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TOWARDS THE CENTENNIAL
Why Should We Even
Talk about the
Genocide?
The memory of the Armenian Genocide as a moral compass
By Suzanne Khardalian
Armenians worldwide have
felt an increasing desire to
see the story of the
Armenian Genocide on
the big screen. We all want
our “Schindler’s List,” our
“Sophie’s Choice.”
I have heard many arguments about the
importance of making movies (I myself
have discussed the necessity of telling some
of the countless stories of the genocide);
yet, we have never asked ourselves, “Why
should we even talk about the
genocide?” If the answer is just to
satisfy our need for entertainment,
then maybe a feature film is
good enough, or maybe even
more than enough.
But the story and the memory
of the genocide are about something
else; there’s another, larger
purpose. While we remember the
atrocities every year on April 24,
we do it mechanically and dutifully.
A faint feeling of obligation surfaces.
And the best argument one often
comes up with is that it would be disrespectful
not to remember, not to commemorate.
Maybe, but the problem is
that this mechanical response, both in
the diaspora and particularly in
Armenia, runs the risk of draining these
ceremonies of any meaning.
The lack of a clear and distinct
answer is troubling. Especially now,
when genocide survivors are no longer
among us, and their personal
and immensely powerful testimonies
remain with us in
sound or picture only, their
testimonies are mediated.
This reality, this loss, has its
consequences. For many of
us, Armenians and non-
Armenians alike, it turns
April 24 into an abstract idea
that we no longer have any
direct connection with.
In a country like Sweden,
the dispassionate government
This page is sponsored by Ted and Diane Bohigian
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| THE ARMENIAN WEEKLY | APRIL 2013
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