Sunday Digest | #004

What I am watching 👀, reading 📖, and listening 🎧 to on a Sunday.

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Weekending

celebration dinner and home improvement

There has been a fascinating conversation going on surrounding the new Netflix “documentary” Cleopatra on TikTok that has spilled over into the mainstream media. And yes, I used quotation marks around the documentary because Cleopatra is more like a loose interpretation of what Jada Pinkett Smith wants’s Cleopatra to be because the entire cast of the Ptolemaic dynasty and court is black. Mind you that Ptolemies were Macedonian Greek.

I have A LOT of thoughts on the debate and the increasing trend of what is, quite frankly, the blackwashing of history and entertainment. But I will probably save those for a longer article.

I find it fascinating to observe the ongoing debate between Egyptians, who are people of color in the realm of progressivism and intersectionality (please correct me if I am wrong), and black Americans. Egyptians seem understandably upset regarding the recent "documentary" about Cleopatra. Of course, not all black Americans agree with the blackwashing of Cleopatra, This is Savyvy has done an excellent job of highlighting the issues. And this isn't the only series Netflix has put out blackwashing history. The show Queen Charlotte, a spin-off of Bridgerton, depicts Queen Charlotte who was a German white woman as black. The account baewatch does a very entertaining rant about Queen Charlotte.

Jeffrey Epstein | With much influence and money, much is forgiven