LogFAQs > #973476339

omniryu posted...

That's fair. Cleopatra shouldn't be played by j law. I am not arguing that she shouldn't have to be black but to say she is 100% factually black and be adamant about it have a motivation behind it. It is just reading between the line.

Yeah, thanks, I know I can make a topic about it.

Don't get me wrong, they are some good reasons. This argument I had is just isn't one of them.

Afrocentrism is a thing, yes, but I think the problem is that people mostly get worked up over that the most. When it comes to ancient history many people think of it as a "white mythic space" where only people perceived as white existed. People don't cry when people with pale skin are cast for, say, Ancient Greeks or Romans, despite the fact that, in the case of men, pale skin was seen as ugly. There's a text preserved by Xenophon on which the Spartan King Agesilaos has his Persian prisoners stripped naked in front of his men to show how pale and weak they are in contrast to the darker Greeks. People don't usually complain when the Greeks or Romans are given British or American accents to act as stand-ins for Westerners. It's only when it comes to the portrayal of dark skin people in the past that people go up in flames because the whole issue is about the perception of a white past where everything else doesn't matter. Wether it be actors with light skin and blonde hair portraying people from the Mediterranean, ancient people speaking with American or British accents, or inaccurate portrayal of costume like Expeditions Rome or Rome Total War having Hellenistic era warriors armed with kopeshes, which would be close to 1,000 years out of date, and other bronze age equipment.

Which is why the askhistorian thread Kim_Seong-a linked to mostly talks about white supremacy and lightly touches on fringe afrocentric views. And from what I've heard the actual documentary doesn't make the claims the trailer does, apparently that was Netflix trying to drum up controversy.