Wish #2: That the news outlets would stop arguing about whether Cleopatra was pretty or not. Of course, that's the only measure of a woman's worth and the only reason why two of the most powerful men in the world of her day found her a worthy partner. Hawass, stop talking about the size of her nose.
You may remember the comic-book-like documentary on Nefertiti that aired on the Discovery channel a few years back. Zawass went after the young American archeologist who claimed to have found Nefertiti's mummy as just a publicity hound. It wasn't until I read up on Hawass's PR methods that I realized that not only was the pot calling the kettle black, the pot was blind to begin with. Yeesh.
As for Cleopatra, I was always amazed by the fact that she spoke several languages fluently, kept both Caesar and Antony intensely interested in her, and held the Romans at bay to, literally, the bitter end. And her suicide always makes me smile. She couldn't have told Octavian to stuff it better than if she'd died making a particularly pungent gesture.
So . . . pompous showman discovers ancient queen's tomb. I don't know if I'm the only one dreading the rush of bad documentaries (complete with cartoonish "re-enactments") and even worse movies. I'll be over here clinging to my Claudette Colbert version of Cleopatra, thanks.
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Date: 2009-04-16 07:32 pm (UTC)You may remember the comic-book-like documentary on Nefertiti that aired on the Discovery channel a few years back. Zawass went after the young American archeologist who claimed to have found Nefertiti's mummy as just a publicity hound. It wasn't until I read up on Hawass's PR methods that I realized that not only was the pot calling the kettle black, the pot was blind to begin with. Yeesh.
As for Cleopatra, I was always amazed by the fact that she spoke several languages fluently, kept both Caesar and Antony intensely interested in her, and held the Romans at bay to, literally, the bitter end. And her suicide always makes me smile. She couldn't have told Octavian to stuff it better than if she'd died making a particularly pungent gesture.
So . . . pompous showman discovers ancient queen's tomb. I don't know if I'm the only one dreading the rush of bad documentaries (complete with cartoonish "re-enactments") and even worse movies. I'll be over here clinging to my Claudette Colbert version of Cleopatra, thanks.