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Joanna Taylor
Oct 12, 2020
Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images
People are debating whether or not Gal Gadot should have been cast to play Cleopatra.
The Wonder Woman actor is set to star in an upcoming historical epic written by Laeta Kalogridis and directed by Patty Jenkins. Gadot said that she was excited to tell Cleopatra's story "through women's eyes" for the first time as she announced the casting.
As you might have heard I teamed up with @PattyJenks and @LKalogridis to bring the story of Cleopatra, Queen of Egy… https://t.co/LUtuQQuAB3— Gal Gadot (@Gal Gadot) 1602461245
But some people questioned why Gadot, who is Israeli, was chosen to play the ruler of a North African country.
Paramount pictures casting Gal gadot as cleopatra has the same energy as this https://t.co/ax2PikP9yY— izzy (@izzy) 1602435699
Others countered that although Cleopatra ruled Egypt, she was actually Greek, so disagreed with the criticism.
Being Israeli means that like Cleopatra, Gadot is of Mediterranean descent.
Today, we found out that too many people don’t know Cleopatra was Greek. https://t.co/zSb8oZTIF4— Amy Lutz (@Amy Lutz) 1602462941
Gal Gadot, who is Israeli, was cast to play Cleopatra Now we're finding out how many people didn't know that Cleop… https://t.co/vDc2TZI6Ql— Lauren Chen (@Lauren Chen) 1602470888
A bunch of postcolonials getting mad that a black actress isn't playing Cleopatra - a Greek member of a foreign col… https://t.co/palIiXj9cX— Noam Blum (@Noam Blum) 1602442122
The debate highlighted the complicated nature of historical constructions of race and ethnicity.
Scholars generally agree that Cleopatra "would have described herself as Greek", but she also had Persian and Syrian ancestry.
Her mother's identity remains unknown, meaning her exact lineage is difficult to trace.
*heavy sigh* I feel the fight that's about to happen coming on and I am already ready to scream. Cuz some folks ar… https://t.co/TloRy4ZyDd— K Tempest Bradford wishes she were still in Egypt (@K Tempest Bradford wishes she were still in Egypt) 1602433555
(People also tend to believe, wrongly, that Egyptians today are not the descendants of the people who lived in Egypt thousands of years ago)— Tom Gara (@Tom Gara) 1602466369
Ah yes, the Cleopatra ethnicity question inbound in 3,2,1... Greek Ptolemaic dynasty, but we don’t know who her mot… https://t.co/Jtsd2Jpai4— Greg Jenner (@Greg Jenner) 1602437928
People in Cleopatra's day wouldn't have had the same perceptions of race and ethnicity that we do. And because of centuries of invasion, colonisation and migration, the national makeup of many present-day countries has changed significantly since ancient times.
Because of this and other factors like her mother's unknown identity, Cleopatra's race has been a source of debate for years.
So whether it's Lady Gaga, Angelia Jolie or Gal Gadot who are tipped to play her onscreen, the debate as to who should depict her similarly continues on.
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