What's crazy to me is Hollywood is more focused on casting non-white actors in medeival fantasy roles rather than actually making culturally diverse movies. Chinese, Indian, and African history is fascinating and I would love to see more media exploring those settings.
Just setting something in a powerful nation of early medieval or pre-Roman times would make it naturally non-Eurocentric. Eastern Roman empire, Sasanian or older Persian empires, Alexander's Asia, Ethiopia, Pontus, Artaxiad Armenia, Baktria, pre-delenda'd Carthage, golden age Islamic empires, archaic Mesopotamian kingdoms, (further eastern empires that I'm honestly not educated about), ...
"Córdoba was a city that had street lighting and paved streets while London was still just a village." - Prince Faisal in Lawrence of Arabia
My wild guess is that most AAA/Hollywood creators are completely clueless about those cultures and histories and the effort required to do research to hit a level of accuracy outweighs the budgets they have, so we're stuck with culturally diverse medieval ages. furthermore, i imagine the PR agencies that tell them that they're going to be wrecked and dragged all over the internet if they do some Persian themed thing and get something wrong. add that all up and they probably decide it ain't worth it.
I'm sure they can figure out the history well enough to depict it, or punt on the accuracy. They probably figured it wouldn't be a popular enough setting for the intended audience.
It's been done a few times. Prince of Persia was set in a fantasy land without a real attempt at historical accuracy, but it was sorta Sasanid Persia. Similarly, Aladdin in Iraq. There was also the 2004 Alexander which was quite accurate, but it wasn't a good movie. And Lawrence of Arabia, sorta fictionalized but accurate in spirit, which was the best.
300 was interesting cause they made it clear the story was being told from the Greek perspective by having Dilios narrate it, and he hyped it up even more than the actual Greek historians did, instead of the movie presenting it as a factual view. The movie still pissed off the Iranian government, but whatever.
I have a thing for filling in gaps in my knowledge. Eventually one will bother me and I'll have to learn. Just before COVID started, it was non-Eurocentric history. I realized I knew the world as seeing the Persians as the decadent outsiders and didn't know anything "east" of there.
I've spent a lot of time learning about China, the Mongols, Persia, and actual Ancient Egypt. I've dabbled in general Islamic history. I have so much more to cover, but it's what I could find thorough work on easily. I like to start with pre-history and go forward where I can.
It's crazy to me. There are so many compelling stories. And what we have in our media is so insanely off-base.
Side request: Any recommendations for podcasts and resources for some of the various Indian cultures and Russia would be much appreciated. I prefer a bias of "from their eyes" to "from a Western perspective."
