Biocultural memory in Latin America: perspectives through the visual narrative analysis of moving images

This article analyses the connection between biocultural memory, visual analysis, and moving images as a tool for cultural resistance and deconstruction of hegemonic environmental and ecological narratives. The hypothesis is that the universe of narrative with moving images offers interesting possibilities in Latin America (the context of reference) for co-constructing communication practices capable of strengthening critical thinking and awareness of the risks and impacts of climate and environmental crises. Considering this hypothesis, the objective of this article is to study initiatives that intertwine digital moving images and biocultural memory to transmit ancestral and local environmental and ecological knowledge and traditions as an alternative development model built on the narratives and memories of territories and communities. The article adopts a form of visual analysis that differentiates narrative from storytelling, since the Latin American perspective that interprets the climate crisis as a social problem is based on the signification of the past in a future perspective, a typical function of narrative and not storytelling. The emerging evidence reflects the idea that moving images become a barrier of biocultural and biosemiotic resistance, opening future research perspectives on the use of digital platforms and ecosystems as tools for counterbalancing and bottom-up care.