeks in the 7th century BC.
Cleopatra was a woman who ruled the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC. In the past, the role of Cleopatra has been played in Hollywood films by white actresses Elizabeth Taylor and Vivien Leigh.
However, the fact is that Cleopatra’s actual lineage and appearance are not clearly known. Catherine Bird, Professor of Archaeology at Boston University, says: “We don’t know Cleopatra’s skin colour. We will never know unless her mummy is found (which is highly unlikely) and DNA is analysed from it”.
The film, which has attracted controversy, has finally turned into a legal issue: according to Just Jared, Egyptian lawyer Mahmoud al-Semari filed a lawsuit on 23 April over the film, accusing it of “erasing Egyptian identity by portraying the ruler as a black woman”. He also claimed that “most of what Netflix represents is not in line with the fundamental values of Islam or society, especially Egyptian ones”, and he is also seeking to suspend Netflix’s services in Egypt.
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