مجلة النص
Volume 13, Numéro 1, Pages 701-716
2026-06-06
Beyond The Cage And The Crown: Interrogating Blackwashing In Queen Cleopatra (2023) And Queen Charlotte (2023)
Authors : Houamdi Djamila .
Abstract
The longstanding lack of minority representation has drawn justifiable criticism to the discriminatory practices inherent in cultural production. In recent years, however, a reverse phenomenon has surfaced. As numerous narratives undergo revision and re-adaptation, the drive for public approval and academic credibility has drastically altered the racial composition of historical and literary canons. Drawing on the psycho-political theories of Franz Fanon and the cinematic critique of Stam and Spence, the paper examines this shift through a case study of Netflix's royal biopics, Queen Cleopatra (2023) and Queen Charlotte (2023), as culturally significant instances of "blackwashing." It argues that the imposition of Black identity onto historically white figures, even when executed with progressive intent, results in a distorted overrepresentation. This practice fails to grant the portrayed subjects’ authentic subjectivity and, paradoxically, obscures the distinct literary and artistic heritage it purports to celebrate by trapping these characters within pre-existing, often oppressively-Eurocentric, narrative frameworks.
Keywords
Blackwashing ; Naïve integrationism ; Racebending ; White Gaze
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