Since its first episode, the third part of the series “The Choice” drew attention to it because it presented the character of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi directly, and embodied by the artist Yasser Jalal, to present us with the story of Sisi’s selection as Minister of Defense during the era of former President Mohamed Morsi, attracting attention by presenting the events from the point of view of the events The political system, revealing real video clips that show for the first time the most important political figures in that time period.
In "The Choice 3", 4 of the most prominent Egyptian movie and drama stars: Ahmed Ezz, Ahmed El-Sakka, and Karim Abdel Aziz will meet with Yasser Jalal (in the role of the president), in addition to embodying famous political figures, most notably former President Mohamed Morsi (the artist Sabri Fawaz). and leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Dramatic scenes are mixed with different archival clips, as if we are in front of a documentary series based on re-enactment of famous events. This documentary historical sequence only interrupts scenes of police and intelligence officers with their families and wives, until the series approaches the viewer and truly believes that it is a "drama series" and not a documentary work that presents a destination Its industry looked at historical events experienced by the public years ago.
the returnees
Also shown in the current Ramadan is the series “The Returnees”, directed by Ahmed Nader Jalal and written by Baher Dowidar, and its hero Amir Karara (the star of the first part of The Choice) continues in the role of the officer, after he presented the role of Officer Ahmed Al-Mansi in the first part of The Choice (2020). And officer Salim Al-Ansari in the series "Kalbash" (2017-2019).
In "The Returnees," the officer is chasing the Islamic State, and from the first episodes we clash with the discovery of the Egyptian intelligence agent Hussein inside the organization, only to be burned alive as punishment by the organization's men.
soft power
The official Akhbar Al-Youm newspaper says that national drama has become one of the interests of the Egyptian and Arab viewer, as the drama makers realized the importance of these works that had been absent from the screen for many years, in which producers escaped from presenting this type of work under the pretext of poor marketing.
But the success of "The Choice" restored political drama to its soft power, and it became the focus of research for producers, actors, and the audience as well, and it is the most important link in this equation, as described by Today's News.
Sisi and Drama
For the third year in a row, the authority continues to produce “political” series, with direct support from state agencies, to address its wide audience during the most watched season of Ramadan.
A few weeks ago, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi criticized the movie “Terror and Kebabs” during the launching activities of the national project for the development of the Egyptian family, because it made the country an opponent, but on previous occasions he praised the movie “The Corridor” (2019), which deals with the war of attrition, and praised the performance of the artist Mohamed Farraj, saying that he expressed On the courage of the Egyptian who does not shy away from the challenge and sends a very good message.
Al-Sisi praised the series “The Choice 2” last year, and said that the drama dealt with many events that happened to the Egyptians, and stressed that the drama must present more than that, and deal with many events after the Egyptians overcame them.
Battles of awareness and enlightenment
The Egyptian Voice of the Nation newspaper published a study by the Egyptian Center for Thought and Studies, which confirmed that the trilogy of choice is the most important step in the moral war and battles of awareness and enlightenment.
The study added that the series “The Choice 3” in particular presented an “exceptional documentary simulation” unprecedented in the history of art, whether on television or cinema, as it is rare for the ruling administration in any country to allow the “head of power” to be embodied in a dramatic work, as it is a red line in front of freedom Creativity around the world, according to the study, with a few exceptions, most of which were in favor of political propaganda and not the historical narrative.
The study pointed out the importance of the presence of the most prominent representatives of the generation who dominate the artistic movement today in these works, and the use of the young Egyptian-British actor Amir Al-Masry, who recently won the Scottish BAFTA Award, and praised the challenge that Yasser Jalal faces in the personality of Sisi.
outspoken politician
Critic Mahmoud Abdel Shakour wrote that "The Choice" in its third part is a great work, its classification is explicitly political, but it also establishes a completely new method in the artistic treatment of this difficult dramatic quality, unparalleled and unprecedented, neither in the cinema nor on television.
Abdul Shakour adds - on his Facebook page - that "there is no parallel to the way in which the documentary and the novelist are mixed, and there is no equal to the intertwining of the conflict in the circle of power with tension and anxiety among people, or to the way in which the details of the political crises we experienced mix with the concerns of the three security heroes, and their lives." As for drawing the general atmosphere that we witnessed, and even participated in as citizens and journalists, it is strong and amazing, as is the feat of embodiment of the real personalities.”
intellectual battle
The journalist Gamal Al-Shaer believed that Egypt needs more production in "national drama", because drama is the upper arm of influencing people, noting that the Supreme Council for Media must have a role in developing an integrated strategy for Egyptian drama.
The poet added, "We are facing an intellectual battle that needs more production in this direction, and the picture in general shows that there is a diversified dramatic production that brings us back to our ambitions in Egyptian drama and its role in preserving identity and creating awareness."
Reluctance of the masses
On the other hand, the pioneers of social networking sites criticized the embodiment of characters who are still on their seats, and that what is happening in “The Choice” and others is a confirmation of the saying that the victor is the one who writes history, let alone if the victor is still in office.
And Hani Bishr believes in an article for him on Al Jazeera Net that the series “The Choice 3” depends on the leaked scenes to raise the rhythm of the episodes, as the original story was outdated and drunk during the past 10 years, and the direct rhetoric in many of these series, which often tends to Towards polarization and dehumanization of the other side in the scenario and dialogue, it contrasts with the dramatic construction that depends on the complexity and intertwining of human tendencies in the characters.
Bishr predicted that if this type of drama continues in this manner, there will be a reluctance of the masses, and it has already begun to some degree with the youth segments that have turned to series on foreign platforms such as “Netflix” and others, or Turkish series.
Between reality and fantasy
During the past decades, the audience has been associated with national dramas for many reasons, not including direct propaganda for political regimes, and dealing with them in a dramatic manner that derives his story mainly “from the Egyptian intelligence files” (as it appears on the sequences of the series), and without the viewer knowing the boundary between reality and imagination, He continues the dramatic work, like any other work, related to his characters without listening to long and direct dialogues about "the homeland" and "enemies of the homeland", as if in a propaganda bulletin or a television program for one of the authority's announcers.
Moreover, the famous works that achieved famous success, their makers deliberately changed the names of their heroes, leaving the audience the opportunity to search behind the realistic story and its heroes, for example, “Raafat Al-Hagan” (Mahmoud Abdel Aziz) is basically “Refaat Al-Jammal”, and Juma Al-Shawan (Adel Imam) in The series "Tears in Shameless Eyes" is "Ahmed Al-Hawan".
The story may be similar or different with the details of their real lives, making it a drama series in which reality is mixed with fantasy, and in which the viewer sees an interesting human story that relates to it and sympathizes with its characters and is affected by their national cause.
Excitement and suspense
The difference is also that these famous drama series are related to the Arab-Israeli conflict. The issue is Arab and there is no dispute about it, and the enemy in it is clear and unambiguous. It tells the story of a struggle between the Egyptian intelligence services and the hostile intelligence in difficult times in the history of the country.
These famous series also presented stories that the audience does not know the details of, and therefore do not miss the elements of excitement, suspense and anticipation of events, so the audience eagerly awaits them, unlike the “choice” in its last part in particular, in which viewers know the developments of its events by heart, but they await the makers’ point of view in these events. And what the episodes might reveal of "leaks" or "new surprises", as described by its makers.