The Egyptian series "Counterattack" provoked mixed reactions, most of which were directed against the technical treatment of the Iraqi issue, as some analysts considered it a severe insult to the country, especially since the series was filmed in places and with non-Iraqi actors, while others saw that the proposition was objective.

The series deals with one of the Egyptian intelligence files and its relationship to uncovering armed cells in Iraq and how to recruit them since 2007, where the hero, Saif (the star Ahmed Ezz), wages great tournaments and secret operations to uncover the clues of al-Qaeda before transferring its members to the Egyptian Sinai region.

The series is written by Baher Dewidar, directed by Ahmed Alaa El-Deeb, and represented by Ahmed Ezz, Hind Sabry, Hisham Selim, Magda Zaki and others.

Among the most prominent Iraqi defects in the series is that it conveyed an image different from the reality of the country, likening Baghdad to Kabul or Kandahar, despite the fact that the city has its sharp and modern personality and includes modern buildings and hotels, an international airport, ancient universities, etc. Crowded with cars.

Al-Yasiri saw that the Iraqi recipient felt a spatial alienation, even identity, after watching the series (Al-Jazeera)

The act of simulation

Art critic Dr. Ammar Al-Yasseri believes that the environment is the reality from which the artist learns his subjects, regardless of his treatments, and consists of places with all their details, customs and traditions, and that any wrong treatment of the environment may create a gap between reality and treatment, and the result is that it breaks the convincing identification between the artistic work and the recipient.

Al-Yasiri shows that the Iraq War feature films such as "The Green Zone", "The Treasury of Pain", "The Sniper" and international and Arab series such as "Relative Quiet" and "Counterattack" represent a dramatic trigger for the post-2003 Iraqi reality, with all its loads of occupation, sectarianism and variables. Political, but those who watch these films and series - especially "Counter Attack" - find that they do not simulate reality in a way that achieves true drama.

He adds that the Iraqi recipient felt a spatial alienation, but rather an identity, as he checked whether the presented event was about Iraq, as we note that the places were not close to reality but were made in a distorted way, as well as the costumes as they must be from the womb of reality, and the same situation is achieved by accessories, makeup, lighting and spaces, in When the character is the backbone of work through her physical and verbal performance, these visual elements were not achieved in this seemingly distorted series.

He concludes by saying that there is neither scientific nor realistic sobriety, and also there is a lack of accuracy in simulating the Iraqi environment, in addition to the subject on which the scenario is based, as it seemed exaggerated and alien to our Iraqi reality, which makes the series lose its treatment, and the result is that the relationship between the recipient and the artistic work Dissociate.

Mahdi Hindo considered the series an attempt to demonstrate the power of the labor-producing state (Al-Jazeera)

Abuse and abuse

As for the theater director and art critic, Mahdi Hindo, he considered that what was mentioned in the series is an attempt to show the power of the state that produces the work, which is known within the national orientation and artistic consideration and its importance in revolutionizing reality, especially as it deals with an important aspect that tickles emotions at a time of clashing to the Iraqi reality.

Hindo pointed out that the series reminds us of the series "Raafat El Hagan", in which the patriotic spirit of the Egyptian citizen is shown, and indicates that what is being taken against it is not the way of acting, dialogue, or the productive capacity of the Egyptian drama, but rather it is the transmission of the Iraqi reality in a way that may have some kind One of the offenses that we do not want to believe was intended to convey reality, because it was filmed in places that were intended to be similar to the Iraqi environment, so he signed the forbidden, including the difference in location, costumes, streets, terrain, and even traffic signs.

Al-Kinani considered that the production and directing party used personalities who did not read the Iraqi reality and its environment in Baghdad (Al-Jazeera)

Baghdad and Kandahar

In turn, the writer Hammoudi Al-Kinani believes that the matter is not without knowing that the history on which the series relied in transmitting reality - which is related to the location of Al-Baghdadi - was not successful, and that he drew from unreliable sources or that the production and directing authority used personalities who did not read the Iraqi reality and its environment. Al Baghdadia.

As well as the preconceived vision - Kanani continues - that was broadcast by satellite channels throughout the last period that portrayed Iraq as if it had turned into a killing and death zone, and here the technical error occurred, in addition to the complex of history, exceptional heroism and the national side of the production side.

He points out that many places that I want to be Iraqi were not successful, which caused an offense to the Iraqi reality, which is unacceptable in conveying an image of Iraqi women in a way as if they are living in Kandahar, and that the intelligence pursuit is easy on the streets of Baghdad, and that it is possible Penetrating the Iraqi system, as well as distorting the reality of Baghdad’s locations

The writer Al-Kinani realizes that this series is wanted for him to talk about the file of armed cells and their employment in Iraq, which is clear from his presented episodes, but it came at the expense of the Iraqi reality and sincerity of belonging in exchange for tipping the other side that dominated the series’s goal of presenting its product.

Abbas believed that the series does not harm Iraq (Al-Jazeera)

Clash of intelligence

On the other hand, the well-known Iraqi critic Mahdi Abbas believes that the dramas taken from the Egyptian intelligence files were distinguished by two things, the first is the great public sympathy, and the other is the artistic perfection as we saw in “Tears in the Eyes of Rude” and “Raafat Al-Hagan,” and hence the great follow-up. And the resounding success of "Counter Attack".

He adds that the work was taken from real events and spent a lot on it, and pictures in more than one country, and it contains all the ingredients for success, in addition to the presence of a popular star in the role of the championship, Ahmed Ezz.

Abbas draws attention to the fact that the series "Counter Attack" is a work of art to boast about the heroics of the Egyptian intelligence, and he believes that it does not harm Iraq. Everyone knows that after the American invasion, Iraq has become the scene of many Iraqi and foreign intelligence.

He pointed out that the employers did not film the scenes of Iraq inside the country due to security concerns, and they were filmed in Jordan, and this happens in many works, as most Arab and foreign works were filmed in Morocco and Jordan as an alternative to Iraq.