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Menemshyan A.R., Martirosyan N.N., Gorbuleva M.S., Abrahamyan G.M. The visual representation of historical memory and commemorative practices in animated interpretations of William Saroyan’s prose. ΠΡΑΞΗMΑ. Journal of Visual Semiotics. 2026. Issue 3 (49). P. 77-99

In recent decades, the themes of historical memory and commemoration have periodically come to dominate interdisciplinary research. They are primarily examined within the context of preserving social memory and cultural identity. This article aims to explore the potential of visual semiotics for organizing and conducting interdisciplinary research into the role of commemoration within the media landscape. The research methodology was primarily shaped by Pierre Nora’s theory of “lieux de mémoire” (sites of memory), Jan Assmann’s concept of cultural memory, and Aleida Assmann’s concept of the long-term memory of trauma within historical experience. These foundations imply that cultural and historical memory constitutes the content of collective experience, whereas commemoration serves as the form of its expression. This form of expression itself points to the relevance of a semiotic methodology for understanding the mechanisms by which the past is preserved in the present. When outlining the theoretical foundations for studying memory within the media landscape, the terms “storage,” “transmission,” and “carrier” are employed. From the perspective of the conceptual model of semiotic dynamics (I.V. Melik-Gaykazyan), these terms correspond to “information storage,” “information transmission,” and “information carrier.” In this model, the stages of the information process are correlated with 1) forms of the sign as their results, and 2) phases of the self-organization of sociocultural systems. Conclusions drawn from this model have served to guide the application of standard methods of textual and intersemiotic analysis. First, various semiotic forms of memory—memory as a source of cohesion, memory as a “frozen” past, and “warm” communicative memory—constitute the elements that make up a media text. Second, the transitions of these forms from one locus of emergence to another constitute what is termed the semiotic transformation of memory images within the media space. Third, the process of reception does not imply passive perception but rather an act of acceptance — a consequence of an existential choice made by an individual and/or a community. The empirical material consisted of three animated films by Yu. Muradyan based on four works by William Saroyan: “The Warm, Quiet Valley of Home,” “Bitlis,” “The Poor and Burning Arab,” and “The Pomegranate Trees.” A comparison of the two narrative versions of the same stories revealed the significance of: (a) the omission of the word “Warm” from the film title; (b) the combination of two stories in the “Bitlis” animation; and (c) an inaccuracy in the visualization of a specific detail in “The Pomegranate Trees.” These aspects were subjected to “semiotic diagnostics” (a version of visual semiotics proposed by I.V. Melik-Gaykazyan) by integrating the roles of the reader and the viewer as recipients of the narrated stories. An analysis of the shifts in emphasis during the screen adaptation of prose leads to the conclusion that there are differences in the semiotic forms in which memory manifests—differences contingent upon the type of compensation chosen by the narrator (such as the enactment of commemorative practices versus the preservation of cultural memory; reflection on individual and/or collective experience; or remembering the past to reconstruct it in the present versus to shape the future). The novelty of the study is that animated interpretations of W. Saroyan’s prose are examined for the first time as independent forms of commemoration and visual representation of historical memory. The scientific significance of the study lies, firstly, in the established distinction between the purposes for which the past is invoked in the media space; secondly, in the phenomenon identified as “scorched orphanhood,” which is relevant to the choice of adaptation strategies for all those caught up in forced migration flows in the modern world; and thirdly, in demonstrating the potential of visual semiotics for organizing and conducting interdisciplinary research into the role of commercialization within the media landscape.

Keywords: mediatext, visualization, screen adaptation, cultural identity, national heritage, mnemonic practices, “Burning Orphanhood”