In her article published in Variety, director Tina Gharavi asks how much Elizabeth Taylor looked like her famous character.
Supervisor Tina Gharavi defends the documentary series about the last queen of Egypt premiering on Netflix next month About Cleopatra.
The director says in his article published in Variety that he wonders about the demands for her skin color.
African Queens -the latest season of the series has sparked a furious discussion on social media, because in the series Cleopatra is played by a dark-skinned British actress Adele James. The choice has enraged many Egyptians, who have even called for the series to be banned as false.
For example Quoted by the BBC Egyptologist and former Egyptian minister Zahi Hawassin has stated that Egypt’s only dark-skinned ruling family ruled the country hundreds of years before Cleopatra. According to Hawass, it is clear that Cleopatra was fair-skinned. He has also called on Egyptians to boycott the series.
Adele James has said that she received large amounts of hate mail for her role.
Cleopatra’s his ancestry is not completely certain, but he is considered to be of European origin. According to popular belief, he belonged to the Greco-Macedonian Ptolemaic ruling family, which descended from Alexander the Great from the general. So this could indicate that the queen was Caucasian.
On the other hand, there is no information about Cleopatra’s mother, and she could have been dark-skinned.
Now the director of the series also takes a stand on the matter Tina Gharavi.
“It’s as if his whiteness gives him value,” writes Gharavi, who was born in Tehran and later worked in Britain and the United States.
In his opinion, Adele James can achieve both Cleopatra’s beauty and her power in her role. The director also refers to the iconic 1963 film Cleopatra, in which the queen is portrayed Elizabeth Taylor.
“Historians can confirm without a doubt that Cleopatra probably looked more like Adele than Elizabeth Taylor,” he says.
Gharavi in his writing, he also remembers the historical he saw on HBO Romeseries. There By Lyndsey Marshal portrayed by Cleopatra was strongly portrayed as an opium addict.
“The most intelligent, cultured and powerful woman was shown as a miserable and broken junkie, but the Egyptians didn’t seem interested. Where was all the rage then?” the director asks in his writing.
Cleopatra’s skin color has been debated before. In 2019 HS reports from another commotion around the subject. At that time, a rumor mill had developed around the planned film, which had elevated the title role to acting candidates Angelina Jolie’s and Lady Gaga’s.
According to the claims spread on the Internet, Jolie and Gaga, Caucasian women, would therefore be reluctant to portray a historical Egyptian who, despite his Greek roots, was not necessarily white.
On the other hand, there is no certainty even about Cleopatra’s beauty. According to a coin find, he may have had a rosary scar.
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