Watching Ancient Egyptian Poetry--Among Other Histrionics‪.‬

British Egyptologist, Richard B. Parkinson, is highly critical of the 1954, 20th Century Fox film, The Egyptian, both for its championing of "American Christian values," as well as reflecting nationalistic prejudices surrounding "Cold War tension with the Soviet Union." A close examination reveals that The Egyptian actually subverts the attitudes that Parkinson ascribes to it, and represents screen-writer Philip Dunne's commentary upon the then-current practice of "blacklisting." [1] In Reading Ancient Egyptian Poetry Among Other Histories, British Egyptologist, Richard B. Parkinson, offers a fascinating study of the scribal transmission of Middle Kingdom texts in antiquity. (1) He also provides a welcome overview of the treatment of ancient Egyptian literature by modern scholarship, extending his discussion to include aspects of its "performance" within popular culture, being especially keen to identify "orientalizing" attitudes towards the ancient denizens of the Nile Valley. In this regard, Parkinson's assessment of the 1954 Hollywood adaptation of Mika Waltari's best-selling novel, The Egyptian, is of particular interest. (2)