FROM TRAUMA TO SACREDNESS: THE ROLE OF SPATIAL SYMBOLS IN THE CONTRUCTION OF CULTURAL MEMORY IN CHINESE WORLD WAR II FILMS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35631/IJMOE.829019Keywords:
Chinese World War II Film, Cultural Memory, Sites, National Identity, Trauma RepresentationAbstract
Chinese World War II film constructs cultural memory through sites. These films do more than recount historical events. They turn physical space into symbolic sites that carry emotional and ideological meaning. However, the role of site needs to be stated more clearly as an organizing principle that links narrative meaning to emotional response and identity formation. The analysis draws on cultural memory theory to show how site organizes narrative meaning and emotional response. It focuses on how spatial categories operate through visual framing and symbolic repetition in cinematic space. The findings show four interrelated spatial categories. Commemorative sites highlight collective sacrifice, and traumatic sites evoke shared suffering. Sacred sites link the present to cultural origin and spiritual endurance, while homeland sites express belonging, continuity, and the defense of territory. Together, these spatial categories form a layered memory structure that moves from trauma toward sacred significance. Through visual framing and symbolic repetition, cinematic space becomes a medium for shaping identity. In this way, Chinese World War II films transform geography into cultural memory, linking the past to the present and reinforcing a shared national consciousness.
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