From Archive to Cinema: A Study of the Mediatized Communication Mechanism of Qiaopi Memory in Dear You

Abstract

In 2013, the "Qiaopi Archive" was inscribed on UNESCO's Memory of the World Register, thereby attaining the status of a world documentary heritage. In 2026, the film Dear You achieved phenomenal box-office and critical success in both the Chinese and ASEAN film markets. Drawing on mediatization theory as its core analytical framework, this article examines the mechanisms through which qiaopi memory is mediatized and communicated in Dear You. The study finds that the film accomplishes this through a threefold operation of material mediatization, narrative mediatization, and emotional mediatization, transforming qiaopi from archival documents confined to the Memory of the World Register into a shared memory capable of evoking widespread public emotional resonance. The mediatization process from "archive" to "cinema" demonstrates that the contemporary transmission of cultural heritage hinges on finding an appropriate mediatized pathway through which it may acquire renewed vitality in a new era.