Collective memory and research-led filmmaking: Spatial legacies of dictatorship in the Dominican Republic

ABSTRACT

This article explores theoretical-methodological challenges in researching the formation of collective memory in the wake of dictatorship. The worldwide growth of memory sites suggests space crystallizes memory into stable formations. However, rather than monolithic discourses, environments attest to complex processes of memorialization and willful amnesia. I propose that research-led filmmaking can draw out spaces’ heterogeneous “stories in waiting.” Through the documentary After Trujillo, which revisits memory sites and ruins of Rafael Trujillo’s dictatorship from 1930 to 1961 in the Dominican Republic, I assess how working at the interface between research and film can (a) probe space’s testimonial capacity; (b) engage audiences in public debates about violent pasts; and (c) stimulate sustainable discussions through online platforms. Given that films still lack recognition as academic outputs, at stake here is the claim that creative methodologies constitute “a form of research” and “detectable research outputs.”

Acknowledgments

After Trujillo pays tribute to the bravery of those who fought against dictatorship and to the will to memory of the Dominicans unwilling to let the legacy of violence crumble into oblivion. I express gratitude to those who made the film’s production possible, and the anonymous reviewers for their encouraging and constructive comments, and to Professor Raulina Capellán and her students for engaging with the film and providing fascinating new interpretations of the ruins of dictatorship.