Egypt in disgrace-in ‘Wonder Woman 1984’

Mohamed Diab, the director of Moon Knight observes, that, ‘Egypt looked for of a Middle Ages country in the film’.

Mohamed Diab has called the portrayal of Egypt a “disgrace” in Wonder Woman 1984. The filmmaker is himself, from Egypt and pointed out to the scene in which Diana and Steve visit Cairo, which in his depiction is wrongly depicted. He also discussed his take on ancient Egyptian mythology in the forthcoming Disney+ series.

Mohamed Diab said, ‘In my pitch, there was a big part about Egypt, and how inauthentically it has been portrayed throughout Hollywood’s history.’

‘It’s always exotic- we call it orientalism. It dehumanizes us. We are always portrayed as sexy, bad, or always over the top. This misinterpretation of the Egyptians in the minds of the spectators gives a wrong glimpse of the culture that the Egyptians inherit and also makes a “popular culture” out of them. Which gives them a very conventional outlook towards them’, he added.

Diab talked about Wonder Woman 1984 specifically, saying ‘You never see Cairo. You always see Jordan shot for Cairo, Morocco shot for Cairo, sometimes Spain shot for Cairo. This really angers us.’

‘I remember seeing Wonder Women 1984 and there was a big sequence in Egypt and it was a disgrace for us. You have a sheik- that doesn’t make any sense to us. Egypt looked like a country from the Middle Ages. It looked like the desert’.

The filmmaker went on to discuss his take in ‘Moon Knight’, saying, ‘There was definitely room to play but keep it as authentic as possible, in the realm of being fantastical. Even in the original comic books, they did a great job of researching and trying to make Egypt authentic.’

Distortion of facts and places have always happened in Hollywood movies or in big screens. Directors mold the narrative according to their own requirements and channel them. Diab has just pointed out why can’t culture be shown as authentic it is in movies too. Wonder Woman 1984, becomes a movie of conventional portrayal.