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Similarities:

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Both POV. TAOK, mostly focused on the perpetrators. S21, victims and perpetrators talking with each other.

The perpetrators in TAOK present themselves as if they are not at fault. S21 has a more neutral approach.

TAOK reenactment is more sensationalized. S21 is very matter-of-fact, detached from the past.

S21 has no background music and has little archival footage.

TAOK focuses the story more on Anwar, while S21 shows different guards doing their duties in various parts of the camp.

Anwar shows a story development. He presents himself to show remorse throughout the film. S21 shows a factual representation of what happened.

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Differences:

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Group1: Justice in both The Act of Killing and S21 take a backhand, but both challenge the perpretator centered narrative that exist in both countries and expose the killers. This means that ultimately, the film tries to bring these killers in Justice by exposing them and forcing the viewers to confront the truth of what happened. Furthermore, it forces them to confront how the culture of impunity these killers enjoy and encourages them to challenge it.

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AOK: Indonesian Gov/Gangsters

S21: Anwar Congo/Prison Workers

Similarities

Wants to control the country (intent)

Self-justification on the acts and orders given to kill and rid of the enemies (intent)

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G3

Similarities

both films painted the victims under extreme suppression during the time these acts were happening

portrayed their countries to move on from the genocide without proper apology or recognition of what the victims went through

victims wanted their stories to be recognised as something real and known to the public

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Differences

TAOK have a limited/ close to no victim perspectives compared to S21 where it was the victim directing the documentary

S21 victims were speaking up to their perpetrators compared to TAOK where we can still see they do not speak up about it

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Similarity: Both films describe how the idealogies of the cold war are used to justify the violence in Cambodia and Indonesia.

Difference:

TAOK - Communism vs Capitalism

S21 - Communist kills bourgeois

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Similarities:

Both show personal accounts from perpetrators

Differences:

S21 is more serious while the act of killing includes less serious scenes

The act of killing shows the perpetrators reliving their memories while s21 is only based on the perpetrators' memories

The act of killing is more erratic with less routine from the perpetrators while the perpetrators in s21 has more routine

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Group 1: Differences

However, S21 potrays a more realistic tone while The Act of Killing shows the injustices through spectacle and fantastical elements. S21 invites the viewer to sympathize more with the victims and perpretators, while The Act of Killing leads you to villainify the killers due to their boasting.

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AOK: Indonesian Gov/Gangsters

S21: Anwar Congo/Prison Workers

Differences

AOK - the perpetrators were celebrated and still share power with the Indonesian government, they are still feared by the locals.

S21 - the leaders of the perpetrators received their punishments and there are several who try to avoid conversations about their past acts.

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Group 1 Inputs:

Similarities:

1. Both films aim to tap into the perpetrator's perspective to portray and recreate a prosthetic memory for their audience. It allows the audience to have a better idea through the lens of these killers.

Differences:

1. Cinema to uncover repressed memory.

In TAOK, the killers had to reenact their crimes through the process of creating a film. Through this process, it helped to reveal psychological mechanisms of glorification deeply repressed conflicts. By relieving this memory, and being placed into different roles, it enabled these perpetrators to access repressed memories and psychological conflicts and emotions.

In Killing Machine, S21 also uses the concept of reenactments to reconstruct routines and their daily behaviors in the prison setting. It enables them to trigger past memories and potentially emotional reckoning. However, because of the lack of the secondary concept of having the perpetrators design and create their own film, it had a different outcome versus TAOK.

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Similarities:

The perpetrators from both films did not face harsh punishment

Differences:

The perpetrators in the act of killing has to self question if they did wrong (after thought) while the perpetrators in the s21 know that they did wrong and are questioning if they have been wronged by the authorities

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Similarity: Both films remind the rest of the world on how genocide and trauma of the cold war can/cannot be resolved.

Difference:

TAOK - One sided perspective

S21 - Two sided

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Group 1 Inputs:

Differences:
Both films adopt distinct cinematic styles in recreating memories of violence. In TAOK, director Joshua uses surreal imagery, stylised genre scenes, and metaphorical reenactments to visualize the psychological landscape of the perpetrators. These sequences reflect how the killers perceive themselves, often as heroes, and reveal the fantasies, justifications, and moral dissonance in their minds.

In contrast, S21 takes a more direct and observational approach. Former prison guards reenact their routines in a realistic setting, focusing on the physical and procedural aspects of their roles. While emotionally powerful, this method offers less access to the inner psychological world of the perpetrators, instead placing emphasis on the factual and structural machinery of the genocide.

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In both the films the perpetrators express that they did what was needed and necessary for the nation. However, in TAOK they used the term 'free men' whereas in S21 they blamed the authorities in forcing them to take these actions.

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S21 aims to provide a more serious and emotional account of the killings (more confrontational).

TAOK tends to be more one sided, aiming at glorifying and twisting the accounts for entertainment.