A lavish drama tries to rally Egyptians with dark memories
But “The Choice” fails as a historical record and as propaganda
WHEN TELEVISION viewers tuned in last month to “Al-Ikhtiyar” (“The Choice”), they knew exactly how it would end. In the penultimate episode Yasser Galal, who plays Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, then the defence minister, enters a room full of religious and political leaders. “We must make a fateful decision,” he says. “The country needs one.” The date was July 3rd, 2013. Within hours the assembled grandees would appear on television alongside Mr Sisi, as he declared Egypt’s brief experiment with democracy to be over.
This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “Victors’ version”
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