Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
1-2017
Abstract
Using four films to probe the transformations in Indonesia’s historical memory, this paper examines how the Indonesian society remembers, interrogates, and comes to terms with one of their nation’s most traumatic episodes: the widespread communist purge that followed the failed coup on 30 September 1965. It also demonstrates how they reflect various perspectives on the 1965 killings that are—to an extent—part of the “Battle of History” (van Klinken 2001) in postSuharto Indonesia, wherein different historiographic traditions introduce new actors, reveal the nuances, and challenge longstanding dominant understandings of 1965.
Keywords
Indonesian Cinema, 1965 Communist Purge, Historical Memory, Cold War
Discipline
Asian History | Asian Studies
Research Areas
Humanities
Publication
Asian Studies: Journal of Critical Perspectives on Asia
Volume
53
Issue
1
First Page
39
Last Page
65
ISSN
0004-4679
Publisher
Asian Center, University of the Philippines, Diliman
Citation
ESPENA Darlene Machell, .(2017). Remembering 1965: Indonesian cinema and the 'Battle for History'. Asian Studies: Journal of Critical Perspectives on Asia, 53(1), 39-65.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/3593
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://www.asj.upd.edu.ph/mediabox/archive/ASJ_53_1_2017/Espena.pdf