Seminar with Monika Arnez: The events of 1965 in Sang Penari

Monika Arnez, ERASMUS visiting professor

The Republic of Indonesia celebrates the 70th anniversary of its independence in 2015, an event that fills the heart of many Indonesian with dignity and joy. However, 2015 also marks the 50th anniversary of an attempted coup d’état and its terrifying consequences, the mass killings of people associated with the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) and other left-wing organisations.

In this lecture, we discuss the film Sang Penari (‚The Dancer,’ 2011), an adaptation of Ahmad Tohari’s trilogy Ronggeng Dukuh Paruk, against the backdrop of the 1965 events and explore expressions of local dance forms.