Dear Hollywood // A Wish-List Part 1

Due to being a history nerd, the majority of films and tv shows I consume are of a historical nature. I’m far more more likely to be watching a period drama than the latest episode of a reality show. I love them. One of the main problems however with period dramas is that the historical periods/figures they cover, are so incredibly repetitive. Now I love Anne Boleyn as much as the next girl but if we’re being honest, we’ve seen 100 versions of her life, usually focusing on her meeting Henry and the mess that comes afterwards (personally if Hollywood insisted on doing another adaption of her life I’d love to see her life pre-Henry, growing up as a diplomat’s daughter in France or the Netherlands) but I digress. We don’t need another Anne Boleyn adaption. Figures like Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII and Queen Victoria, for example have been portrayed so many times whilst a ridiculous amount of truly incredible historical events, figures and periods have never been adapted for either tv or film. So I thought as an interesting post, I’d write a wish-list for Hollywood of some of the historical media I would kill for!!

• I talked about the Sultanate of Women in my Hürrem Sultan profile and told you that it was a period in Ottoman history which began with Hürrem’s dizzying rise to power and ended 150-years later. It was during this time that women basically ruled the empire due to a series of monarchs that were either helplessly in love, lacking sanity, too young to rule or merely incompetent. This period has only ever been explored in either lower-budget Turkish films or in a well-known Turkish soap opera which focuses more on OTT escapades than historical fact. A high budget factually accurate show would be amazing!!! If I were pitching the show it would focus around the five main women of the period; Hürrem, Nürbanu, Safiye, Kösem and Türhan and show how they managed to rise from slave to Empress. The writing team, I think would have to be female led and would have to focus on how to portray these women as complex, multi-faceted women without falling into stereotypes. Not only would accurate sets and costumes be absolutely breathtaking but it would also teach more people in the UK & US about Middle Eastern history, something I think is super needed. It would also be an amazing opportunity to have a very diverse international cast; due to being slaves, all of the women came from different places; Hürrem and Türhan were from Russian-Ukraine-Poland, Kösem we think was Greek, Nurbanu was probably Italian and either Catholic or potentially Jewish and Safiye was likely either Italian or Albanian (she was most likely Albanian, those that have suggested she was Italian might have conflated her identity with her most-likely-Italian mother in law Nürbanu). Many of the supporting cast such as government ministers would also have to been very diverse which would make for an incredibly rich show. Honestly if this ever came to pass I’d cry!! Admittedly a project of this scale would be ridiculously expensive to finance and be extremely complex but god it would be incredible!

• We’ve all seen an adaption of the life of Elizabeth I Queen of England but did you know there was another Elizabeth that deserves every bit as much attention as The English Bess? Elizabeth Petrovna was not only Empress of Russia from 1741 until 1762 but she was also the daughter of Peter the Great and and adoptive-mother/aunt in law/mentor of Catherine II The Great. Now every portrayal of Elizabeth has her in the last few years of her life as a side character to Catherine. To my knowledge there has not been an adaption which focuses solely on her which quite frankly is downright insulting! Elizabeth was such a fascinating figure and I’d love to see a miniseries where she is centre stage. Give me a series which shows a young, charming, beautiful, charismatic princess Elizabeth who is deprived of her birthright after her parent’s death but rather that kicking off then and there, uses her wits and decides to wait for the right moment to strike, throwing parties, gaining allies, winning the devotion of the military and taking numerous lovers until the moment arrives and when it does, she pulls off a pretty flawless coup which ends with her ruling over the whole of Russia as it’s Empress. Give me a series which shows Elizabeth with the charm and ambition of her mother and the ruthlessness of her father. I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently with the uptick of Catherine the Great biopics in the last few years and yes whilst Catherine was fabulous, she learnt everything from Elizabeth, both what to do and what not to do, and I do think Elizabeth deserves her due!! The sets and costumes would be fantastic and over the top, especially ballroom scenes, and there was certainly no drama lacking in Elizabeth’s life. The years leading up to her reign were just as dramatic as the years she sat on the throne and would focus on both the politics of the era and her personal life (hint: she was like Elizabeth I of England, in more ways than one! neither woman ever officially married or had children, although we do think Russian-Elizabeth secretly married her morganatic partner). It would be such a refreshing change from the over-done story of Catherine the Great.

• So if you follow me on Twitter, you’ll have seen that my bio reads “catherine de medici defence squad”, because I personally believe that she has been far too vilified over the centuries. In my opinion, she’s also been completely under-represented in media too. The problem with a film/series about Catherine is that her life was bat-shit crazy from the day she was born literally till the moment she died and you would need a decent number of series if you wanted to fit EVERYTHING in. Or you could merely choose one section of her life; i.e a series that begins with her arrival in France and ends with her husband’s death or a series that covers the years she served as the all-powerful widowed Mother of France. The thing is that I’d love to see both. Hell, even her childhood would be fascinating as would a series about the Flying Squadron (her troupe of ladies in waiting that seduced courtiers for Catherine’s political ends). I mean there is such a wealth of possibilities that I’m shocked no-one’s ever given it a go!!! It would be in the Tudor-esque period that is super popular when it comes to period dramas and French court was known for being extravagant so the sets & costumes would be stunning. It wouldn’t just be the story of Catherine though; the years she oversaw France include the apex of the European Wars of Religion and the emergence of England as a European power vs France/Spain so the political aspects would be fascinating. Also depending on what era of her life you focused on, you would also have supporting characters including Mary Queen of Scots, Elizabeth I, various Popes and Francis I.

• If you aren’t someone with an niche interest in Italian Baroque art, then you may not know who Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1695) is. However you absolutely should. Gentileschi was a titan of the Italian Baroque period, painting in the Caravaggio fashion and much of her work is based on heroines and female figures from myths, legends and scripture. Artemisia’s work was incredible because it centred female figures in a way that very few if any other artists were doing in this period (94% of her work has a woman as the central figure) and she’s become a favourite of feminist scholars who have argued that she sought to refute the stereotype of feminine submissiveness through her work. She earned further prestige when she became the first woman to become a member of the prestigious Accademia di Arte del Disegno in Florence. The thing with Artemisia is that her story often centres around an event that happened when she was just a teenager; she was raped by Agostino Tassi a fellow painter that was a colleague of her father’s. In the aftermath of the rape, they had a consensual relationship, based on the understanding that he would marry her and thus restore her dignity/reputation. When this didn’t happen, her father pressed charges. The subsequent court case (which included Artemisia being tortured in order to verify her allegation) and Tassi’s conviction was a major scandal and earned Artemisia a good amount of notoriety. As much as the event and the aftermath had an undeniable effect on her and her work, I would love to see either a film or miniseries that doesn’t centre solely around the rape. To my knowledge there has only been one film/tv series about her and that project earned significant controversy for the way it portrayed Artemisia and Tassi’s relationship; not only did it exonerate him completely of rape and paint the entire relationship as a purely consensual loving one but it also had Artemisia deny the rape whilst being questioned under torture, something which categorically did not happen. For centuries Artemisia’s legacy has been defined by what that man did to her, I would love to see a film or tv series that centres Artemisia and her talent in her own story, the way she centered women in her artwork.

• LGBTQ+ History has in no way, shape or form been given the attention it deserves in film or television, especially in regards to historical figures whose sexualities have either been sidelined or ignored. If I were in charge of commissioning media projects (WHAT A DREAM) I’d make sure that the history of the LGBTQ+ community was properly explored and represented; so in the interest of merging LGBTQ+ History and my love of royal scandals, allow me to introduce you to Princess Isabella of Parma and Archduchess Maria Christina the Duchess of Teschen. Isabella was the daughter of Infante Felipe of Spain Duke of Parma and Louise Elisabeth of France, making her a granddaughter of Louis XV King of France, whilst Maria Christina was the daughter of Maria Theresa (the only female sovereign of the Holy Roman Empire) and her husband Francis I who was also the Duke of Lorraine which makes her the elder sister of none other than Marie Antoinette (yes that Marie Antoinette). Fortunately for Maria Christina, she unlike her sister keeps her head however that doesn’t make her life any less interesting. You see Isabella and Maria Christina were sister in laws; Isabella was the first wife of Maria’s brother Joseph II Holy Roman Emperor. The marriage, as was the case with many royal & therefore arranged marriages, wasn’t great despite the fact that Joseph by all accounts was very in love with his new wife. It just so happened that she a) suffered from melancholy (depression) and an increasing tragic obsession with death and b) she preferred his sister!! Isabella and Maria were super close and had lots in common including an interest in music and arts. For years (male) historians studied the two hundred letters they exchanged (despite living at the same court & therefore being literally down the hall from each other) and said “aw what a cute friendship”. Except it’s beyond obvious that Isabella and Maria were not at all platonic friends and were in fact incredibly gay for each other. It’s now the widely held consensus that the two had a romantic relationship. I mean you only have to read one of their letters, which have been published (although I did read somewhere that some of the “raunchier” letters were kept from being published!!) to know that these two were more than just gal pals. One letter reads “I am madly in love with you, virtuously or diabolically, I love you and I will love you to the grave”. I don’t know about you but I do not write those kinda texts to my friends. The relationship unfortunately ended tragically; after just three years of marriage to Maria’s brother, Isabella went into labour prematurely with her daughter who she named Maria Christina. Both mother and baby died shortly after; Isabella was just 21 and Maria Christina was as you can imagine heartbroken. Although their stay sadly feeds into the “bury your gays” trope that I like many others absolutely loathe, I’d love to see a mini-series that maybe begins with Isabella’s arrival at the Viennese court and ends with her death three years later. It would be amazing to see their relationship explored as well as Isabella’s mental health; there definitely needs to be more period dramas with A+ LGBTQ+ representation & mental health representation and this would be such a great adaption, if written with sensitivity. Also these real life events happened just prior to Marie Antoinette and her French shenanigans, so you know the costumes and sets would be INCREDIBLE.

• Very few if any English-language period dramas take place outside of Europe and if one does, the central characters are themselves nearly always English. I do wish that Hollywood would be bolder in their story-telling and tackle the tales of non-European historical figures because there’s SO many that are so amazing and so worthy of attention. Which leads me to this woman (who I unfortunately have no image of). Sayyida Al Hurra is her name, although it’s not actually her name; it’s a title (al-Hurra is an Arabic title given to women who exercise power) and her birth-name has unfortunately been lost to history. We may not know her name but we do know her story. You see, Sayyida was born in Spain in the late 1400’s to a prominent Muslim family who were forced to flee as refugees in 1492 when Isabella & Ferdinand the Catholic Monarchs invaded the Muslim kingdom of Granada. The family sought refuge in northern Morocco where she at some point in her teenage years (probably around 16) was married to Ali al-Mandri man thirty years her senior. Some sources state she married his son but that doesn’t make sense considering what happens later on. Ali al-Mandri was the re-founder & governor of Tétouan and shortly into their marriage he began to allow his new wife who was by all accounts fiercely intelligent, to engage in politics. She basically became his VP and whenever he left Tétouan, he left her in charge. The public grew so used to this young woman exercising power and doing it well, that when al-Mandri died in around 1515 the people chose her to take his place. This is where it gets insanely cool. At some point whilst serving as governor of Tétouan (we don’t know when or why exactly) she became involved in piracy, eventually becoming the pirate queen of the Mediterranean. She formed an alliance with the Ottomans in particular the admiral Barbarossa of Algiers (who was also the elder brother of famed naval leader Hayreddin Barbarossa); the alliance with the Ottoman’s proved to be incredibly fruitful to the point where Sayyida effectively controlled the Western Mediterranean sea whilst Barbarossa controlled the East, securing Ottoman naval dominance. Not only did she control part of the Med but she was also said to negotiate the release of Spanish and Portuguese hostages. In the early 1540’s she married Ahmed al-Wattasi the Sultan of Morocco; in order to marry her he travelled from Fez to Tétouan, the only recorded instance of a Moroccan king marrying outside of his capital. Sayyida evidently was not willing to give up power in Tétouan where she ruled for decades. Even excluding the whole pirate-queen thing, Sayyida is such a fascinating figure with such an interesting story; whilst I’ve seen films and tv shows that portray the Spanish invasion of Granda, it’s always portrayed from the perspective of the Christians and thus portrayed as being heroic. I’ve never seen any portrayal that accurately shows just how brutal some of Isabella & Ferdinand’s policies were and I think it’d be amazing to see the invasion from the perspective of a refugee. Especially at a time when refugees are so needlessly vilified. Then you add the pirate-queen thing and she instantly becomes SO unbelievably cool. It would also be amazing to see more examples of female historical figures from the Muslim world because I don’t think people fully appreciate how many there are and how amazing some of them are. Another reason that a show based on Sayyida’s life would be fab; it would full of politics and drama and action. I mean imagine some of the actions sequences aboard ships!!! Also historically accurate Ottoman costumes are so beautiful.

• Ancient Egypt is one of the most famous civilisations in history, spanning from the reign of the 1st king Namur in around 3100BC and ending with the death of Cleopatra VII in 30BCE, and yet there is a disappointing lack of films and tv shows set in this extraordinarily-long period. Most set during the rule of Egypt’s various dynasties focus on either Tutankhamun or the end of the empire, the reign of Cleopatra VII and the idea that Rome (and the West) triumphed over the East. The fact of the matter is that, as interesting as Cleopatra VII may be to some, there was so many fascinating Egyptian figures that Hollywood could explore. Now if it were up to me (and I admit I’m a sucker for the 18th dynasty) I’d choose either a film or series about Akhenaten and Nefertiti which would be BEYOND incredible or a series about this woman, Hatshepsut. Born in early 1500BC, she was the daughter of Pharaoh Thutmose I and his chief wife (and potential sister) Queen Ahmose. Her parents are not recorded to have had any sons although her father had multiple sons from his marriage to his secondary wife Mutnofret. There is a great deal of confusion about the length of her father’s reign and even more confusion about when he died and what happened after. What we do know is that her half brother Thutmose II officially succeeded their father although we’re not sure when and for how long he ruled. It is however pretty much accepted that Thutmose II didn’t actually do much ruling and that Hatshepsut ran the show. A possible theory and one that I’m inclined to believe is that her brother was too young to take absolute power and so Hatshepsut as the elder sister took control as regent. At some point Thutmose II married her, in order to secure his place on the throne and the pair had a daughter; he also had another less important wife with whom he had a son and heir. Officially the pair were co-rulers however there are a ton of other theories. You see the primary evidence from this period is unfortunately not great and a lot of historiography is just basically educated guesses however we do know a few things about Thutmose’s reign; 1) according to his mummy which was discovered in the late 1800’s, Thutmose died before he turned 30, (2) his policies were VERY similar if not the same to the policies that Hatshepsut instituted when she was Pharaoh (spoiler alert) which has led to speculation that Hatshepsut was actually the ruler throughout the entirety of her brother’s reign and (3) when Thutmose prematurely died, his enfant son Thutmose III and Hatshepsut were crowned as co-monarchs however that didn’t last long and eventually Hatshepsut proclaimed herself sole Pharaoh. By formally proclaiming herself the ruler over her nephew/step-son Hatshepsut became only the 2nd woman in Egyptian history to be Pharaoh in her own right. She was also (unsurprisingly) one of Egypt’s best. Her reign was a long and prosperous one; she re-established trade networks, was initially successful in warfare although was a fairly peaceful monarch for the majority of her reign, brought great wealth to the empire and was one of the most prolific builders out of all the Pharaoh’s. She built HUNDREDS of structures throughout her reign; I think her mortuary temple is pretty stunning and I’d love to see it in person one day. Her leadership by all accounts was pretty uncontested and there’s even evidence her nephew/step-son accepted her rule and even led her armies for her, although there’s also evidence that he potentially tried to destroy all record of her existence after her death. Ah family, where would be without them!! Hatshepsut is super interesting as a figure though because not only did she more so than any other female monarch in Egyptian history downplay her role as the King’s Great Wife and instead emphasise her position as the sovereign (she also claimed her father always wanted her to rule and not her brother) but she also allied herself with specific female goddesses such as Sekhmet a warrior goddess instead of the more traditional Isis and Hathor (both of whom have maternal connotations). Hatshepsut was clearly a brilliant politician, an amazing king and a bloody fascinating woman and it’s so disappointing that she does not get the love or attention she deserves. Hollywood needs to rectify that! Obviously the difficulty with doing a show about the Pharaoh’s and Hatshepsut in particular is the lack of dates and complete evidence about what exactly happened but I do think such a show would have to be a combination of evidence-based facts, educated guesses and a degree of artistic licence. A film would only be able to cover one phase of her life so probably either the years she spent as her brother’s wife/power behind the throne ending with her brother’s death and her crowning as Pharaoh or the film could cover the years she ruled as sovereign in her own right. A multi-season show however would be able to cover various phases of her life which I think would be an amazing journey for the audience. Something that would be key in a show or film like this is cultural sensitivity; not only would casting a racially accurate cast for example be VITAL but I do think the writing team would have to be mostly people of colour. Also as a side note (and I think this stands for every one of the shows/film’s I’ve suggested) the writing team would have to include a varied plethora of historians who actually know what they’re talking about). In regards to race, I do think there needs to be a greater exploration of African history beyond slavery, which in the grand schemes of time, was a very recent thing and a very small part of Africa’s incredibly rich, vibrant history. There’s so much that could be adapted and brought to life and I’d love for Hatshepsut and her story to be one of them!

So there you go, there’s a few options for Hollywood to consider (IF ONLY!!). This will in all likely be a recurring feature on this blog, hence why I put Part 1, because there are so many historical female figures that deserve attention and I so want to highlight as many as possible. Hope you enjoyed this post, see you all soon!!!

Alexandra x