Ancient Egypt Throughout Popular Culture

Glamour, riches, extravagant landmarks, and style all come to mind when Ancient Egypt is mentioned. Ancient Egypt has been the centerpiece for many popular culture references such as Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, The Mummy, Cleopatra, and many other visual pieces such as Michael Jackson's: Remember the Time music video. Ancient Egypt has been glorified by its many cultural enrichment's; however, there is one significant factor of Ancient Egypt that Hollywood has seemingly left out time and time again: Egypt is located in Africa. That being said, why have we depicted Egyptians as being white through out the years? 

(Pictured above is Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra in the 1963 film Cleopatra)

Although the examples previously stated were over twenty years ago, have things changed? 

The trailer for the new film Gods of Egypt (2016) has been the center of major criticism and controversy. The trailer shows an entirely white cast to depict the lives of Africans. While some argue that Hollywood is seemingly whitewashing Egypt as it has since the early twentieth century, others claim that if movie-goers want historical accuracy they should not search for it in fictional movies. So, the question must be posed: where is the line drawn between cultural accuracy and Hollywood fantasy?