Hollywood’s forthcoming Moses movie - Exodus: Gods and Kings - isn't in cinemas yet but that hasn't stopped it coming in for renewed criticism, this time over the decision to cast white actors as Egyptians
Why do I hear The Bangles right now?
Are the loonies going to Ferguson this movie? All white cast? How about a cast of thousands like The Ten Commandments and Ben Hur those well known “racist” movies.
How would he feel about them being the bad guys that gets whipped.
Never mind that ancient Egyptians were white. I suppose they could cast some blacks as Nubian slaves, but somehow I don’t think that would help.
Hollywood’s forthcoming Moses movie - Exodus: Gods and Kings - isn't in cinemas yet but that hasn't stopped it coming in for renewed criticism, this time over the decision to cast white actors as Egyptians
Egyptians are not and were not black. They arose from North African Caucasoids reputedly there for over 40,000 years, much the same as Libyans. Thus, it’s more historically accurate to use white actors to portray ancient Egyptians than black actors, all politically motivated African-American racial claims regarding ancient Egypt aside.
“UPSET BY ‘SADAT,’ EGYPT BARS COLUMBIA FILMS”
“Objections to the film are complex. They range from resentment in some circles over the selection of a black to play Mr. Sadat....”
http://www.nytimes.com/1984/02/02/movies/upset-by-sadat-egypt-bars-columbia-films.html
Danged if you do...darned if you don’t.
That’s why I’m skipping “Exodus” and waiting for Tyler Perry’s “Madea Parts the Red Sea.”
Holy Moses! Will the race-grievance mongers do the world a favor and STFU?
Ramses II who was sorta Moses quasi grandpappy had blondish reddish hair
And that just absolutely kills the Afrocentrists
They are still pissed at National Geographic for having the temerity to document this as fact
Lord that Bible miniseries was full of goofy racial miscasting and plenty here kissed Roma Downeys ring for it.
I don’t like it.
I’m still trying to figure out the black dude in the new Star Wars trailer...
There are blacks in Egypt but they are a small minority.
I used to have a collection of movie reviews for “Black Hawk Down” in Somalia, my favorite was one that complained about all the bad guys being black while the good guys (the Rangers and Delta) were almost all white.
Whiners
Seems to me nowadays that Hollywood spends as much time as it can trying to stretch some character to make him/her black. They don’t make any bones about it, even to the point of being ridiculous.
My most memorable instance is the black daughter of Jeff Goldblum in the second (I think) Jurassic Park movie. Totally unbelievable and pathetic really. And that one scene they concocted for her as a ‘gymnast’ who kicked the Velociraptor on a set of makeshift uneven bars was just contrived - badly as that.
The people who ruled Egypt at the time were likely either those called "Westerners" or their immediate descendants - referring to those who lived to the West of the Central Nile Delta. Most of their culture in Egypt was in the Delta area, now under countless feet of sediment.
These people were blond, blue eyed, and had straight hair. They built megalithic structures from the Atlantic Coast of Africa to Malta to England. There is more than a fair chance that they even built the entire complex at Giza - which could only have been built as a whole, at one time - early on in the Old Kingdom or even before it. (Before any one argues about this, understand the complex is dated using Kings Lists, assumptions, and agendas. Optically Stimulated Luminescence Dating has only been conducted once in Giza, giving a few dates that are far older then assumed. Further tests are either banned or not possible - too many apple carts upset).
"Westerners" captured by Lower Egyptian Old Kingdom Pharaoh
The totality of modern Egyptology is in total chaos as far as dating and who was which Pharaoh when. This is due to the recent discovery that one of the main Kings Lists which many in the field used to date structures has proved to be an early 20th century forgery. The one genuine list by an individual, Manetho, may have been the first Pharaoh, aka the Scorpion King of the Old Kingdom. In other words, everything we thought we knew a decade ago is either different or wrong. Zahi Hawas and Lerner have huge reputations and agendas to protect, not to mention "Egyptian Pride".
Another problem is that many kings had the same name as another king, used different names at different times, known kings do not appear on the Lists, or List named kings are unknown historically.
By the time of Moses, all this was very ancient history, mostly forgotten.
Were there blacks in prominent positions in the New Kingdom? Perhaps, but there is no certainty, unless a tomb statue is found or something stating the individual came from Upper Egypt or Kush. The rein of the so-called Black Pharaohs date long after Moses - around 715 BC. The time of Moses to those Pharaohs would have been a little known history, as at least 500 years had gone by.
What is traditionally thought of as ancient Egyptian culture is actually derived from the "Westerners" culture, and the obsessive imitation of it. Beyond the exceptional individual, it is unlikely that blacks in any numbers had any prominent roles, and, in fact as few as there are, may be historically over-represented in the movie.
Simple solution - those who want minorities to play leading roles can fund the cost of making the movie and accept the financial risk of having no-name epics...