Egyptomania: Egypt in the Popular Western Culture
To the western imagination, ancient Egypt is often seen as an out of this world civilization. For centuries, the notion that religion, science, arts, agriculture and architecture developed in Africa long before Europe, has conjured up ideas of travelers from outer space or a highly advanced civilization from this planet landing in Egypt during prehistory to reveal the secrets of the Pyramids and the Sphinx to backward African people.
It was to be expected that the new film art form would follow in the previous artistic manifestations of Egyptomania. Two well known spectacular cinematic productions feature ancient Egypt as a lavish civilization of gold palaces, diamond studded dresses and polished marble floors. These are Cecil B. DeMille’s “The Ten Commandments” (1956), starring Charlton Heston and Yul Bryneer, and “Cleopatra” (1963), starring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. The movie Stargate and recent versions of The Mummy continue to influence people’s fanciful perception of ancient Egypt as an alien powerful force that needs to be tamed by western technological superiority.
Egypt has been branded to American and western culture in advertising, cartoons, products and games. Today, the fascination for Egypt and all things Egyptian still exists. The Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas is a contemporary example of the enduring impact of Egyptian imagery. So is the pyramid of glass and steel in front of the Louvre. And many different exhibitions in museums all over the world demonstrate people’s continued interest in ancient Egypt.
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