ՀԵՏՀԻՇՈՂՈՒԹՅՈՒՆՆ ԻԲՐԵՎ ՄՇԱԿՈՒԹԱՅԻՆ ՀԻՇՈՂՈՒԹՅՈՒՆ ՁԵՎԱՎՈՐՈՂ ԳՈՐԾՈՆ.ՆՇԱՆԱԳԻՏԱԿԱՆ ՄՈՏԵՑՈՒՄ / POSTMEMORY AS A CULTURAL MEMORY MAKER: A SEMIOTIC APPROACH

Every society preserves and transmits its unique characteristics to future generations through cultural memory. As a collection of codes and symbols, cultural memory allows a given society to distinguish itself within the mosaic of global cultures.This article aims to describe the theories contributing to the development of the interdisciplinary field of “cultural memory,” with a particular emphasis on the semiotic approach. The article explores the impact of the concepts “traumatic memory” and “postmemory” in the transmission and formation of cultural memory within the context of the Armenian Genocide. It proposes that postmemory, due to its ability to create intergenerational connections, becomes an integral part of cultural memory. Through semiotic and comparative methods, the article analyses the expressions of traumatic memory and postmemory in the autobiography 'Mayrig' by French-Armenian filmmaker Henri Verneuil. The analysis concludes that autobiography, as a fusion of fact and fiction, may contain traumatic memory, the author's postmemory, and serve as a means of forming collective postmemory, thus becoming part of the community's cultural memory. The article also highlights the role of books, films, and music in the transmission of traumatic memory and the formation of cultural memory.