The Communist Imagination: A Study of the Cultural Pages of Harian Rakjat in the Early 1950s

Abstract

The mass killings and repression of the mid 1960s that marked the rise of the "New Order" regime of Major General Suharto were a watershed in Indonesian history. Their impact continues to reverberate in Indonesian society in a series of different areas, including the discussion of Indonesian history. After 1965 a narrative of Indonesian history emerged that served to justify the human rights abuses of the regime, both at its genesis in the mid 1960s, as well as those of later periods when it faced opposition throughout its reign. Especially since the turn of this century, activists and scholars have begun to challenge this legacy. This dissertation is a part of that movement. It takes an exploratory approach, using a detailed examination of a key source—the cultural supplement (Kebudajaan) of the Indonesian Communist Party's official newspaper (Harian Rakjat)—to shed light on a key area of history in a period preceding the rise of Suharto: that of cultural politics and practice in the communist movement in early 1950s Indonesia. The dissertation uncovers a number of unexpected phenomena in this history, as it also elaborates on ideas that have already been researched to some extent. In doing so, it helps remove the blinkers of the era of the Suharto regime and the Cold War, revealing a complex movement that managed to elicit the support of millions of Indonesians. It provides detailed evidence-based accounts of various aspects of the history of Indonesian communist cultural politics in the early 1950s that help "normalise" the discussion of the place of the Indonesian communism in Indonesian history. This account covers a variety of areas, including the way cultural activity was organised and the development of cultural ideology. The dissertation uses three case studies—of cinema, live performing arts, and short creative prose—to develop a better understanding of how these ideas and organisation translated into the production and consumption of different forms of cultural expression. In doing so it also provides insights into the communist movement's own assessments of its cultural activities, and opens up new questions for further study.