I’m currently taking a Sociology class about war and peace. It’s an interesting topic and the coursework is fairly easy. My only issue is that I don’t participate (the class is worth 100 points and participation is worth 20 out of those 100, so you see my problem), which is exactly why I jumped at the opportunity to watch a movie for extra credit. On May 1st, I walked over to the Donahue Auditorium, sat down in the first row with my notebook and waited for it to start. Since my class was about war, I assumed the movie would also be about war. Man, was I in for a surprise.
On May 1st, the Department of Political Science and the Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion presented the film Tickling Giants. The documentary was about Bassem Youssef who is, essentially, the Jon Stewart of Egypt. The film followed his journey into the world of television production, political unrest, and satire. He decided to leave his career as a surgeon to start a political satire news show, similar to “The Daily Show”, during a time in Egypt when freedom of speech was not a freedom at all. It started in 2011 when Hosni Mubarak was dictator, and citizens were threatened to keep their political opinions quiet. Youssef started his show because he felt that television was portraying Egyptian current events incorrectly. He said it was almost hilarious the way they presented it. “The Show” not only mocked Mubarak, but it mocked how popular news outlets criminalized the innocent civilians’ protests. 2012 rolled around, Mubarak stepped down, and season two of “The Show” began. Mohamed Morsi was elected president, and he claimed that he would support freedom of speech, time however told a different story. When Youssef targeted Morsi during his show, a warrant was put out for his arrest. He voluntarily turned himself in, however the people of Egypt stood behind him. Ultimately, the charges were dropped and he was let go. Morsi’s power grew stronger when he gave himself absolute control over amendments made to the constitution. “The Show” was a beacon of hope when all seemed dark. It allowed people to laugh about the political turmoil their country was facing, while giving them a platform to hear opinions similar to their own.
In 2013, the military removed Morsi and suspended his constitution. General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi became the people’s saving grace, and they supported a military government that they felt could keep them safe. As Sisi’s popularity grew, so did disdain for Youssef and his show. The people were torn between a government that promised to keep them safe, and an entertainer who dared to poke fun at authority when no one else did. What a lot of people did not see, blinded by a false sense of hope, is that Sisi’s rule eliminated human rights organizations and freedom of speech. Nevertheless, Youssef continued on with “The Show”, under the threat of it being canceled or worse. Revolutionaries protested outside of the studio, threatening to kill Youssef.“The Show” went on. When his network threatened to cancel the show if he did not stop making fun of authority, Youssef could not comply, and the show went off the air for three months. In 2014, a new network picked them up and the satire continued. Even when the signal was mysteriously lost in the middle of one of their episodes, the writers, producers, and Youssef did not let anything stop them. Sisi was officially elected president and the military took over the government. Eventually, “The Show” was taken off the air due to immense pressure and threats. Youssef’s original network sued him for giving them material that they could not use, which they claim was in violation of his contract. He was hit with the biggest fine in the history of media. Youssef felt that there was no other option than to flee Egypt with his family. The remaining cast and crew went on to find other jobs in show business and comedy, but all of them hope that one day they will be able to bring back “The Show” and the freedom of expression it gave its audience.
The film was done so well, and I learned so much about the political turmoil in Egypt. It also put a lot of things into perspective for me. We take freedom of speech for granted in America, probably because we’ve never been told to shut up, or felt that our lives would be in danger if we didn’t. Freedom of speech is a beautiful thing, but we don’t appreciate it as much as we should. We use it extensively, so much so that it would be impossible for us to imagine what life would be like without it. The harsh reality is that while we are privileged to be able to share our opinions and disagree with authority, people are being executed for disagreeing with their government. It made me think about all the times when I’ve heard someone say something offensive, or share an opinion that I didn’t agree with, and then hear them follow up their statement with “I can say whatever I want, I have the right to freedom of speech.” How many times have I rolled my eyes and thought “Yeah, but it shouldn’t apply to what you’re saying.” Just because I didn’t like it, I felt that it shouldn’t be said. This is exactly the human rights problem that the people of Egypt, and so many other countries face. We are beyond lucky to have the freedom to not only voice our opinions, but be able to disagree with each other. Next time you disagree with anyone on anything, remember that you are outstandingly blessed to say “I don’t agree with your thoughts, here is what I think is right,” and to hear your opponent say the same.