This screenshot captures the moment Clepatra sails into Tarsus and conveys a lot about her without saying a word. She is placed in the middle of the image, symbolizing how she is, as queen, the center of Egypt, while her "royal blue" clothing is another reference to her status. The wing etchings on the pillar behind her, due to her position, are on either side of her face, giving the impression of divinity, in connection to her claim that she is Isis, which also links the cat statues next to her. Besides the fact that cats were revered in Egypt, the cat goddess Bastet was also, in one myth, "the personification of the soul of Isis" (Egyptianmyths.net). They also imply Cleopatra's cunning, decidedly feline nature, which is clearly displayed when she manipulates Marc Antony at the feast.
Her posture is very open, with her hands at her side, suggesting she could do something powerful, she just isn't. The lighting shows us the brightness she project around her and that she has nothing to fear.
ReplyDeleteExcellent analysis. The only thing I wonder about is why don't you also look at the context of the scene in the movie even though you now know it. That would allow you, e.g., to talk about the fact that Cleopatra is basically not moving in this scene, whereas all around her there's lots of activity: pretty handmaidens waving and throwing rose petals or something like it into the water, rowers rowing, and local men swimming alongside the ship and waving. As Bryce says, Cleopatra could do something, but isn't. Why isn't she?
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