CAIRO - The recent Egyptian revolution, launched on the Internet, ousted Mubarak. We now have another revolution this time a technical one. ‘Monatov',‘The Basem Youssef Show' and ‘el-Mouza' are all programmes being aired on the social networking sites Youtube and Facebook. Their content is different from the kind of shows shown in Mubarak's era, according to observers. These shows are crafted with humble tools, such as digital cameras, without the benefit of high-tech equipment studios; some of the episodes are shot in someone's flat or the street. Despite the humble tools, they are not comic shows. They mock certain things about the country, which they weren't able to do before the revolution. “I'm very happy with the viewers' reaction to each episode,” Mona Hala, the presenter of ‘Monatov', said in a recent interview. “This suggests that these programmes have a bright future.” The name of her programme derives from her name, Mona, and ‘tov', the last three letters of ‘Molotov'. Its name springs from its daring content. In each episode, which is only four to six minutes long, she tackles the reaction of pro-Mubarak media people and artists, during and after the revolt. She mocks their conflicting viewpoints and their canards about the anti-Mubarak demonstrators. According to her, she and the producer of the show were asked by a number of channels to screen her programme, but they waited to ensure “no-one would cut out parts of their bold show”. The format for ‘The Bassem Youssef Show' is clearly Comedy Central's ‘The Daily Show', while the fact that Youssef has been dubbed ‘Egypt's Jon Stewart' on Facebook and Twitter couldn't please him more. Youssef, who describes himself as “obsessed with TV”, discovered Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert during one of his frequent trips to the United States. Back in Egypt, he watches their shows online. Hosting an Egyptian incarnation of ‘The Daily Show' was Youssef's dream, but before the revolution “there were all these red lines”, which haven't all been swept away. But in post-Mubarak Egypt especially online there's a heady sense of freedom. Like ‘Monatov', ‘The Basem Youssef Show', which Youssef shoots with a digital camera from his own home, ridicules Mubarak and his supporters. Meanwhile, a young Egyptian woman called Kaissy Nabil presents the ‘Mouza' show. Kaissy, a teenager who lives in the US, was inspired by her counterparts, the young Egyptian revolutionaries, to do something about Egypt, expressing her happiness with the success of the revolution. “Like many other Egyptians abroad, I felt I had a duty to tell my fellow young Egyptians that we support the revolution and are very happy with the outcome,” the 19-year-old recently said on her show. Kaissy also writes and shoots her episodes at home, using a digital camera. Media professors see these new shows as ‘following naturally from technological developments'. “On January 25, Egypt entered a new era, in which the Internet takes centre stage, because of its social networking sites,” according to Professor of Media Hussein Amin. “This programmes allow viewers to interact, as they can express their opinion immediately after each episode ends,” Amin told the independent daily Al-Sherouq. He thinks that political parties may well use such shows to allow their manifestoes to reach as many people as possible. “TV and satellite channels are to blame for this, because of their constrictions on dealing freely with various issues.” Meanwhile, Magda Bagneed, an assistant professor of media and journalism, says that the Internet is a new medium which will not replace TV. “Perhaps it will help TV but not replace it,” she stresses, adding, however, that these shows have a great impact on the people whom the presenters criticise. “These shows are very effective. They point the finger of blame at a VIP and thousands of people see this. But there is a drawback: if they falsely accuse someone, the viewers believe it and it's very difficult to put things right afterwards.”
