A Little Perspective

Okay. So you remember how I lovingly called Frank Whemple a doofus and an asshat in the last segment of my Mummy review? How I suggested that he was a less-than-ideal representation of an Egyptologist, and maybe a bit shallow? Well, I hereby offer my humblest apologies, Frank Whemple. Things have been put in perspective for me. I just watched . . . Jack Hunter: The Quest for Akhenaten's Tomb.

I . . . I am honestly struggling to put this into words.

I already let on that The Mummy actually has fairly decent Egyptology in it, in addition to just being a good movie. Well, in comparison to the movie I just watched, it is a towering exemplar of meticulous scholarly research. Frank Whemple may be a bit vapid, but I can at least honestly say he is charming. Compared to the . . . . uh . . . "protagonist" of JH:TQFAT, he is a paragon of scholarly integrity and dashing heroism.

Is The Mummy sometimes less than tasteful in its portrayal of the modern Egyptian people and their culture? Yes. No, the time period in which The Mummy was made does not really excuse this. But compared to JH:TQFAT, the portrayal of Egyptians in The Mummy seems downright progressive.

How about the portrayal of women? Helen Grosvenor/Ankhesenamun was decidedly her own person. In fact, this is one of her defining characteristics. She doesn't let anyone push her around . . . including, in the end, Imhotep, who is controlling her with fucking magic. The women in JH:TQFAT are completely driven by their desire for the . . . no. I can't use the word "hero". The "protagonist".

I . . . I have no words.

I'm not ready to tackle this one fully yet. I have to go back to The Mummy first. I need to cleanse my brain with its soothing awesomeness and the sometimes misguided, but often surprisingly well-executed attempts at Egyptological authenticity. I LOVE YOU, THE MUMMY!

*sobs quietly in a corner*