Decolonizing the Postmodern: Traces of Orientalism in Hollywood Cleopatra
It seems like Hollywood always go hand in hand with Orientalism. When it comes to Hollywood, it is quite obvious that filmmakers, studios, and writers aim to produce big-budget movies that fit to what the audiences expect to see and experience. Unfortunately, what comes along with this is misinterpretation, reinterpretation, modification, and codification. One of the most often misinterpretation that is manifested in the world of cinema is of the ‘Orient’, also known as the Other, or essentially, the East. Orientalism was first coiled by Edward Said in his classical 1978 book, in which he criticizes the territory of academics, historians, and geographics who studies the ‘Orient’.
In one way, Orientalism can be referred to as the academic institution which studies, researches, writes, and teaches about the ‘Orient.’ Despite its extensive understandings in meaning, Said’s Orientalism is a powerful polemic against the hegemonic West to the compliant East. Taking in Foucault’s idea of discourse alongside Gramsci’s notion of ‘hegemony’, Said claims that “the Orient was almost a European invention and had been since antiquity a place of romance, exotic beings, haunting memories and landscapes, remarkable experiences,”[1] which consequently suggests that the opposing West represents progression and rationality. More than two decades after Said has written his provocative book, what he was fighting against is still desirously perpetuated in popular media, more specifically in American cinema.
The Western enchantment towards Egypt can be long traced from Napoleon Bonaparte’s expedition in 1798, although it already being colonized by the British, which then led the country to become a fashionable destination. Since then, Napoleon built an Egyptian Institute in Cairo, where the French could research on the Egyptians and transferred their observations to Paris. However, it is important to note than not one of the researchers and academics knew Arabic, and only ever discussed their findings in French.[2]
The infamously exotic queen Cleopatra is a historical figure that has been represented in American cinema multiple times. In all of them, she has always been characterized through non-Egyptian actresses. From Theda Bara in 1917, Claudette Colbert in 1934, Vivien Leigh in 1945, Elizabeth Taylor in 1963, and Leonor Varela in 1999, the pattern continues when Gal Gadot was casted to play as the queen in the upcoming 2022 blockbuster. Although Bara and Gadot are not completely ‘white’, some criticizes that they are still not fit for the role. Cleopatra herself is of Greek descent, however she was mostly known for being an Egyptian ruler, hence, her title; the Queen of the Nile. Regarding her ethnicity, although it is plausible that she might have had light skin, it is just as likely that she might have had dark skin, also possessing Eastern physical features. It was noted that Greeks were by no means white, in fact, her Ptolemaic heritage was most likely to be mixed with Egyptians as well.[3]
However magnificent the actresses’ performances for the role were, it is crucial to note that the actresses were of white origin. At this point, Hollywood has denied to accept Cleopatra’s true ethnicity and decided that four fair-skinned and dark-haired women were better off to represent the ‘Oriental’ queen. In 1999, a TV show about Cleopatra featured Chilean actress Leonor Varela, a change of representation, yet the same mistake remains. Although Varela had comparatively darker skin, the problem lies in that her appearance is strikingly more Western than Eastern.[4] Now, Israeli actress Gal Gadot has been casted as the new Cleopatra, sparking rage and controversy, with critics claiming that this is part of “cultural whitewashing”,[5] but more precisely, Hollywood have been criticized for whitewashing ancient civilization. When Gadot was asked why they could not cast a better fitting actress, she replied saying that they tried finding one, but “she wasn’t there”,[6] not really providing a coherent reason. With this, it is plain to see the inconsistency and reluctance in Hollywood’s casting of a character that is ‘Oriental’.
Moreover, the cinematic depictions of Cleopatra as a character in the past movies tend to be sexually charged. In the 1934 film, Colbert is constantly seductive, using her sexual allure and half-naked costumes to persuade Marc Antony for a political partnership, even dialoguing, “I’m dressed to allure you, Antony”. Furthermore, later in 1963, the seemingly iconic femme fatale is portrayed to be even more sexual and exotic than before.[7] In the previous Cleopatra movies, the ruler’s power is overlooked by her sensuality and by the men around her. It does not help that the last Egyptian queen was mostly known for her affairs with Julius Caesar and Marc Antony, almost suggesting that she would not have gained her popularity if it was not for her relationships with the two men. Instead of portraying Cleopatra as the significant and historical figure that she is, she encapsulates the desired and fetishized other, always under the Western male gaze. These movies only show a side of Cleopatra which is completely unrepresentative, neglecting reality yet eternalizing fantasy.
Through the inaccurate portrayal and representations of Cleopatra over time in American cinema, it is safe to assume that the only thing consistent from this is the orientalist lens that Hollywood still acquires when it comes to non-Western territory. It is hard to imagine in today’s popular culture a Cleopatra that is played by an ethnically fitting actress, when the world of production itself is an Orientalist one. Perhaps, the portrayal of the temptress reflects what the audience subconsciously desires and fetishizes, an exotic and eccentric woman who still maintains the beauty standards of the white female. The same way history is always written by its victors, Hollywood — being the biggest movie production of this century — have so far only been portraying what makes them comfortable; whiteness. Although Hollywood major motions remain as mere fictious forms of entertainment, there is no denying the power and influence that it upholds for the viewers. In some ways, the ideas that are presented through cinema are almost reinforced to the audience, creating a repeated cycle of what Said has been condemning in his work.
NOTES:
[1] Edward Said, Orientalism (New York: Vintage Books, 1979), 1–5.
[2] Pamela Pilbeam, “Egypt: Orientalism and Modernisation,” in Saint-Simonians in Nineteenth-Century France, ed. Pamela Pilbeam (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013), 104–105.
[3] Samuel Scurry, “Orientalism in American Cinema: Providing an Historical and Geographical Context for Post-Colonial Theory” (MA thesis, Clemson University, 2010), 71–72.
[4] Ibid., 73.
[5] Tom Bateman, “Gal Gadot’s Cleopatra film sparks ‘whitewashing’ claims,” BBC, October 13, 2020. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-54529836.
[6] Zack Sharf, “Gal Gadot on ‘Cleopatra’ Casting: We Tried to Find a Macedonian Actor, but ‘She Wasn’t There’,” IndieWire, December 23, 2020. https://www.indiewire.com/2020/12/gal-gadot-cleopatra-casting-backlash-macedonian-actress-1234606356/.
[7] Scury, “Orientalism in American Cinema,” 69–71.
