Guest Post: Hazem from Egypt
In the wake of the baffling Egyptian revolution of 2011 that, above
anything else, engrained conviction in the Egyptian people that their lives
were theirs to lead, a very peculiar new media figure appeared--"the Jon Stewart of Egypt."
While there was
nothing new about a media figure who heavily critiqued Egypt's political scene, there was
certainly something unique about one who used such brilliant satirical comedy to poke fun at not one faction, but every faction involved in mainstream events and yet at the
same time achieved huge widespread popularity.
Bassem Youssef, originally a
surgeon, had always been passionate about comedy. Then he began posting
segments of "B+", his self-made show, on Youtube. As fans and views steadily multiplied and his message carried across the internet, he was
contracted to present the show on one of the biggest channels on Egyptian air.
Aided by even better resources and an entire team dedicated to researching
clips and situations about political events, Youssef took his
critique yet one step further.
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| Bassem Youssef |
Alas, that has led to now, where Youssef has had an official complaint filed against him by a prominent Islamic lawyer. Given the disastrous constitution that has just been passed, which is
extremely vague in many of its chapters and highly biased towards the
Islamists and their philosophy, it is unclear what will result from the investigations. While this is certainly not the first time an official
compliant has been filed against Youssef, this is perhaps the first time the complainer wielded this much power.
Random Hazem Thoughts: Bassem Youssef is a long overdue and extremely necessary addition to the
Egyptian media. I don't just say this because I have tears in my eyes and can
barely breathe because of his humor, but because he ventures into
the areas of politics that need criticizing. He mentioned in one recent episode
that the reason he is so exceptionally critical of the Islamists is because
they now control virtually everything, including all branches of government. He
openly professed that should the liberals take power, which he seems in favor
of, he would not withhold an inch of the intensity he shows now. This is clear
from the fact that during the elections, he indeed satirized all candidates
with equal time, even the ones he openly favored. Youssef draws
attention to the conspicuous holes in both our politics and our media. I find myself interrupting my laughter many times during his shows to seriously think, "No, the president couldn't have said that!" only to realize
that he indeed made a completely unprofessional comment that made no sense. The truth is, we don't want Bassem. We need him.
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