Changing the Narrative The central goal of protest signs anywhere is to articulate the demands of the protester holding it. Protest signs in Cairo were no exception and a large percentage of posters, banners, and graffiti articulate the demands of protesters, from the most basic: “Down with the Regime” to the most specific (see next page). Particularly notable this year in Egypt, however, was the number of examples of protesters who articulated
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demands or positions in direct response to other, presumed dominant, narratives. Protesters write over the regime’s narrative, reclaim knowledge, and actively assert their truths. Rhetoric in these examples directly challenges the narratives of state TV, presumed perceptions of the international community, or rewrites Mubarak’s personal, political, and military history. It is here that much of the protest energy begins to develop its
The street sign previously reading “Street of the People’s Assembly” now reads “The People’s Street” Photo: Hossam el-Hamalawy; February 9.
own distinctive cultural imprint. The masses holding protest signs become distinguishable groups with particular defiant tones and focused irreverence. These concurrent expressions of awareness and identity accompany the defiance of breaking curfew to be present in Tahrir. They locate further development of a distinct culture of political resistance.