CAIRO – Although not everyone has benefited from it, no-one can deny that, since the revolution, everything in Egypt has a different, revolutionary taste, including the holy fasting month of Ramadan. This revolutionary spirit is reflected in Ramadan TV programmes and advertisements. Unlike Ramadan programmes in the past years, which depended mainly upon the news and scandals involving public figures, especially movie stars, ordinary citizens are the stars this year. This can clearly be seen in the programme Taxi Masr (Egypt's Taxi), in which ordinary people are filmed on candid camera riding a taxi and talking with the driver very naturally. Most of the passengers talk about what's been happening in Egypt since the revolution, relations between Muslims and Copts, the coming Egyptian President, the demonstrations and so on. “I find Taxi Masr very watchable, because the people speak freely about anything; I never miss an episode,” says Noura Mahmoud, a 19-year-old student. Taxi Masr is not the only programme that focuses on the ordinary citizen, as there are also others like Kon Garea'an (Be Bold), broadcast on the new channel Al-Tahrir. In Kon Garea'an, the presenter and the crew walk through the streets with their camera rolling, looking for original Egyptian characters such as labourers, vegetable vendors, mechanics and others. These simple citizens talk about their daily lives. Another programme, that deals with a topic occupying Egyptians' minds these days, the identity of Egypt's next President, is Matloob Ra'ees. Matloob Ra'ees is funny and sarcastic. Each episode introduces a presidential candidate, selected from the general public by the presenter. The candidate discusses his manifesto and the whole interview is normally quite hilarious. In this programme, you find a tok-tok driver, a teacher, a dancer, a company director and even a 20-year-old student, all pretending to be presidential candidates, as if to say that any Tom, Dick or Harry can run for the top post these days. The Bassem Youssef Show, which is also broadcast on YouTube, is also proving very popular. It tackles everything that has been happening since the revolution, again in a sarcastic manner. Meanwhile, Bassem Youssef, a dentist, presents his first TV programme El-Bernameg? (The Programme?), in which he interviews public figures such as new party founders, Islamists and liberals. “I love El-Bernameg?. Bassem Youssef presents this show in a very attractive way and the guests he hosts have good ideas for the New Egypt,” says Ahmed Mohssen, a 29-year-old bank accountant. Meanwhile, Kol Regal el-Ra'ees (All the President's Men), presented by prominent journalist Adel Hamouda, reveals a lot of the former regime's secrets, especially those about its corruption. “I think that Hamouda's show is the most important one this year, as he unveils many figures in the last regime and the secrets about their wealth and corruption,” says Abdel-Moneim Mohamed, a 42-year-old merchant. As is his custom every Ramadan, the Lebanon TV presenter Touny Khalifa has come up with a daring programme. This year it's called El-Shaab Yourid (The People Want), which has also been the most popular slogan in the recent Arab revolutions. The programme is broadcast on Tareq Nour's Ramadan channel ‘Al-Qahera wel Nas' and each episode is divided into three sections. The first section is called ‘People want to know'; the second is ‘Whom you will unmask', where Khalifa shows the guest two photos of two people (one photo each) and the guest has to give his opinion about one of them; and the third section is named ‘People want you to admit'. All Khalifa's guests are controversial figures who have strong opinions about the recent events in Egypt, whether actors, politicians or even presidential candidates. "I haven't missed any of Khalifa's Ramadan programmes since his first appearance two years ago. He is a bold presenter and he urges the guests to tell the truth," says Manal el-Sayyed, a 50-year-old mother-of-two. The advertisements this Ramadan are also different; most of them are full of positive energy and the desire for change. For example, one communications company has launched a campaign called 'Shokran' (Thank-you), allowing anyone to say thank-you to someone they believe deserves to be thanked. The latter get given a present �" 60 minutes of free mobile phone. There is also the Sherif Mounir Show, named after and presented by famous actor Sherif Mounir. Each episode highlights a hardworking Egyptian. It could, for example, be a woman who's made huge sacrifices for her family. On this show, the reward is somewhat more tempting: LE30,000. Meanwhile, there is an advertisement designed to increase people's internal, positive energy. It's for a soft drink brand that's meant to brighten up people's lives. The ad depicts children singing a song containing positive phrases, such as "You are your only hope" and "You can do everything and fly high in the sky.”
