Literary Studies | 更新时间:2025-07-20
Annie Ernaux’s Transmedia Memory Writing: The Years Through the “Lens” of The Super 8 Years
史烨婷    作者信息&出版信息
International Chinese Language Education   ·   2025年7月20日   ·   2025年 29卷 第3期   ·   DOI:10.20254/j.cnki.2096-4919.2025.3.059
0 0(CNKI)
PDF
该文暂无导航

AI 摘要

1 Introduction

Discussed the importance of "memory" in human civilization and its research progress in different disciplines. Since the 20th century, memory research has continuously deepened in fields such as history, sociology, psychology, etc., showing characteristics of interdisciplinary and diversified carriers. In the field of artistic creation, the practice of memory writing constantly breaks through old patterns. French writer Anne Arnault, with the creative concept of integrating sociology and history, opened up the concept of "non personal autobiography", writing the fusion of personal memory and collective memory, breaking down social classes and reflecting the era. She believes that memory is material, bringing exactly what she sees, hears, moves, and scenes to her face. Literary texts are important carriers of memory, focusing on the memory of the past in the present, examining the relationship between the past and the present, and exploring the process of memory presentation. Cultural memory scholar Renate Rahman proposed the concept of "literary memory and intertextuality", believing that literature is not only a tool for recording, but also a carrier of commemorative actions, containing the knowledge stored and created by culture. Writing is a memory behavior that arises from memory and in turn reconstructs memory. Erno's reliance on images in her creations makes her memory writing cross media, blending descriptions of photographs, references to movies, and even borrowing from music and painting in her writing. She creates directly through text, photos, and images. The two works, "Years of Longevity" and "Super 8 Years," showcase Erno's cross media memory writing. This article will compare and study these two works, exploring the expression and effects of the same author and personal memory in different media, as well as how "memory writing" can achieve human pursuit of recording the past and exploring the inner world.

Memory 'correction' in two different media

Explored how Anne Erno expressed and corrected her personal memories through different media - novels and movies. The principles of location and visual imagery in classical memory techniques are reflected in Erno's creations, as her novels and films attempt to construct memories through image searching. In 1972, the Erno couple purchased a Super 8 camera to record their family life, which is also described in detail in the novel "The Years". The main difference between images and photos lies in the presentation of dynamic images, while text requires the reader's imagination to complement the dynamic images. In literary research, the interweaving of memory images and imagination is a controversial topic. Literary construction of memory relies on imagination, and textual descriptions can freeze the images in memory, waiting for imagination to restore their dynamics. The film "Super 8 Years" showcases the life scenes described in the book, providing more information than textual descriptions, such as room decoration, character expressions, etc. The audience can freely choose their focus, which is something that text does not possess. However, text has higher precision in expressing details, such as interpreting character expressions. Erno added literary elements to the film through narration, making the visuals no longer absolutely dominant. In the novel, Erno expresses the dilemma of gender relations in marriage more accurately by changing perspectives. Astrid El emphasizes the mutual media mechanism of cultural memory, namely the interaction between "foresight" and "correction", which repeatedly reproduces memorable events through different media to stabilize memory. Erno's works strengthen the memory of personal and social life through the mutual correction of words and images.

3 Multi material Memory Writing on the Same Theme

Explored how Anne Elnor recorded personal, family, and societal life through multi material memory writing in "Years of Leisure" and "Super 8 Years". Erno demonstrates the impact of urbanization and industrialization on personal memory through a comparison of urban and rural life. She used home videos and written descriptions to depict the life changes of moving from another province to Paris in the 1970s, as well as her yearning for natural life and complex emotions towards urban life. In 'The Years', Erno uses different materials and perspectives to depict the psychological meaning of Paris' urban space, symbolizing the future and the rise of social classes, while also being indifferent and lacking in human touch. Her written and visual works together construct a comprehensive understanding of the times and themes, showcasing the psychological interaction and connection between people and space.

4 Multimedia Evoked Memory Writing

Anne Elnor employs various media forms in her works, such as film, photography, painting, and music, to capture the multifaceted and elusive nature of memory. She adopts a "distance based writing" style, pursuing objective observation and emotionless presentation, similar to the presentation style in movies. When creating 'The Place of a Man', she was inspired by Fellini's' The Road '; After watching 'April Three Weeks Two Days', she realized that this was exactly the effect she wanted to achieve in' Events'. Her works transcend reality, transforming personal memories and observations of the world through imagination. In 'The Years', almost every paragraph begins with a description of the photograph, becoming a signature feature of the work. In the movie "Super 8 Years", she used the "still image" technique to create a photographic atmosphere and express her feelings about the times. Painting also holds a place in her creations. She admires the works of Dorothea Tannin and uses "Birthday" as an artistic reference in "Days of Longevity" to showcase the mystery and complexity of women. Music, as an important element of cultural memory, has become an indelible memory of that era with Joe Dacing's song "Autumn Like Summer" appearing in "Days of Leisure" and "Super 8 Years", evoking readers' memories of that era. Anne Elnor believed that there are various ways to evoke memories, including visual, auditory, tactile, and gustatory, touching the past through resonance and imagination. Liko emphasized the importance of imagination in memory and the image issues contained in imagination. Anne Elnor successfully awakened the public's memory of that era through a song by Joe Dacing, and the auditory images illuminated the inner landscape of readers/viewers, reproducing that light that pierced through time and came to us from the past.

5 Conclusion

Through images and imagination, "Yoyo Yoyo" and "Super 8 Years" explore time and memory, achieving memory preservation and restoration. Erno seeks a balance between the passage and disappearance of time in his creations, forming individual, collective, and temporal memories. Different media play different roles in memory writing, with images presenting the external world and words depicting the inner world, complementing and perfecting memory details. Erno awakens memories and saves his existence through cross media writing, using sensory and diverse perspectives. Memory writing is not only about storing records, but also an important construction behavior for the formation of cultural memory.

* 以上内容由AI自动生成,内容仅供参考。对于因使用本网站以上内容产生的相关后果,本网站不承担任何商业和法律责任。

展开

当前期刊

当前期刊
    目录

    推荐论文

    • “I Is Another”: Ekphrasis in The Years;« Je est un autre »: l’ekphrasis dans Les Années

    • Testimony and Commitment: An Analysis of the Writing of Remembrance in Les Années of Annie Ernaux;Témoignage et engagement : analyse sur l’écriture de la mémoire dans Les Années d’Annie Ernaux