Reading the New Direction of the Peristiwa 1965 Narrative Representation in Indonesian Novels

Abstract

The 1965 Incident is considered as a major historical moment for the Indonesian nation. The historical moment still leaves sociopolitical traumatic complexities. The 1965 Incident marked a change in Indonesia's national leadership from President Soekarno to President Soeharto. This change was preceded by the tragedy that occurred on September 30, 1965 with political coup, kidnapping, and murder issues. The 1965 Incident was responded with numerous narratives. Hegemonic and dominant narratives were formed to exhibit the power of certain parties by ignoring the marginalized voices. Literature as a medium of reconciliation is present to reveal “other” narratives that may be “excluded” in the formal hegemonic narrative. The transformation of the Indonesian novel corpus before and after 1998 portrays a shift in literary expression, from a controlled space to a critical and democratic space. The new direction of the 1965 Incident’s narrative in Indonesian Novels signifies the evolution of a more complex, critical, and humane literary awareness in interpreting traumatic events in the nation's history.