CONTEXTUALIZING ALAN CLARKE’S SHORT MOVIE ‘ELEPHANT’: THE HISTORICAL APPROACH Hotman Nasution1 Universitas Putera Batam, Batam, Kepri, Indonesia [email protected] Tomi Arianto2 Universitas Putera Batam, Batam, Kepri, Indonesia [email protected] ABSTRACT The descriptive-qualitative paper purports an in-depth reading of the Trouble event depiction in Elephant movie by applying Greenblatt’s theory of Historicism. Elephant movie contains only 16 murders in a repeated and exact manners with no context and dialogue other than a sentence in the opening movie. New Historicism is expected to explain why the movie presents in such a way by correlating one to each other; the movie and the history. The data would be collected through observation and analyzed with content analyses method. The symmetrical positioning of the literary work and the history explains (1) how the massive censorship of media and the extremely strict rule in Northern Ireland shaped the idea of producing Elephant with covert relation to either political party in conflict (2) the absence of people who was responsible of the conflict explains the vagueness of who killed and who was killed, and (3) the erasure of characterization of the characters coincide with the cluelessness of who was the real victim. Keywords: sectarian violence, elephant, alan clarke, the troubles, historical approach 1. INTRODUCTION The Troubles conflict is one of the between settlers and natives. In the past most complex conflicts in the world and year, there was a settlement by the it has been over for about thirty-one British government who transferred years occurred in the entire Northern English and Scotland people and they Ireland. However, the conflict is more were mostly protestant. This settlement than about two religion in conflict; slowly revealed the real purpose of protestant and catholic. The Troubles British to overtake the land they were was initially about a conflict of land; struggled to take. Then, later initiation of 103 | P a g e union of both parties was attempted and appears. The approach attempts only to the release of order by Ireland and criticize and interpret literary works British government could not satisfy and based on three important keys; race, bring peace for each party. As a result, milieu and moment. The keys could the conflict ignited from 1960s to 1998s provide the zeitgeist and author’s view which ended with Good Friday produced in the literary work and both Agreement. This three-decades of landscapes could also verify the conflict was devastating and taken many historical depiction of the work. lives which was fortunately documented Historical approach is still relevant in when media reports were difficult to do. terms of verifying and describing Unfortunately, there are less textually of the historical side of the movies who depicted overtly of the work. For instance, the history of Trouble, but Elephant remains the most Hiroshima in John Hersey’s Hiroshima significant movie referring to the Trouble (Henra & Jusmaya, 2019). despite having no context, However, historical approach characterization, and dialogue. Elephant cannot be applied in order to is a 36-minutes short movie directed by contextualize Elephant because historical Alan Clarke, an important British approach failed to recognize the filmmaker. On the contrary, his complexity nature of the history (Tyson, nationality contrasts with the theme and 2015). History tended to be one-sided nation he wanted to tell and such shaped because they tended to represent one the movie’s content through an perspective and it is uncomplex because understanding of outsider of the such interpretation presumed all history Troubles. In a time when a great effort to as clear and certain as fact of the event censor contents related to the Troubles, in a linearly told. In other words, Elephant becomes the most distinctive historical approach represses for any storytelling and is significant for the other interpretation beyond that. For audience. Elephant opens up with an instance, it is difficult to contribute the infamous sentence referring the trouble victim’s perspective in interpreting the as an elephant which no one seemed history of Hiroshima of the novel. He also addressed this. Then, the movie elaborates three characteristics of proceeds to display 16 murders which historical analysis; (1) any historical audience could impossibly recognize analysis cannot be objective in which the who killed and who was the victim. result influenced inevitably by the Besides, the context of the perpetrator authors upbringing and view, (2) a and the victim is none intentionally. particular historical analysis cannot Nevertheless, the movie consistently represent generally of the era, and (3) displays the murder in a certain and history, similarly with real life, is not exact manner with different face of linear or even progressive. New shooters. Historicism recognizes the complexity In revealing the historical and/or nature of the history and it treats literary cultural aspects of Elephant, researchers work and history the same as they share could apply new historicism, but not insights to each other. historical approach. Taine (1987), a There are recent studies which French critic, theorized this traditional implement New Historicism theory. First, approach in which historical-biographical Taufiqurrohman (2019) applies New 104 | P a g e Historicism to unpack the image of New Historicism considers the communist and position it horizontally to socio-economic aspects of the literary the Post-Suharto 1965 narratives such as works by positioning secondary sources Penjagal Itu Telah Mati. Second, as co-text with the primary sources. Such Wicaksono (2018) applies New does not appear in historical approach Historicism to interpret the social and which treats the secondary approach as political reality of Indonesia within the evidence and cannot be treated Larasati novel. Third, Zulaemy and critically as done in the literary works. Andalas (2020) applies New Historicism Therefore, it can be said that New to illustrate the historical dimension of Historicism is an intertextual analysis by Penari dari Serdang novel and how it positioning primary and secondary affected in the creation of the novel. sources horizontally (barry). Finally, the research elaborates the New Historicism is actually an problems, the objectives and the insufficiently theorized because in the significant of this initiation. The research first place, it was just an interpretation identified a problem in Elephant short practice. However, later, many critics movie; the absence of context and the and researcher demand in theorizing the landscape repeated murder. The practice for the result of viewing better question would concern on how the of history. Then, Greenblatt published history shaped such presentation. the Practicing New Historicism. There are Accordingly, the research possesses five concept keys of New Historicism; (1) objectives to explain the absence of History is about an interpretation, not context in the movie by reading the facts, and therefore, secondary sources history with New Historicism. As a result, can be analyzed similarly with literary the analysis could provide a reference works, (2) history should not be seen as and explanation in interpreting Elephant linear and progressive narrative, (3) and the Troubles. history is constructed by the power through exchanging goods, human 2. LITERATURE REVIEW beings, and ideas, (4) Historical analysis New historicism provides the inevitably only focuses on particular alternative lens to look at history the discourse, and (5) personal identity is the way as it should. It does not question the result of the culture and so otherwise. accuracy based only the author’s life and how it was in the past generally. Based 3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY on the practice of Greenblatt, in which The research conducts a New Historicism was theorized, New descriptive qualitative which accord to Historicism views history as the the research object and theoretical interactive relation between the literary approach. It accords to the research works and the culture of the era (Tyson, object, which is movie, because the 2015). It means that the literary works method provides a tool for describing produced how the reader view the the events portrayed within ‘Elephant’ culture. Moreover, the culture also movie. Moreover, descriptive qualitative produced the view perceived in the method obliterates the obstruction of literary work. This interactive relation is the movie possessing no plot, and no the interesting part of viewing the conversation by describing the events history. meticulously. Since the theoretical 105 | P a g e approach is new historicism which would be prisoned. Especially, there was furthers the attempt of in-depth a persistent and continuous attempt to interpretation of the literary work, doctrine through broadcasting Margaret descriptive qualitative is the appropriate Thatcher’s concern of Political Violence endeavor to analyze primary and of Northern Ireland. The speech was secondary sources in a narrative broadcasted as a doctrine to hold culmination. In sum, the researcher uses everybody in their place. The speech told descriptive qualitative method to the indifference between crime violence describe the events within the movie, and violence to make the political and the description is analyzed and statement was heard by the above. Such presented in narrative analysis. took accountability