A Study On The Construction Of Collective Memory In Rural Documentaries

China’s rural documentaries have always maintained a self-conscious cultural awareness,visually and distinctly recording the development and changes of China’s countryside since the reform and opening up.The rural documentaries of the 1980 s and 1990 s built the emotional fulcrum and ethical values of their works with humanistic care and documentalism,which fit the development background of national modernization and urbanization at that time.In the new era,with the introduction of policies such as the construction of beautiful countryside,the strategy of poverty eradication and the strategy of comprehensive revitalization of the countryside,the value and meaning of the countryside have been redefined.The implementation of a series of policies for the benefit of agriculture has enabled the countryside to develop steadily,the per capita income of rural areas has increased significantly,and the appearance of villages has been greatly improved.In the context of the new era,China’s rural documentaries have launched a tribute to rural China.In terms of thematic expression,they are more inclined to write about the bridging of modern civilization and rural culture than the conflict and contradiction between urban and rural areas shown at the beginning of the new century.In terms of creative techniques,the film actively learns and incorporates new documentary language,abandoning long shots and fixed shots and using new technologies such as time-lapse photography,aerial photography and animation to depict a beautiful and tranquil picture of the contemporary countryside.From natural landscapes to historical buildings,from material carriers to spiritual symbols,the new-age rural documentary treats the countryside as a field of dynamic development,refining and reconstructing the culture,landscape,and history of the countryside,writing the collective memory of the beautiful countryside and deconstructing the stereotypical image of the Chinese countryside from an Orientalist perspective.The first part takes the rural documentaries after the reform and opening up as the research object,and examines the image presentation changes of the rural documentary memory space through the analysis of the background of rural documentary creation,media presentation characteristics and creation concepts at different stages.The second part includes the second and third chapters,through the textual analysis of rural documentaries and graduation works in the new era,specifically discussing the construction of rural "memory images" and analyzing the effective strategies of rural memory construction.Chapter 2 analyzes the representation system of rural documentaries from the perspective of semiotics;landscape symbols construct the modern rural image,cultural symbols index local memory,and character symbols reshape rural memory.The third chapter composes the construction of rural memory in the new era from the perspective of narratology.The creators discard the image of the rural village as a low-class and backward village,and instead construct a modernized rural memory that seeks for newness and change with a linear narrative structure,vivid and rich details,and multiple narrative perspectives;they write the image of the traditional village in a fading context with a loose cultural narrative structure,a cheerful narrative rhythm,and a new trendy narrative language,and together leave the audience with a multi-dimensional memory of the beautiful countryside.The third part focuses on the contemporary value and reflection of constructing rural memory.The media practice of constructing collective memory in rural documentaries has effectively alleviated the anxiety of modernity and enhanced national cultural confidence and identity.However,at the same time,the one-sided rural construction and the picking style material record are still the key issues that need to be paid attention to in the creation of rural documentaries in the new era.