by Christopher Fulkerson
This is worth watching, but has its faults. Various conflicting theories are woven into a generally interesting series; all of the researchers have interesting things to say, especially Bauval and Schoch, though Dr. Boulter's hobby horse about the "sacred feminine" makes the fourth episode the least credible. Boulter thinks that when the Pharaoh's wife put her arm around her husband, it is a sign of her greater power than his, not merely that being female she is allowed to be more demonstrative than her husband; that wearing a strait-hair instead of a curly-hair wig is a sign of female power; that female affiliation with the Sphinx is a sign of female power. Boulter is apparently unaware that Napoleon showed the Sphinx who's boss a long time ago. She stops short of observing that men wore makeup in ancient Egypt; the theory that men are proving their "aspiration" to femalehood by wearing makeup would seem absurd, but is not any different than saying that putting your arm around your husband means you are his superior. I wonder how many women today feel that when their man puts his arm around her, it is a sign that he is her superior. So, there is rubbish in there with the more plausible material, but as usual with specials of this kind, the photos are worth seeing.
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Posted 7/19/2010