Cleopatra wasn’t White, though she was descended from Macedonians. She wasn’t Black, though she was African and maybe descended from an indigenous Egyptian. She wasn’t Arab, though she was Egyptian. She may have been Roman, too. We don’t know. 1/3
Whatever film is made about her will not be about her, but modern politics. Casting Gadot is political not because of who Cleo was, but because of what she is used for now. No matter what, the film will suck because Cleo’s story doesn’t make for a good script. It never has. 2/3
So the question we should be debating is not who has been cast & who should have been, but why the hell we are making yet another Cleo film and not one about the myriad other badass women from antiquity? Tomyris anyone? 3/3
Oh, wanted to add that if they cast Billy Zane or Timothy Dalton or anyone remotely like them (REC HARRISON?!) as Caesar and Antony, I am definitely not watching it. Even once it hits TV.
You can follow @kataplexis.
Tip: mention @twtextapp on a Twitter thread with the keyword “unroll” to get a link to it.

Latest Threads Unrolled: