The documentaries “Thin Blue Line”, and “Act of killing” both use re-enactments as a way of conveying historic moments in the stories they are trying to depict. Nevertheless, while the techniques used in the re-enactments within “Thin Blue Line” are done to convey a sense of mystery, the techniques used for “Act of Killing” are used to give context to subject matter, and speak to the mentality of many Indonesians when it comes to the murders of innocent people. Errol Morris’ Thin Blue Line is a film that documents the murder of police officer Robert Wood, and the process of conviction for Randall Adams, and David Harris. Within the film, the re-enactment of the murder of officer Wood is constantly adjusted to represent the story told from
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Within both sets of images there is an overall depiction of the historic mindset of those within Indonesia. Through the filming of the creation of reenactments viewers are provided with a sense of meta when watching; seeing that they are constantly reminded that they are watching the process of art imitate life, while watching the documentary which is art itself. In effect, the images of actors working to create the scenes could be considered as reenactments as well. With that in mind, in both levels of reenactments there is a glorification of the act of killing suspected communists, which is the true purpose of the film. “Act of Killing” is a documentary made not to depict the actual history of the murders within Indonesia, but rather the mindsets of these people,and how it is still reflected within the current society. Oppenheimer makes this clear when he states “The Act of Killing does not claim to be any kind of complete or coherent view of what happened in 1965 in Indonesia...What the film is really concerned with is how human beings deal with guilt”(Lusztig 52) then he continues and claims”the film’s focus is mainly on the present”(Lusztig 52). Therefore these reenactments are merely used to give historical context, and first hand perspective on the actual mindset of the former
Within both sets of images there is an overall depiction of the historic mindset of those within Indonesia. Through the filming of the creation of reenactments viewers are provided with a sense of meta when watching; seeing that they are constantly reminded that they are watching the process of art imitate life, while watching the documentary which is art itself. In effect, the images of actors working to create the scenes could be considered as reenactments as well. With that in mind, in both levels of reenactments there is a glorification of the act of killing suspected communists, which is the true purpose of the film. “Act of Killing” is a documentary made not to depict the actual history of the murders within Indonesia, but rather the mindsets of these people,and how it is still reflected within the current society. Oppenheimer makes this clear when he states “The Act of Killing does not claim to be any kind of complete or coherent view of what happened in 1965 in Indonesia...What the film is really concerned with is how human beings deal with guilt”(Lusztig 52) then he continues and claims”the film’s focus is mainly on the present”(Lusztig 52). Therefore these reenactments are merely used to give historical context, and first hand perspective on the actual mindset of the former