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

Additional URL

https://www.asj.upd.edu.ph/mediabox/archive/ASJ_53_1_2017/Espena.pdf

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