One of the most famous sequences in the history of cinema is the parody of Hitler performed by Chaplin in The great dictator (1940). The character Adenoid Hynkel plays at blowing up a globe as if it were a ball. Beyond the visual beauty of the image, the scene is full of irony and political criticism.
Surely that narcissistic joy, the megalomaniacal ecstasy that the fictional little dictator seems to experience, fits the mood that the omnipresent Donald Trump exuded throughout the day that was to culminate with the signing of the peace agreement. Possibly one of the best days of his life. A massive television spectacle of international dimensions that was broadcast simultaneously with him as the victorious protagonist. Trump above any peace. A staging tailor-made for receiving the next Nobel Prize.
The first images of the hostage transfer were devoid of the theatricality that Hamas had incorporated on previous occasions. The stage where the captured Israelis were paraded disappeared, and all we saw was the convoy of cars and the Re'im base where they were all awaited for transfer. The scenes played out simultaneously with the joy of the people in Tel Aviv Square, eager for the big day. Everything was planned. Trump's landing at the Israeli airport coincided with the reunion of some of the families. The happiness and excitement of some was linked to the triumphant arrival of others.
The US President's Air Force One was a kind of central theme of the day. A phallic symbol that preceded him wherever he went and that television channels showed to build anticipation of the delirious spectacle Trump was organizing at every turn. The speech at the Israeli Parliament was just a taste of what awaited us that afternoon.
Trump's arrival in Sharm al-Sheikh, Egypt, became the culmination of the grand party the US president had organized for himself. The orchestra conductor, surrounded by world leaders as extras and with the extra invitation of his friend Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA, who, far from thinking football had no place there, participated as just another participant in the great historic event. Trump's appearance became a grotesque monologue to vindicate himself as the ultimate architect, the great architect of that historic moment. His sarcastic and arrogance-filled thanks and mentions of each of the leaders were an act of power, intoxicated by itself. Television became a simple notary public recording archive images of the future. The first draft of what will go down in history.
A The great dictatorChaplin's balloon eventually bursts, a devastating metaphor for the character's vanity and boundless ambition. We'll see what's visionary about this scene, and whether all its poeticness is also tragic.
