“Political Choice”: Why is the Netflix series Black Cleopatra?

On Netflix, Jada Pinkett Smith looks at the lives of Africa’s most famous and iconic queens in a series of documentaries that she recently offered on the platform. After the Angolan warrior queen Njinga, this time the producer tells us the story of Cleopatra.One of the most famous, powerful and misunderstood women in the world“. This series wants”Revisits the fascinating life and political genius of this queen and looks at her ethnicity, a subject that still raises questions today“.

Iranian director Tina Gharavi was approached to direct the 4 episodes that make up the documentary mini-series. By mutual agreement with Pinkett Smith, she chose black British actress Adele James to portray Cleopatra. And this is where the shoe pinches some.

Cleopatra’s parentage – and subsequently her skin color – has long been debated by historians. Although there is no general consensus on the subject, most agree that it derives from the Lagid dynasty of Macedonian origin, founded by Ptolemy I. A dynasty that later merged with the Egyptians. Only the identity of his mother remains a complete mystery. In 2009, Australian researchers came to the conclusion that this The last one was African…

in an open letter published by varietyThe director justified his approach:I quickly realized that casting a black actress as Cleopatra would be a political choice. if he was We don’t know for sure, but we can bet he wasn’t white Elizabeth Taylor. We need to start a debate about colorism and the white supremacy portrayed by Hollywood and which we have analyzed.“.

Egypt is getting stronger

In late April, when Netflix released the first trailer for Queen Cleopatra and controversy raged, Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities stepped in and published a lengthy article. contactedBased on the opinion of experts. This is formal:He had white skin and Hellenistic features. The best proof of this is the bas-reliefs and statues of Queen Cleopatra“.

It is in Egypt that there is the most anger, coming from both politicians and residents. Lawyer Mahmoud Al-Semar is worth mentioning filed a complaint Against Netflix, which was fired. That didn’t stop the series from being posted online on May 10, which didn’t catch fire… a second time.