Act of Killing
Peter Pugh 4/2714 NOEA
Misinterpreting The Act of Killing:
Why Joshua Oppenheimer’s Demands Lack Contextualization
“‘War crimes’ are defined by winners. I’m a winner. So I can make my own definition.”
-Adi Zulkadry (A mass murderer featured in The Act of Killing) Adi Zulkadry’s belief in the notion that his direct involvement in the mass killing of communists make him a “winner” is just one of a number of chilling moments in Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Act of Killing. In this 2012 documentary, Oppenheimer attempts to understand a shocking phenomenon: the fact that the same men who systematically killed thousands of communists in the 1960s are now revered by their countrymen, celebrated as national heroes. Furthermore, Oppenheimer intends to hold the U.S. Government accountable for their role in these killings and in 2014, after the film was aired before the U.S. Congress; Oppenheimer formally requested that the U.S. acknowledge its role in what many consider genocide. However, without considering Indonesia’s political history it is unfair to claim that the U.S. government’s backing of an anti-communist regime is actually the cause of the unimaginable reality Oppenheimer depicts in his documentary. Joshua Oppenheimer’s demand that the U.S. government acknowledge its role in the mass killing of Indonesian communists in the 1960s based solely on the content of the Act of Killing is flawed because, while the film exposes a disturbing power dynamic that exists in Indonesia, it does so without providing any historical context. Furthermore, when history is actually analyzed it is apparent that the mass killing of Indonesian communists in the 1960’s was a response to a highly oppressive regime
Misinterpreting The Act of Killing:
Why Joshua Oppenheimer’s Demands Lack Contextualization
“‘War crimes’ are defined by winners. I’m a winner. So I can make my own definition.”
-Adi Zulkadry (A mass murderer featured in The Act of Killing) Adi Zulkadry’s belief in the notion that his direct involvement in the mass killing of communists make him a “winner” is just one of a number of chilling moments in Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Act of Killing. In this 2012 documentary, Oppenheimer attempts to understand a shocking phenomenon: the fact that the same men who systematically killed thousands of communists in the 1960s are now revered by their countrymen, celebrated as national heroes. Furthermore, Oppenheimer intends to hold the U.S. Government accountable for their role in these killings and in 2014, after the film was aired before the U.S. Congress; Oppenheimer formally requested that the U.S. acknowledge its role in what many consider genocide. However, without considering Indonesia’s political history it is unfair to claim that the U.S. government’s backing of an anti-communist regime is actually the cause of the unimaginable reality Oppenheimer depicts in his documentary. Joshua Oppenheimer’s demand that the U.S. government acknowledge its role in the mass killing of Indonesian communists in the 1960s based solely on the content of the Act of Killing is flawed because, while the film exposes a disturbing power dynamic that exists in Indonesia, it does so without providing any historical context. Furthermore, when history is actually analyzed it is apparent that the mass killing of Indonesian communists in the 1960’s was a response to a highly oppressive regime