The Square

This documentary is an on the ground look at the uprisings that have happened in Egypt over the last couple of years, starting in 2011. Someone clearly had the foresight to film everything – which allows them to tell their side of the story. They talk about a number of things including how the protests started and how the Muslim Brotherhood was dividing the people and making deals with the army. It shows how the protestors got Mubarek to step down but the regime continued with army in control. The protestors were looking for a voice/option other than the Brotherhood or the old regime.

It’s incredible to see the courage of the people as they protest and unite using song and dance. They are forced to fight as the army starts to use force and bullets to deter them. One person says that it’s crazy that the regime has convinced “Egyptians to kill Egyptians”. The army is supposed to protect the people, not kill them. Interestingly the makers of the documentary realize that they need to win the media war, and that public perception is key because currently the world is against them.

The revolutionaries talk about how politics require compromise, and that they aren’t so good at that. The Muslim Brotherhood is organized and were able to take advantage of the situation to win parliament and the presidency. They end up in an arguably worse situation when Morsi, the newly elected president, gives himself unchecked powers. They continue to protest and fight until he too steps down.

They summarize the situation by saying that first they fought off Mubarek, next they fought off the army, and then they fought off the Brotherhood. They are not looking for a leader, they are looking for a conscience and they will continue to fight until they find an alternative to military or Brotherhood rule.

This documentary made me think about how our method of documenting historical events has changed. History was originally passed along by word of mouth. Then, humans began to record history in writing. The problem with both of these methods is that the history was being recorded by the winners, which could lead to the marginalization of people and biased accounts of events. Now, we have shifted to a photo/video based recording of events. However, this still allows for bias because most news agencies have very specific views or agendas and are very rarely unbiased. The real game changer is the internet, which allows anyone and everyone to post things in real time. This means we can post anything we want, without it being filtered, or altered or having it taken out of context. Everyone can offer their opinion, and everyone can provide proof. This allows us to see a more complete picture of events, with the possibility of seeing the story from all sides. I’m not saying there aren’t downsides or risks – hackers can delete things, the government could control the internet, we could find ourselves without electricity permanently – but as a real time tool, the internet allows everyone the opportunity to make informed opinions about events that are happening in far away places.

Overall, this was a very eye opening and inspiring documentary, showing what people can do when they work together for a common cause.