The Battle over ‘Queen Cleopatra’: Netflix Docu-series vs. Egyptian Counterprogramming

Egypt has launched a counterprogramming plan to depict their version of the story of Pharaonic ruler Cleopatra, in response to Netflix’s docu-series “Queen Cleopatra” which portrays the Egyptian ruler as black. The state-backed Documentary Channel, Al Wathaeqya, has announced plans to produce a documentary with United Media Services, a government-owned broadcaster, to subject research related to the subject of the film and its image to the highest levels of research and scrutiny. Meanwhile, independent filmmaker and Egyptologist Curtis Ryan Woodside has posted an English-language documentary about Cleopatra VII on his YouTube channel, rejecting “biased” opinions and “misinformed” modern and American iterations of the queen.

Egypt’s former minister of state for antiquities affairs, Zahi Hawass, who has vehemently opposed Netflix’s portrayal of the ancient ruler, railed against the docu-series during an interview on Egypt’s MBC network. He reiterated that the only known Black Egyptian rulers were the Kushite kings of the 25th dynasty and pushed back against Black Americans who have claimed that the Egyptian civilization has Black origins. Hawass also hoped that Netflix would stream the documentaries about Cleopatra that he has worked on.

“Queen Cleopatra” has sparked controversy for casting mixed-race British actor Adele James as the Pharaonic ruler. The casting decision and James’ appearance in the trailer last month has ignited the long-debated discourse about Cleopatra’s maternal heritage. The secretary-general of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities stated that showing Cleopatra with African features and dark skin in the Netflix docu-series “is considered a falsification of Egyptian history.”

Re-reported from the story originally published in https://www.latimes.com/