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History, trauma and remembering in Kivu Ruhorahoza’s Grey Matter (2011)

journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-09, 08:06 authored by Piotr CieplakPiotr Cieplak
In 1994, the genocide in Rwanda claimed at least 800,000 lives in just 100 days. More than 20 years on, the memory and trauma of the atrocities still permeate the Rwandan society. This article explores how some of these different manifestations of trauma (individual and collective, actual and inherited, real and imagined, that of survivors and perpetrators), and especially their relationship to the genocide as a historical event, shape the internationally recognized Rwandan feature film, Kivu Ruhorahoza’s Grey Matter (2011). Drawing on the scholarship on trauma, the article examines Grey Matter’s uniqueness within feature films on the topic and its ambition to tackle the impossibility of memory and objectivity vis-à-vis varied experiences of the genocide. It traces the connection between trauma and Grey Matter’s structure, which refuses to offer events a firm chronological placement, both within and beyond the narrative.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Published version

Journal

Journal of African Cultural Studies

ISSN

1369-6815

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

Issue

2

Volume

30

Page range

163-177

Department affiliated with

  • Media and Film Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2017-09-27

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2017-09-27

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2017-09-26

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