Trauma, Ghost, and Silence in By the Time It Gets Dark (Dao Khanong): A Study of the October 6th Massacre in the Context of Everyday Life

Abstract

        This research paper studies By the Time It Gets Dark, the film by Anocha Suwichakornpong, concerning the traumatic event of the October 6, 1976. By shifting the focus from the original trauma to everyday life as a crucial site for investigating this traumatic event, the film represents a new way of reading through which to the study of the October 6^th massacre. I contend that for Anocha, who does not have direct experience of the event, the trauma of the October 6^th massacre represents what Judith butler terms “the loss of loss.” Given the pervasive silence surrounding the event, Anocha’s concern is not with the rediscovery of historical facts, but rather an exploration of how this past continues to shape the lives of ordinary people in the present. To investigate these issues, I employ Avery Gordon’s concept of haunting as methodological approach to read silent traces of the past or what Gordon calls “ghostly matters.” I argue that while everyday life bears the impact of this traumatic past, it simultaneously reveals trauma as a moving or creative force embedded in everyday struggles and transformations.