Sam Charles Hamad: I watched The Square months ago and thus it isnt exactly fresh in my mind, but I agree with much of this review. Its a liberal take on the revolution, complete with all the prejudices and the utter lack of self-criticism. It treats the question of democratic legitimacy with contempt and skates over the fact that those who were marching on June 30 - July 3 were, whether they like it or not, marching against democracy. In fact, as far as I can remember, it skates over every inconvenient fact and occurrence that goes against its liberal, anti-Ikhwan narrative, including the fact that during the clashes at the presidential palace in November 2012, 11 out of the 15 people killed were Muslim Brotherhood supporters, or the complexities of Morsis presidency, such as the fact that he was a democratically elected president who had to coexist within a state that was dominated by an inherently anti-democratic and counter-revolutionary ruling class (the feloul, if you like), who were working tirelessly to push the opposition to Morsi towards the complete abandonment of some sort of dedication to democracy. Even more disturbingly, it devotes only a few minutes to the Rabaa massacres and the fact that many of the masses (yes them again) had returned to the streets after General Sisi issued a rallying cry for people to show support for his war on terror. This isnt anything even approaching a definitive take on the Egyptian revolution; indeed, despite it being exceptionally well shot and having engaging and likeable subjects (and despite the nostalgia it aroused in me), it is ultimately a very well presented piece of apologism for the kind of attitudes and actions that have led to the current situation of total counter-revolution that Egypt now finds itself in. We can do better than The Square - were going to have to if the democratic revolution is to ever regain the momentum.
Posted on: Sun, 19 Jan 2014 04:32:14 +0000
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