Abstract
Oppenheimer describes The Act of Killing as a ‘documentary about the imagination. We are documenting the ways we imagine ourselves, the ways we know ourselves’. This research analyses the documentary films The Act of Killing (Director Oppenheimer, co-directors Christine Cynn and anonymous 2012) and The Look of Silence (director Oppenheimer 2014), and the documentary imaginary. The research combines normally separate sites of analysis in production and audience studies in order to understand the power of documentary and the spectrum of social stories we inhabit. The article asks: how do the films document and imagine fear and impunity in memories of the genocide, and how do audiences engage with this documentary imaginary? Particular focus is paid towards the endings of the two documentary films and how audiences in this study reflect on the absence of justice for the victims of the genocide. Through the empirical research, we take a journey with the director and his film making process, understanding the lengthy and complex filming for the two documentaries in Indonesia. The films signal Oppenheimer’s political and ethical commitment towards victim recognition, the possibility and impossibility of forgiveness, and the challenge of reconciliation between victims and perpetrators. The filmmaker’s journey is intertwined with the enactments of the genocide by the perpetrators in their own surreal ways of imagining themselves, and the experience of victims seeking recognition. Audiences become intertwined in these journeys, finding along the way a critically productive space for documentary and the imaginary.
Highlights
Oppenheimer describes The Act of Killing as a ‘documentary about the imagination
What we find from the empirical research is that documentary filmmakers, their subjects in the films, and audiences are imbricated in the overall documentary experience
This article has used a holistic approach to production-audience research to analyse documentary and the imaginary, focusing in particular on fear and impunity in The Act of Killing and The Look of Silence
Summary
Before moving to the core of the research on documentary and the imaginary, this section reflects on the design and analysis of the empirical research, a complex process involving both production and audience studies over a 2-year fieldwork period. In The Look of Silence, the long-term impact of trauma across generations is explored through one family’s story where the horrific murder of their son is remembered and celebrated by the perpetrators This film is based on footage filmed by the central character Adi in his family home, showing memories of trauma across generations; and interviews conducted by Oppenheimer and Adi with the perpetrators of the violence and surviving victims of the massacre at a particular place, Snake River. The perpetrators justify their violent actions and appear to feel little remorse. The empirical research in this article goes further in findings that suggest negative affects can create a critically productive space for documentary and the imaginary
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