Grant Trainer - The Square Extra Credit

PART 1:

"The Square" is an amazing documentary that tells of the events that have happened in Egypt while the revolution is taking place. One of the biggest ideas or events in the film is the sit-in, or more rather multiple sit-ins, that occur in Tahrir square. The people flood in and occupy this area with the intentions that they will not leave until their demands are met. After removing the original dictator from power, Mubarak, another one rises. This dictator is Morsi who is with the Muslim brotherhood. The Muslim brotherhood rises by exploiting what is happening in Tahrir Square. I think that this film has many strengths and few weaknesses. The first and biggest strength: it is a legitimate cause. This isn't just some mindless problem that people pay attention to even though they should not. This is a serious problem that people are facing. The problem of their rights being taken away and something big needs to happen in order for changes to be made. The importance of this issue makes this film much more interesting and impacting because it is a serious issue that needs a serious answer and solution. Another strength of the film in my opinion is their approach. The creators of this film do not work to just slander and destroy the name of the people the revolution oppose but instead works to convince you of their views and actually get you to see why they are fighting. The creators also do a very good job of making sure that they do not leave the cruel, violent, disgusting things out that the dictator and army do but instead do no glorify the blood, but the actions and intentions behind these actions instead. They continue to preach their cause and not violence. Another big strength of this film is that by giving you a view inside to the people who are actually protesting and the people who are actually being abused and beaten for trying to gain their freedom, the film helps to build a sense of empathy. We begin to feel for these people and to feel their pain. We begin to want to help them. One weakness of this film would be that I do not think they give us enough insight on the countries history and how it came to be at the point it is today. I think it would have been helpful to have more history of the country and its religions and groups in order to better understand what is happening.

PART 2:

After researching online to find out information on the state of Egypt today I found that their struggle still very much continues today. They are currently ruled over by President Abdel Fattah el-sisi. Although his title says president he is definitely a dictator. Sisi rules over the country with complete and total control. This means he has control over the army, media, goods, services, and much much more. Although the people still call for change today ad conditions have improved since the start of the revolution, there is still a lot of work to be completed and progress to be made. The biggest problem the people face is finding a leader that when elected and put into power, will not abuse it and work towards fixing their own agenda. Egypt is a country that has made many many huge changes in the recent past but who also still has many problems. Problems they are working towards fixing and changing, but that will take time.

Opinion of the film: I enjoyed this film extremely and think it did a great job of opening up my curiosity to the issue and giving me some insight on it. I think it was very well put together ad beneficial to watch. I recommend that you continue to have future students watch it and hope they enjoy as well! Thanks!