Exodus: Gods and Kings has had a rough road. Hundreds (probably thousands) of people rose up in arms over the inaccurate casting of the film, with the hashtag #BoycottExodusMovie. The film had a lousy opening weekend and has since fallen off the map domestically. Now, the film is facing even more heat from Egypt and Morocco. Both have banned the film over it’s “historical inaccuracies.”
The BBC states that Egypt’s head of censorship board cites “the film’s depiction of Jews as having built the Pyramids, and that an earthquake, not a miracle by Moses, caused the Red Sea to part” as reasons for the ban. Variety reported an explanation from Egyptian cultural Gaber Asfour. I’ll quote Variety as to what Asfour said:
“Egyptian cultural minister Gaber Asfour said the depiction of Jewish slaves as being the builders of the Great Sphinx and Pyramids is inaccurate becuase the monuments are accepted to have been built around 2540 B.C. – 500 years before Abraham, the father of Judaism. ‘This totally contradicts proven historical facts,’ Asfour said.” Asfour also went as far as to say, “It is a Zionist film. It gives a Zionist view of history and contains historical inaccuracies, and that’s why we have decided to ban it.”
The Moroccan Cinema Centre, run by the Morocco, was set to premiere the film until officials decided not to release the film instead. The Guardian states that Morocco banned the film because the film “represents God,” which in Islam, is expressly forbidden.
Overall, things have gone from bleak to bleaker for Exodus: Gods and Kings. I can’t say that I’m happy about all of what’s happened to the film, since I don’t like actively rooting against a film, but I can’t say I’m sad about it either. I mean, I did support #BoycottExodusMovie because, well, just look at that picture above. It makes no sense. It’s literally ludicrous.
What do you think? Give your opinions in the comments section below!
Photo credit: 20th Century Fox
Do you want to see a better version of the Exodus tale? Watch The Prince of Egypt, which you can buy or rent from the COLOR Amazon Store.