Netflix has faced backlash after airing an alleged documentary that portrays Cleopatra, the Greek queen of ancient Egypt, as one of Africa’s “black queens.”
The politically motivated reworking of the appearance of historical figures such as Cleopatra has been criticized for “distorting history”, and real battles have unfolded on social networks.
From Executive Producer @jadapsmith comes a new docuseries exploring the lives of iconic African queens.
QUEEN CLEOPATRA follows the story of Cleopatra, one of the world’s most famous and misunderstood woman.
QUEEN CLEOPATRA is available to stream May 10 only on Netflix pic.twitter.com/0oDUSi8Add
— Strong Black Lead (@strongblacklead) April 12, 2023
A new NETFLIX “documentary” purports to explore the untold story of Cleopatra’s reign and her legacy, which was overshadowed by her romantic connection to Roman general Mark Antony.
The poster and trailer for the “documentary” portrays the legendary queen of Egypt as black, contrary to history and depictions in art.
In the comments on YouTube, no one defends the “blackened” Cleopatra, and the Egyptians urge Netflix to read at least a little about the Egyptians and the history of Egypt.
Fact check: Cleopatra was a white woman. Why is @Netflix pushing racially inflammatory historical fiction? https://t.co/QA2hiZbBuZ
— Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) April 13, 2023
fact check: Cleopatra was a white woman. Why @Netflix promotes racially inflammatory historical fiction?
Netflix and Disney are very similar. pic.twitter.com/qk53vW0lHm
— Gen. Z for Trump ✝️ (@Gen_Z_For_Trump) April 13, 2023
When will Disney make a film about Greta Thunberg?
Tom some say Alexander the Great was black also 🤦♀️
— 🇺🇸SundaeFlorida🇺🇸 (@SundaeFlorida) April 13, 2023
Some say that Alexander the Great was also black…
Who was Cleopatra?
Cleopatra was an ancient Greek queen, not an Egyptian, as many people think. She is from the Ptolemaic dynasty, a Greek family of Macedonian origin who ruled Egypt after the death of Alexander the Great during the Hellenistic period.
Born in 69 BC in Alexandria, she was a descendant of the founder of the dynasty, Ptolemy I Soter, a Greek commander and associate of Alexander the Great. Her native language was Koine Greek, common Greek, and she was the only Ptolemaic ruler to learn Egyptian.
Cleopatra was queen of the Ptolemaic kingdom of Egypt from 51 BC. until his death in 30 BC. and its last real ruler.
Reactions
The comments left in the official YouTube trailer are far from flattering for NETFLIX, with users pointing out that the streaming platform should learn history. The distortion of the story about the origin and appearance of Cleopatra caused a reaction even in Egypt, and social media users reminded the platform of reality and rolled over the authors of the film.
Real Cleopatra VS the blαςκwashed version by Netflix 🤡🤡🤡#Egypt #egyptology #Cleopatra #afrocentrism pic.twitter.com/oF1FoVhHcE
— Egyptian History Defenders 🇪🇬𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖 (@EHD_Group) April 12, 2023
Many netizens argue that while it is necessary to recognize historical figures of African descent, it is equally important to accurately represent them. The Greeks comment quite ironically and also encourage Netflix and producers of “documentary” films to read history books. The film will hit Metflix on May 10.
And you? What do you think of black Cleopatra?
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