Historical Memory and the Method of Collaboration: Doomed Marginal Resistance Movements?

Abstract

The main aim of this paper is to explore the [im]possibility of successful resistance by marginalised groups within the dominating systems. The main departing and reference point will be the movie ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ (1975) a cinematic adaptation of Ken Kesey’s (1935–2001) novel by the same name published in 1962. Through a close analysis of the method of resistance used in this narrative by the protagonist Randall Patrick McMurphy to evade the suffocating institutional inhibitions, an attempt will be made to show, how, eventually, not only the creative rebellion of this character but also his counterparts in larger settings as the World Social Forum (WSF), Democratic Students Union (DSU) and the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) in Kashmir are also failed expeditions, the reason for their failure being the elision of historical memory. The relationship between these counter institutional, anti-hegemonic movements is not just arbitrarily manufactured. A vital connector, among other instruments, is the trope of the satirical laughter against the dominating authority. Such a laughter embodying the Nietzschean ‘will to power’ is used to encourage productive self-confidence and induce self-regenerating energy in these resistance movements. Here, the intention is not to propose a substitute model of resistance, but a brief elaboration, towards the end, will be made of the phrase ‘convergence of forces’, an idea which helps us to appreciate the valuable drive of these movements.