Indonesian court dance; a purportedly pure and untouched tradition; is famed throughout the world for its sublime calm and stillness. Yet this unyieldingly peaceful surface conceals a time of political repression and mass killing. Between 1965 and 1966; some one million Indonesiansmdash;including a large percentage of the countryrsquo;s musicians; artists; and dancersmdash;were killed; arrested; or disappeared as Suharto established a virtual dictatorship that ruled for the next thirty years. In The Dance That Makes You Vanish; an examination of the relationship between female dancers and the Indonesian state since 1965; Rachmi Diyah Larasati elucidates the Suharto regimersquo;s dual-edged strategy: persecuting and killing performers perceived as communist or left leaning while simultaneously producing and deploying ldquo;replicasrdquo;mdash;new bodies trained to standardize and unify the ldquo;unrulyrdquo; movements and voices of those vanishedmdash;as idealized representatives of Indonesiarsquo;s cultural elegance and composure in bowing to autocratic rule. Analyzing this history; Larasati shows how the Suharto regimersquo;s obsessive attempts to control and harness Indonesian dance for its own political ends have functioned as both smoke screen and smoke signal; inadvertently drawing attention to the site of state violence and criminality by constantly pointing out the ldquo;perfectionrdquo; of the mask that covers it.Reflecting on her own experiences as an Indonesian national troupe dancer from a family of persecuted female dancers and activists; Larasati brings to life a powerful; multifaceted investigation of the pervasive use of culture as a vehicle for state repression and the global mass-marketing of national identity.
#2506743 in eBooks 2013-03-21 2013-03-21File Name: B00BYHE60S
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Concise guide to creative freedom in photographyBy D. CoralI am an advanced photographer and spent much of the day going through the photography section at the book store; so that I can get a book for my wife and then some of the photos might actually include myself. :) This was one of the best. I needed something that would be interesting to read and concise; and describe the FULL spectrum of creative techniques. This book covers the classic rules plus the exceptions to those rules in order to capture unique; breathtaking moments. If all your photos have a group of people centered in the frame standing in front of a statue 20 feet away -- and you want to fix that -- then this book is for YOU!!0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Great for BeginnersBy ZaphodThis book is written with the beginner in mind. If you are already past that stage; and have read a little online; youll likely have already heard much of what is in this book in other contexts. Its accessible; the photos illustrate the points well (although; the same images are used more than I would like to illustrate different points); and it will likely help to solidify your current knowledge. If you are already an advanced photographer; this book is not for you.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Met all of my expectationsBy J. CornellI am a high school media teacher; and found this book to explain basic photography techniques direct and to the point. It is very clear and concise; and easy for beginners. Great photographic examples illustrate the concepts well.