Queen Cleopatra is a new 4-episode series on Netflix. I love history and started to watch this one very excitedly. But lo and behold!!! My excitement fizzled away really fast and I suggest you better be bored to death to watch this one.
Queen Cleopatra is a docudrama miniseries that takes us through the Queen’s reign from 51 BC to 30 BC. The season is the second work of Jada Pinkett Smith’s project African Queens, the first one covering the life of a Njinga Queen.
The first thing that the audience are not taking well is the choice of the actress. Going by certain historical facts, Cleopatra’s Hellenistic ancestry meant that she could not be black and this has been like an insult to the history and culture of Egypt. Even the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities expressed their dislike and have filed a suit against Netflix.
One of the viewers posted, “It’s not very good. Overall, it lacks context, personality and a reason for being made.”
There are several historical inaccuracies in the series as well. Cleopatra was known and idolized for her beauty, she has never been known for her training in battlefield or military warfare as depicted in the series. Did Julius Ceaser really die due to Cleopatra’s growing popularity? The series has also received backlash regarding the depiction of Cleopatra’s race. People say the show is “falsifying history.”
The show has only 2% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
