An imaginary act.
Scene: in front of a cinema house in Cairo
Date: January, 2014
Actors: X and Y
Background: X and Y are two friends who
lived abroad most of their lives. They are both of Egyptian descent, but spent
their childhood years travelling around Europe and Asia. Their families are
business partners, and they both went to the same high school. Politics wasn’t
an important factor in their upbringing. They had the money, luxurious houses
and continental trips that would, in their minds, replace debates and
thought-provoking ideas. They are currently on vacation, and they chose to get
in touch with their backgrounds. Egypt was their choice.
ACT I: The two friends are thinking about
the movies they want to see. A huge movie banner entitled " The
Square", with the caption "Oscar nominated for Best Documentary
Feature" is hanged on the wall.
X: Which movie would you like to watch?
Y: Well, there is this documentary called
"The Square". It sort of amalgamates certain events within the 25th
of January Revolution. And most of all, it is nominated for an Oscar this year.
X: (Indifference expressed on his face)
Not everything nominated is good you know. It is false propaganda. They get you
hooked into something that may not be that good in the first place.
Y: (With apparent force) Yeah, but it is
Oscar nominated, man. We might not see that in years to come. An Egyptian
production competing for the most coveted of prizes in cinema, I would want to
see That.
X: (Giving in) Okay, it won't hurt,
besides it would be something for us to see, especially that we weren’t in
Egypt at the time.
They go ahead to buy their movie tickets,
only EGP 200 pounds each. An amount they spend on an hourly basis, considered
change money really. They pay it gladly and enter the vicinity of the cinema
hall. They head into Hall 1, the only hall in the cinema. A huge one
nonetheless. Nearly empty as it seems, however encouraging to acquire the
best seats in it.
X: (With obvious sarcasm) Apparently,
nobody is going to watch " Your Movie" I guess. (Laughter ensues)
Y: (Feeling embarrassed, as though it was
really his movie) There are 10 minutes left for it to start you know. People
will be here. A lot of them. They have to.
X: (Again with sarcasm) Commercials
haven't started yet. I think they are saving their money on this failure of
cinema production.
Y: (Annoyed) If you don’t want to watch
it, then get out. I'll watch it alone. This movie represents what we fought for
to get rid of tyranny.
X: (As though speaking of something
trivial) What representation are you talking about? And what is "We"?
As far as I am concerned, I am Egyptian on paper and that's it. We were in
Venice at the time and as far as I can recall, we were having a damn good time,
and no word of this "revolution" was uttered in this trip. (Partially
detached) Do you remember how you fell in the canals at three in the morning
and you kept sneezing for the next two days? (Laughing hysterically)
Y: (With the same expression) Would you
please have some respect for this country? I know that you feel ashamed for
whatever Godly reason of your Egyptian heritage, but at least have some dignity
for the martyrs who sacrificed their lives to help this country step towards
prosperity.
X: (Getting back to reality) What makes
you sensitive all of a sudden? Before that, you weren't interested at all in
anything political in any sense. Prior to our trip here, you started to read
about this revolution, the SCAF, Muslim Brotherhood and the June 30th events.
I'm starting to feel that you are a spy.
Y:There is no talking you through this, is
there? Let us just watch the documentary in peace.
X: Well, we agree to disagree. In the end,
it is a 200 pounds ticket. We should have just gone to a sushi bar.
Suddenly, they hear a door slammed behind
them at the entrance of the hall. Moviegoers, they thought. Finally, people
came in to see the documentary. They even saw the ticket taker's searchlight
shaking to help them find their seats. However as the light approached, they
didn’t see anyone besides the ticket taker entering the hall. Their doubts arose as
they began to form the features of the person holding the searchlight. It was a
security guard.
Security Guard: (In a strict, loud tone)
What are you doing inside the hall?
X: (With an all time sardonic voice) Oh,
we were just taking the fresh air.
Y: (Looking to his friend in dismay)What is wrong with you today?
(Directing his diplomatic answer towards the guard) The movie was just about to
start, you might have been questioning the darkness and quietness of the hall
as the commercials weren’t played yet.
SG: What movie?
Y: (Slightly stuttering) "The
S..square". It is a documentary actually.
SG: (With conviction) What documentary??
X: (Blood pumping through his veins) Show
him the tickets and tell him to get the hell out of our sight or else I...
Y: Shut up. (Standing and moving towards
the guard) Sir, we have just booked two tickets and were about to watch the
documentary. You can ask the usher outside.
X: Yeah, and tell him we paid 400 pounds
for it.
SG: Well, I'm afraid that you are mistaken.
There are no documentaries in this movie theater. At least not today.
X: What do you mean? You mean we have paid
400 pounds for nothing? (Talking to his friend) Let's get out and talk to the
usher. This is nonsense.
They both head outside the hall, leaving
the security guard bedazzled in front of an empty screen.
To be continued...
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