#and why some people are rightfully angry with it. unfortunately those are mingled in with people that are just being racist about it

[heroicallynude]

Its a bit goofy of Pinkett Smith to pick the one ruler who definitely was not black for her documentary. Not only that, but it is stated in the docu that "Cleopatra was def black" and similar statements. I hope she chooses to portray more African queens and rulers in future documentaries. I also hope that filmmakers in general explore more stories outside of the European context instead of raceswapping historical figures such as Anne Boelyn. Its just very Eurocentric. But then again, its probably done because well known names pull bigger audiences, and therefore more money etc etc

I agree, it's definitely goofy. I think it was stated that she wanted to make a docu about strong African female rulers, and i guuuuess since Cleopatra was technically ruler of a country located on the African continent, she figured that counted, despite Cleopatra being way more Greek than Egyptian?

I think this might be why i can't bring myself to take it all that serious, because it's clearly not made by someone who knows enough about the subject for me to really respect them in like a scholarly fashion. I can only assume she must've had some scholars involved, but if the docu feels confident claiming Cleo was DEFINITELY a black woman, then it's clear that Pinkett Smith chose scholars that would support the worldview she needed for her vision to work. So then, the docu was made by unqualified people with a flawed premise, and some wrong choices were made along the way because her narrative took presidence over actual facts.

I hope that the rest of the episodes about other Africans queens are more historically accurate and respectful, but the issue is that her Ethos is already lost since we all know the documentary hasn't bothered with accuracy. It was a noble endeavor, and i think my fear is that others will be discouraged from making similar stories that amplify often unheard voices, because the backlash over this one, stupid, choice overshadowed everything else