ACT I: A Documentary named "The Square"

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...

On The Ability, Capability and Applicability To Write

To write is to keep breathing is how i see it. The past few months i could not collect the power or exert any effort to produce anything written, except maybe on paper. What i wrote on paper was simply a matter of not forgetting my thoughts, because i sometimes tend to bring the "Alzheimer's" in me. I usually try to draw inspiration from my peers, friends and family.

There are two main factors, rather contributors to my writing of a blog. The first one is my father, mother and sister. You might think yeah here is someone who loves his family and tries to highlight them in everything he does, yet again. But it is the truth. You live with them long enough to experience certain things that you do not outside your home. I am a pretty introverted individual. I practice loneliness, so to speak. This makes me more in touch with who i am really. The three of them share this with me, with the slight exception of my sister. She is the outgoing one in our family. When we do not speak in words, we speak in thoughts and feelings.

The second contributor will be my friends. And i mean my FRIENDS. People who you do not necessarily see on a daily basis, but when you see each other something clicks inside you and you start cursing each other in the most profane ways. This is the Egyptian way of talking by the way. Some of my friends live or study abroad, and are the closest to me. Some live in my street, and i do not talk to them as often. Traditionally, friends are perceived to be the ones who you see more than do your family. Well, yeah if you are homeless. In my own view, when you see your friends, after a year, two or even ten years, you know them. You know who they are and they know you. Even if there are personal changes or inner factors that made them behave in a different way. But they exist as you know them to be. The title was actually thought of when i was in a "Qahwa", an Egyptian type of cafe, with some of them. Some of the best of them actually.

The posts that are going to be written on this blog will be mainly political and social ones. A medium to harness my inner writing powers. This one was short, sort of an introductory welcoming letter. And in the likes of Patrick Bateman in American Psycho: "I Simply Am Not There".