Queen Cleopatra (Netflix docuseries)

Brian in Mesa

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A controversial "re-imagining" of Queen Cleopatra as a black woman.

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Brian in Mesa

Brian in Mesa

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Netflix's ‘Queen Cleopatra' Receives 2% Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score​


*Netflix's new Cleopatra docuseries has thousands of negative reviews on Rotten Tomatoes from viewers who are upset that a Black actress portrays the Egyptian queen.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the series "African Queens: Queen Cleopatra" has an 11% from nine critics and a 2% audience score with over 2,500 viewers reporting, reports Decider.com.

"Depicting Cleopatra as a sub-Saharan African in a documentary is historically inaccurate and can be seen as an insult to both Greek and Egyptian history," wrote a one-star reviewer, per Decider.

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Stout

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Netflix's ‘Queen Cleopatra' Receives 2% Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score​


*Netflix's new Cleopatra docuseries has thousands of negative reviews on Rotten Tomatoes from viewers who are upset that a Black actress portrays the Egyptian queen.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the series "African Queens: Queen Cleopatra" has an 11% from nine critics and a 2% audience score with over 2,500 viewers reporting, reports Decider.com.

"Depicting Cleopatra as a sub-Saharan African in a documentary is historically inaccurate and can be seen as an insult to both Greek and Egyptian history," wrote a one-star reviewer, per Decider.

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Wow, I thought I disliked it!

It isn't so much the casting as the shove-it-down-your-throat approach. One of the first experts had this kind of "My mother told me to never listen to anyone that said Cleopatra wasn't black" response. Aside from that, it just wasn't a good docuseries. The one "expert" they kept going to was a doctoral freaking candidate. They kept repeating stuff about hers and Caesar's child was the future hope of Rome and Egypt and other general nonsense.
 

oaken1

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Wow, I thought I disliked it!

It isn't so much the casting as the shove-it-down-your-throat approach. One of the first experts had this kind of "My mother told me to never listen to anyone that said Cleopatra wasn't black" response. Aside from that, it just wasn't a good docuseries. The one "expert" they kept going to was a doctoral freaking candidate. They kept repeating stuff about hers and Caesar's child was the future hope of Rome and Egypt and other general nonsense.
lol... glad to see it wasnt just me. I didnt make it fifteen minutes in. the show is trash.
 

Krangodnzr

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Utter nonsense to cast Cleopatra as a black woman. I find changing the race of historical characters to be pretty gross.
 

Stout

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Utter nonsense to cast Cleopatra as a black woman. I find changing the race of historical characters to be pretty gross.
Well, it's possible she was a mixed-race Egyptian, as her mother is an unknown, however unlikely. It is known she was of Greek descent, however, and the only "proof" she was of African stock at all is a ? where her mother's name is, so it is indeed highly unlikely she was of mixed race. I wouldn't call it gross, and would be okay with the casting, so long as the "documentary" (and that does require quotes with this POS) made it crystal clear this was a big ? rather than framing her as African, period. Just one of many fumbles this "documentary" made.
 

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Well, it's possible she was a mixed-race Egyptian, as her mother is an unknown, however unlikely. It is known she was of Greek descent, however, and the only "proof" she was of African stock at all is a ? where her mother's name is, so it is indeed highly unlikely she was of mixed race. I wouldn't call it gross, and would be okay with the casting, so long as the "documentary" (and that does require quotes with this POS) made it crystal clear this was a big ? rather than framing her as African, period. Just one of many fumbles this "documentary" made.

I clicked off shortly after the intro, 'my momma said.'
 

Krangodnzr

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Well, it's possible she was a mixed-race Egyptian, as her mother is an unknown, however unlikely. It is known she was of Greek descent, however, and the only "proof" she was of African stock at all is a ? where her mother's name is, so it is indeed highly unlikely she was of mixed race. I wouldn't call it gross, and would be okay with the casting, so long as the "documentary" (and that does require quotes with this POS) made it crystal clear this was a big ? rather than framing her as African, period. Just one of many fumbles this "documentary" made.
Eh it's highly unlikely.

Because of this thread, I googled the series and read the directors response. She said that Egyptians should embrace their African-ness (note: the director isn't Egyptian).

She talked about Egyptians being "whitewashed" but then "blackwashes" Egyptians by hamfistedly saying they should embrace a cultural group that Egyptians don't identify with.

Egyptians have very little Arab blood, I get that. Their closest "relatives" are Levantine people (Lebanese/Syrians).

I'm a pretty liberal person, but it's not only white people that can be cultural insensitive. This dreck of a series is a slap on the face to Egyptians.
 

Stout

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Eh it's highly unlikely.

Because of this thread, I googled the series and read the directors response. She said that Egyptians should embrace their African-ness (note: the director isn't Egyptian).

She talked about Egyptians being "whitewashed" but then "blackwashes" Egyptians by hamfistedly saying they should embrace a cultural group that Egyptians don't identify with.

Egyptians have very little Arab blood, I get that. Their closest "relatives" are Levantine people (Lebanese/Syrians).

I'm a pretty liberal person, but it's not only white people that can be cultural insensitive. This dreck of a series is a slap on the face to Egyptians.
Well said.
 

Dr. Jones

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Eh it's highly unlikely.

Because of this thread, I googled the series and read the directors response. She said that Egyptians should embrace their African-ness (note: the director isn't Egyptian).

She talked about Egyptians being "whitewashed" but then "blackwashes" Egyptians by hamfistedly saying they should embrace a cultural group that Egyptians don't identify with.

Egyptians have very little Arab blood, I get that. Their closest "relatives" are Levantine people (Lebanese/Syrians).

I'm a pretty liberal person, but it's not only white people that can be cultural insensitive. This dreck of a series is a slap on the face to Egyptians.
The director (Tina Gharavi) called the casting a "Political Act" in variety magazine.

Doing the research, I realized what a political act it would be to see Cleopatra portrayed by a Black actress.

 

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