Constructing Visual Memory of Local Traditional Material Culture: A Case Study of the Documentary The Green Endures

Abstract

Against the backdrop of ongoing efforts to promote rural cultural dissemination and the preservation of intangible cultural heritage, the question of how local traditional material culture can be used to construct memory through documentary film has become a topic worthy of attention. Local traditional material culture manifests itself not only in specific artefacts, crafts and modes of production, but also embodies the lived experiences, emotional structures and cultural identities of a particular region. This paper takes the documentary The Green Endures as its subject of study. Employing textual analysis and adopting a cultural memory perspective, it examines how the film transforms Boxing's traditional coarse cloth into a visual text of local cultural memory through the presentation of artefacts, oral accounts, scenes of daily life and narrative expression. The study argues that The Green Endures does not merely offer a superficial documentation of traditional weaving techniques. Instead, through a structural organisation centred on 'objects—people—daily life', it transforms the old coarse cloth from a local artefact into a symbolic memory that embodies rural sentiments, local experiences and cultural perceptions. Simultaneously, by employing first-person narration, documentary-style imagery and everyday expressions, the film enhances the authenticity, relatability and communicative power of its portrayal of local culture. This case study demonstrates that the significance of documentary films on traditional local material culture lies not only in the preservation of traditional crafts, but also in the use of visual media to drive the reconstruction and contemporary expression of cultural memory.