History and Memory, Act of Killing and The Searchers use reflexivity to give voice to groups who have been silenced throughout history. In History and Memory, Rea Tajiri uses popular media clips, along with primary footage, to give voice to the Japanese prisoners. In the Act of Killing, Joshua Oppenheimer uses the death squads as the stars of his documentary to portray the violence perpetrated against the innocent Indonesians. In The Searchers, John Ford demonstrates a haunting reflection of an issue deeply imbedded in American culture. The directors, Rea Tajiri, Joshua Oppenheimer and John Ford, all give a voice to marginalized groups who have been silenced by the dominant culture.
To make History and Memory, Rea Tajiri uses “Hollywood films, …show more content…
Oppenheimer uses a reflexive approach, of a documentary inside a documentary, to allow the audience a glimpse of the realities of the death squads. This theme is carried through by utilizing the 'villains' as the stars of their own documentary, enabling the audience to witnesses the barbarity that occurred. The film’s method not only exposes the abomidable acts committed by the regiem, but also juxtapositions these clips with footage of the jovial “stars” during filming. This interspersement of scenes accentuates the death squads’ lack of remorse for their inhumanity. Furthermore, the victims never had the opportunity for justice, in fear of being brutally murdered by the gangsters; the same villains who still run the country and gleefully re-enact how they violently slaughtered innocent citizens every day. Former death squad leader, Anwar Congo, states, “War crimes are defined by the winner and I am the winner” (Oppenheimer). Unfortunately, that was the truth until Oppenheimer revealed the deaths and mutilation of 1,000,000 Indonesians who were silenced by those in charge.
John Ford’s The Searchers is one of the first films to show a counter argument to the traditional white western hero in the 1950s. This movie discloses the truth; the whites were the real aggressors, not the Native Americans. Ford uses reflexivity to help the audience become self aware of the truth. To be reflexive …show more content…
In Plato’s allegory of the cave, he states: “I mean that they remain in the upper world: but this must not be allowed; they must be made to descend again among the prisoners in the den, and partake of their labors and honors, whether they are worth having or not” (Plato 5). The individuals who understand the world as it is have an obligation to teach others the truth. Rea Tajiri, Joshua Oppenheimer and John Ford all told the true history of the world, whether the audience wanted to see it or not. According to Plato, because they know the truth, they have an obligation to teach those who still live in the darkness and have not seen the truth. Even though the truth can be disturbing, all three directors “give voice to those who have been silenced by (the) prevailing conventions” (Harrington, 136). Moreover, Tajiri, Oppenheimer and Ford feel it is their obligation to disseminate the stories of the voices who have been
To make History and Memory, Rea Tajiri uses “Hollywood films, …show more content…
Oppenheimer uses a reflexive approach, of a documentary inside a documentary, to allow the audience a glimpse of the realities of the death squads. This theme is carried through by utilizing the 'villains' as the stars of their own documentary, enabling the audience to witnesses the barbarity that occurred. The film’s method not only exposes the abomidable acts committed by the regiem, but also juxtapositions these clips with footage of the jovial “stars” during filming. This interspersement of scenes accentuates the death squads’ lack of remorse for their inhumanity. Furthermore, the victims never had the opportunity for justice, in fear of being brutally murdered by the gangsters; the same villains who still run the country and gleefully re-enact how they violently slaughtered innocent citizens every day. Former death squad leader, Anwar Congo, states, “War crimes are defined by the winner and I am the winner” (Oppenheimer). Unfortunately, that was the truth until Oppenheimer revealed the deaths and mutilation of 1,000,000 Indonesians who were silenced by those in charge.
John Ford’s The Searchers is one of the first films to show a counter argument to the traditional white western hero in the 1950s. This movie discloses the truth; the whites were the real aggressors, not the Native Americans. Ford uses reflexivity to help the audience become self aware of the truth. To be reflexive …show more content…
In Plato’s allegory of the cave, he states: “I mean that they remain in the upper world: but this must not be allowed; they must be made to descend again among the prisoners in the den, and partake of their labors and honors, whether they are worth having or not” (Plato 5). The individuals who understand the world as it is have an obligation to teach others the truth. Rea Tajiri, Joshua Oppenheimer and John Ford all told the true history of the world, whether the audience wanted to see it or not. According to Plato, because they know the truth, they have an obligation to teach those who still live in the darkness and have not seen the truth. Even though the truth can be disturbing, all three directors “give voice to those who have been silenced by (the) prevailing conventions” (Harrington, 136). Moreover, Tajiri, Oppenheimer and Ford feel it is their obligation to disseminate the stories of the voices who have been