Performing History, Performing Truth: The Act of Killing

What happens when the stories with which we console ourselves become so ingrained that, when they're questioned, when our guilt is brought to our attention, all we can do is tell more tall tales? This question is at the heart of Joshua Oppenheimer's confronting documentary about the Indonesian genocide of 1965–1966. But according to Rebecca Harkins-Cross, the film's fusion of fiction and fact not only raises significant questions but also activates already repressed traumas.

Additional keywords: ethics, commemoration, history, revisionism, Indonesia, Asian cinema, propaganda, denial, delusion, Anwar Congo.