Will Smith’s Last Pharaoh vs. Egypt’s History by Hollywood

Will Smith’s Last Pharaoh vs. Egypt’s History by Hollywood

Will Smith’s latest project, The Last Pharaoh, is expected to be a mega action movie that will be seen by millions around the globe. Smith sits on the top of Hollywood as he represents a generation of action heroes with a great physique, looks, and a unique sense of humor. Newsweek called him the most powerful actor on the planet. He’s got it all.

Many of his movies grossed millions like; Bad Boys, Bad Boys II, Independence Day, Men in Black, Men in Black II, I Robot, The Pursuit of Happyness, I Am Legend, Hancock, Wild Wild West, Enemy of the State, and others. He also earned critical praise for his performances in Six Degrees of Separation, and Ali, receiving Best Actor Oscar nominations.

Will Smith is a natural for the role of Taharqa the Nubian king. Little has been explored about Africa’s Nubia and its kings who played a role thousands of years ago in ruling Egypt. They’re almost forgotten now, especially after Nasser’s government in Egypt relocated them from their villages after building the Aswan Dam. Their unique language and culture is feared to be extinct.

Will Smith’s upcoming movie sheds light on that long forgotten history. Usually Hollywood tackles other pages of Egyptian history already known to people, such as The Ten Commandments, and Cleopatra by Liz Taylor. Cleopatra, the Greek queen, was reduced by Hollywood to a mere vixen who seduced Roman leaders Julius Caesar and Mark Anthony.

Hollywood movies sometimes present untrue fictitious characters of archetypal villains with sinister heavy accents drabbed in ancient Egyptian costumes. The Last Pharaoh is an exception. Will Smith deserves a great deal of credit for tackling that long forgotten history.

In many Hollywood movies, alas, the filmmakers come up with fictitious languages nobody understands or ever spoken; people are portrayed in black and white; either too good to be true, or absolute evil. You can also expect the natives to be acting like mindless herds of extras who need another Indiana Jones, Rambo, or a newborn Rudyard Kipling, to bring them to civilization with his whip.

There are plenty of historical materials and true stories from Egypt, ancient and modern. Egyptian history is so full of drama, action and adventure, more than what screenwriters can even imagine. Take for example the true story of the Last Pharaoh of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak. If you want to know the true story of the Last Pharaoh of Egypt, you’d better pay attention to what’s going on in Egypt these days and in the near future. It will make a lot of headlines.

Egypt will witness a steamy summer this year as the political scene is heating up. The 83 years old President Mubarak of Egypt seems to be in his final days with serious health concerns and no heir apparent. Mohamed ElBaradei, former Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, has retuned to his native home country of Egypt after 30 years and plans to run for President of Egypt next year. Will he make It? Or will Egypt’s Last Pharaoh, Hosni Mubarak cling to power for six more years or at least try to make his son Gamal the next King/President of Egypt?

Egypt’s opposition parties are gearing up and trying to come up with a coalition that will defy Mubarak’s party, the NDP, in elections. The hand-picked NDP members are an overwhelming majority in Egypt’s parliament for decades now. Who will shake off the dust off the Egyptian political scene that has been stagnant for at least three decades since Mubarak came to power in 1981 after the assassination of Sadat?

The Muslim Brotherhood is also getting ready. Ayman Nour, opposition leader and former presidential candidate in 2005, is planning to run for president next year with two vice- presidents, one of them is a Coptic lady. Nour was thrown in jail by Mubarak for three years after he won a lot of votes in last election.
Considering the alarming rising poverty figures in Egypt, could Egypt be overrun by an angry and hungry mob, French-style revolution sometime?

Whatever the scenario, spillover from what could occur in Egypt in the near future would impact the sum of Arab, Muslim and Mid Eastern nations. This is why Will Smith’s movie, The Last Pharaoh, could have not been more timely with all of that going on in Egypt. We’ll wait and see!

Aladdin Elaasar is author of THE LAST PHARAOH: MUBARAK AND THE UNCERTAIN FUTURE OF EGYPT IN THE OBAMA AGE.

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