You can read all my new articles on my new substack site: https://maxlaneonline.substack.com/ This site remains the best archive site for older artciles.
ARTICLE: Art and The Continuing Erosion of a Political Taboo: Sculpture and Activism in Indonesia’s National Gallery by Max Lane
Art has power to inspire activism and challenge political taboos. In Indonesia, a recent exhibition highlighted this dynamic. Read more HERE
Literature, Labor Movements and Nationalism in Indonesia
Talks by Max Lane and responses at the University of The Philippines, March 2023. Full transcript downloadable. 1. Indonesia Out of Exile: Pramoedya Ananta Toer and the Politics of Unfinished Ferment 2. Class, Nation, and Social Revolution in Indonesia and the Philippines 3. The Indonesian Labor Movement 57 Class, Nation, and the Forgetting of Development […]
“Polarisations in Indonesia: Distinguishing the Real from the Rhetorical” by Max Lane
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY For full article click HERE
Pramoedya Ananta Toer – An Indonesian Literary Icon by JOSE RAMOS HORTA
“It was in Buru that Pramoedya created “the Quartet”. Initially forbidden access to writing materials, Pramoedya recited the stories; vivid tales of the creation of Indonesia, a time of national awakening and rebellion against the colonial rulers, orally to other prisoners. When Pramoedya and two of his fellow prisoners, Joesoef Isak and Hasyim Rachman, were […]
How a political prisoner’s novels gave Indonesia a sense of history by Chris Barrett
“Regardless of Pramoedya’s political views, however, Lane argues he provided Indonesians with a long-lost link to their past, one that is fundamental in reckoning with the future of a still young nation. His highly accessible insider’s account also offers readers in Australia greater understanding of Indonesia’s journey and that can only be positive.” For full […]
Widodo Government Acknowledges Gross Human Rights Violations Happened: The Unstoppable Erosion of a Fundamental Taboo by Max Lane
“Spokespersons for the Widodo government since 2014 have regularly stated that they are seeking a “completion” (penyelesaian) of this issue, implying that once there is “resolution”, there will correspondingly be no further need for public debate. It is probable that, with about a year to go in Widodo’s second and final term as president, he […]
Indonesia’s ‘Social Opposition’ Remains Weak but Hopeful by Max Lane
Read HERE!
Everything You Always Wanted to Happen in the Bumi Manusia Film
Everything You Always Wanted to Happen in the Bumi Manusia Film* (*but Were Afraid to Ask) BY : MIKAEL JOHANI AUGUST 09, 2019, JAKARTA GLOBE The wait is, finally, almost over. The film adaptation of Pramoedya Ananta Toer’s classic novel “Bumi Manusia,” or This Earth of Mankind, gets its red carpet première in Surabaya today. The choice […]
Reposting: Indonesia: 1965 and the Counter-Revolution against the Nation.
Indonesia: 1965 and the Counter-Revolution against the Nation. By Max Lane +++ “The impact of the counter-revolution was, however, even deeper than the sum of these combined policies – from mass murder and terror to totalitarian imposed ignorance and passivity. The 1965 counter-revolution was a pre-emptive purge aimed at the prevention of the final unfolding […]
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