Denzel Washington as Hannibal Barca, Netflix faces backlash for ‘miscasting’ | web series
American actor and producer Denzel Washington’s portrayal of the legendary ancient general Hannibal Barca in an upcoming Netflix project has drawn extreme backlash from outraged Tunisians, who are accusing it of “misrepresentation” and “falsification of history.”
The streaming giant backed the release of the film “about a Carthaginian general famous for leading an army of warriors and elephants across the Alps to fight the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War.”
Hannibal’s home region, Carthage is now part of Tunisia, the northernmost state in Africa and considered part of the Arab world.
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Hannibal’s “Miscast”.
According to the English translation of French-language Tunisian news outlet La Presse, casting a black actor to play the legendary role of Hannibal is, so to speak, “problematic.”
To regard Hannibal as a black African, according to Tunisians and many observers, would be a historical error, since Carthage, built by the Phoenicians in what is now Tunisia, is located just 200 kilometers southwest of Sicily,” the article states.
The news outlet summarized ancient history by author Mary Lefkowitz, noting that Hannibal was descended from a family of Phoenician Semites common in the region, further arguing that representations of Hannibal in the Carthaginian plays portray him as a white Semite.
Therefore, Denzel’s choice to play Hannibal “raises deep questions about Afrocentrism, historical fidelity and the challenges of casting in the film industry,” writes the Tunisian publication.
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A motion to cancel the project…
A petition on Change.org calls for the streaming giant to cancel the upcoming project because “this misrepresentation and falsification of history is unacceptable and unethical.” He also asked the Tunisian Ministry of Culture to “act against this attempt to steal our history”.
Keep watching this space for updates.
