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Angelina Jolie as Queen Cleopatra sparks race row
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Formica
Are you serious in thinking egyptians are black because Egypt is in Africa? I don't normally like to call people on tsr stupid, or resort to name calling, but that really is retarded.
Because Chinese people can be white... no, they'd look Chinese just different shades of what a Chinese person looks like.
Pure Africans are black... their skin tone may differ and seem brown, but, yes, they should be black and should look how one would think a black person usually looks.
I'm not talking about immigrants who went into Egypt in like 100AD and so are Egyptians now...
Formica
Are you serious in thinking egyptians are black because Egypt is in Africa? I don't normally like to call people on tsr stupid, or resort to name calling, but that really is retarded.
No, you are stupid because you use a racial distribution map of the 1940's to justify the presence of certain populations in a kingdom thousands of years old. Logic and history not only defeats you, it slaps you around the face.
So? Hollywood, the BBC and many others manage to shoehorn black people into places they never were.
Bishamon
No, you are stupid because you use a racial distribution map of the 1940's to justify the presence of certain populations in a kingdom thousands of years old. Logic and history not only defeats you, it slaps you around the face.
Ancient Egyptians never looked like sub-saharan Africans. And, by the way, the left-most picture is of a north-African berber.
Americans are somewhat retarded in believing that because Egypt is in Africa that means Egyptians are black. Umm noo... Have they even looked at a piece of Egyptian artwork? Nefertiti doesn't look black to me... 
Not to mention that Cleopatra was Greek.!!
Not to mention that Cleopatra was Greek.!!
Bishamon
Save the pedantry, unless we want to speak of historical roles only. However, a PRINCE of PERSIA would most likely be PERSIAN dont you think?
It's irrelevant. As it's a fictional character, the creators have the freedom to portray him however they wish.
Are you also against the black character in Merlin?
Egyptions are Arab-Africans, so no they're not black in a traditional sub-saharan African sense that we tend to imagine. As for Angelina Jolie playing the part, I don't see why it's an issue. They can change the appearance of her skin tone using hundreds of methods nowadays, so if it matters that much they can make her appear Egyptian anyway.
I can understand the frustration, because it is rare to see a black actress cast in a main role. The only domain black actors have to themselves is portraying slaves (even then I wouldn't put it past Hollywood) but you don't see anybody who isn't white in countless genres*. I mean, that isn't necessarily unreasonable, but I can see how if you were black you might feel hard done by.
That said, I suspect it is factually inaccurate to say that cleopatra was black, by all accounts she was probably mixed race. Which does make it unfair and a bit stupid that she has always been cast as white - and in a way it is a shame that she has never been played as a black woman - but not Angelina's fault, and tbh they have cast her because she is famous, exotic looking and will attract cinema-goers, not because of her skin colour. Besides which, Angelina Jolie isn't too ridiculously european-looking for the role. If you look at her nose and lips particularly, it isn't too hard to imagine she's partly black, especially when they brown her up a bit.
*
Mm this exactly.
That said, I suspect it is factually inaccurate to say that cleopatra was black, by all accounts she was probably mixed race. Which does make it unfair and a bit stupid that she has always been cast as white - and in a way it is a shame that she has never been played as a black woman - but not Angelina's fault, and tbh they have cast her because she is famous, exotic looking and will attract cinema-goers, not because of her skin colour. Besides which, Angelina Jolie isn't too ridiculously european-looking for the role. If you look at her nose and lips particularly, it isn't too hard to imagine she's partly black, especially when they brown her up a bit.
*
AutVinceriAutMori
This, and also Gyllenhall's co-star Gemma Arterton. Jolie again, as Marianne Pearl, who was mixed race. But this goes a long way back into Hollywood history:
John Wayne as Ghengis Khan. Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra. Othello portrayed bya variety of white actors...
And we are yet to see Halle Berry as Queen Elizabeth I. Or Morgan Freeman as Abraham Lincoln
John Wayne as Ghengis Khan. Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra. Othello portrayed bya variety of white actors...
And we are yet to see Halle Berry as Queen Elizabeth I. Or Morgan Freeman as Abraham Lincoln
Mm this exactly.
The truth is, nobody really knows what she looked like. I don't think it's unrealistic that she could look like Angelina Jolie.
Cleopatra's sister Arsinöe was discovered recently and had some characteristics of White Europeans and some of Black Africans. They had different mothers, but it's probable that Cleopatra was of mixed-race ancestry like her sister.
Cleopatra's sister Arsinöe was discovered recently and had some characteristics of White Europeans and some of Black Africans. They had different mothers, but it's probable that Cleopatra was of mixed-race ancestry like her sister.
Bishamon
Nubia, google it.
I know what Nubia is. Point here is that ancient Egyptians clearly saw themselves as distinct from the more southerly Nubians (despite the fact that some of Nubia was in modern day Egypt, doesn't make them the same as the Ancient Egyptians although they were similar culture-wise).
Alexander the Great conquered Egypt, died, the empire fragmented and the Ptolemaic dynasty ruled. They were Greeks (or Macedonians...) anyway, they certainly weren't pure black. Probably mixed race. Nubians gerally occupied the lower rungs of society such as being slaves. They built pyramids and stuff.
Modern day Egyptians would look nothing like Cleopatra. Anyway, how often does the film industry accurately portray history? If it were to be historically accurate, a Greek woman should get the part and Brad wouldn't be playing Marc Anthony, an Italian chap would. I don't really care tbh.
Here's an interesting fact though. The first king of Britain was some Trojan guy called Brutus. Some drunk at a bus stop told me that.
Modern day Egyptians would look nothing like Cleopatra. Anyway, how often does the film industry accurately portray history? If it were to be historically accurate, a Greek woman should get the part and Brad wouldn't be playing Marc Anthony, an Italian chap would. I don't really care tbh.
Here's an interesting fact though. The first king of Britain was some Trojan guy called Brutus. Some drunk at a bus stop told me that.
Bishamon
Most recent? Prince of Persia played by Jake Gyllenhaal. Whether one cares or not is besides the point but to deny that hollywood homogenizes ethnic roles means you're either incredibly stupid or just a liar.
This, and also Gyllenhall's co-star Gemma Arterton. Jolie again, as Marianne Pearl, who was mixed race. But this goes a long way back into Hollywood history:
John Wayne as Ghengis Khan. Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra. Othello portrayed bya variety of white actors...
And we are yet to see Halle Berry as Queen Elizabeth I. Or Morgan Freeman as Abraham Lincoln
BeanofJelly
I can understand the frustration, because it is rare to see a black actress cast in a main role. The only domain black actors have to themselves is portraying slaves.
You cannot be serious?
Halle Berry, Whoopi Goldberg, Queen Latifah, Zoe Saldana, to name a few.
Yeah, they don't play lead roles, and when they do act - they always play slaves.
Mr Sparkles
Americans are somewhat retarded in believing that because Egypt is in Africa that means Egyptians are black. Umm noo... Have they even looked at a piece of Egyptian artwork? Nefertiti doesn't look black to me...
Not to mention that Cleopatra was Greek.!!
Not to mention that Cleopatra was Greek.!!
not too sure about that
regardless the argument seems rather inept, I thought it was rather well known cleopatra was a macedonian
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