TECHNOLOGIZING METAPHOR, DEMYSTIFYING TRAUMA: ALLEGORY IN THE FILM 27 STEPS OF MAY

Abstract

This article aims at elaborating the issues of trauma, violence against women and their agencies depicted in Indonesian
film entitled 27 Steps of May. By situating the issues within the theoretical framework combining theories on allegory
and metaphor as elaborated by Jameson (2006), and Jakobson (1956), as well as theoretical premises pertaining to film
technology by Turner (2002), this study shows how film as a form of narrative texts can visualize those issues through
available technological features (camera techniques and mise-en-scene). Our close reading finds that the film presents
metaphors of rape, women agency, amnesia and trauma through the presentation of the characters (May, Bapak, Pesulap
and Kurir), also the mise-en-scene in its scenes. We argue that this film visualizes an allegory of national trauma in
relation to Indonesian May 1998 riots, specifically the violence towards marginalized groups (Chinese and women),
which also represents the Indonesian collective expectation in acknowledging the national trauma jointly.