Netflix Race-Swapped Cleopatra Show Receives Lowest Rating In Rotten Tomatoes History
Has the race-swapping fad within Hollywood finally hit a brick wall? Are they going to try to depict historic figures as they really looked once again, or will they double down? What is the real purpose behind this trend that many people are now referring to as "black washing?"
The political left often views history as inconvenient to their narrative, which is that different societies and ethnic groups should be homogenized into a single global entity, ostensibly with the same progressive ideology as they have. However, until the past century this has not been the case. Humanity remains discerning always, and seeks to group into tribes whenever possible.
Leftists believe that they can rewrite several thousand years of recorded history through Hollywood magic and con the next generation into thinking "diversity and inclusion" have always been a thing. In fact, it is nearly impossible to get a streaming show or movie produced these days without filmmakers being forced to follow a list of ESG requirements and a perfect pie chart of on-screen representation, even when the places depicted were historically of only one race. And, dare we say that it was Netflix that initially pioneered this woke entertainment trend.
Now it appears that their failure has come full circle with a series about Cleopatra VII executive produced by Jada Pinkett Smith (wife of the slap-happy Will Smith). The show, which is part of a project to showcase black girl-bosses through history, is billed as a serious docudrama but the depictions of Cleopatra as black are completely inaccurate. The public response has not been positive.
Netflix's Queen Cleopatra hit 1% on the Rotten Tomatoes rating website, a historic low for streaming television.
Attempts to paint the Egyptians as Sub-Saharan African in recent years tie into a conspiracy theory among leftist activists who believe that Egypt was actually an ancient black empire that historians have sought to maliciously "white wash." In reality, genetic testing shows that ancient Egyptians were most closely related to the peoples of the Near East, particularly from the Levant. This is the Eastern Mediterranean which today includes the countries of Turkey, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon.
Cleopatra was Greek/Macedonian, not sub-Saharan African, and there is no serious debate over this in the historic community. Multiple images of Cleopatra from the 1st Century AD have been found, including frescos which depict Cleopatra as white.
Why not make a television series about actual black ruled kingdoms in Africa, such as the kingdom of Kush (neighbors to the Egyptians in today's Northern Sudan), or the Mali Empire? Probably because these groups have a limited impact on the annals of world history and that's not enough for woke Hollywood. They want Wakanda. They want Egypt to be their Wakanda, but it simply isn't so.
Why does it matter if a black actress plays Cleopatra? Because facts matter. While Hollywood has many times taken liberties with history in past films and shows, the goal should be to improve that pattern and strive for accuracy instead of going backwards. And, ultimately it matters because these kinds of woke productions are propaganda driven. These are not changes to history made with the intention to spice things up for audiences; no, these are changes specifically designed to lie to the public and condition them to believe things that are not true.
Black actors are not the problem. Leftist propaganda is the problem.
