I studied a lot about the Arab Spring before I graduated from high school, especially because Egypt and Tunisia are Morocco’s neighboring countries. It had also inspired protests in Morocco in 2012. After watching Tickling Giant, I realize that there is so much that was left out of what I studied and comprehended. I really enjoyed the timeline of the entire documentary. It had a start to finish book ending, starting with the Egyptian revolution and Youssef’s journey with Al Barnameg show to the end of his show and Youssef reaching America, trying to make a new life from himself. The over-arching theme of the repressed population’s free speech is important and relates to many different countries, Tunisia as one of them as well. Taksler succeeds in showing us how satire can challenge the government and how the government can then react to satirists.
Her choice of ending Tickling Giants by telling us how all characters proceed with their lives is a smart choice, showing us that this story isn’t only Youssef’s but everyone who is part of the Egyptian population and those who were behind the cameras as well. It tells us that their lives don’t have a happy ending and that some are still fighting to appease the population with their satire while others are trying to make their ends meet.
The usage of animation shows us that television show (Bassem Youssef) and the internet aren’t the only mediums to address the larger population. The animation also helps enhance Tickling Giants variation of visuals since we are exposed to actual extreme footage that was shot live, the studio footage, and then the cartoons.
I think one of the most tense points of this doc for me was when Bassem Youssef spoke about how celebrities go through points of their career when they face suicidal thoughts. That was scary and from that point on we got to see the lows of Youssef’s career and how he suffered when many of his fans became his haters. That part also reminded me of a similar key moment in Simply Complicated, a documentary about Demi Lovato’s career and personal life. Overall, I enjoyed this documentary but I wish it were a bit shortened. There were a few moments within the last half hour when I started looking at my watch and got restless. It was a g